Road built along waterway worsens floods in Las Piñas — lawmaker

The construction of a road along the Zapote River in Las Piñas City has narrowed the waterway and worsened flooding in parts of the city, according to a lawmaker.

In Maki Pulido’s Thursday report on “24 Oras,” a resident of Barangay Zapote 2 said floodwater enters their home during heavy rains.

Due to the rains brought by the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) in July, several areas in Las Piñas City were submerged in the ensuing floods.

According to Las Piñas Rep. Anthony Santos, there is a flood control project for the Zapote River, one of the major waterways in the city.

But instead of dredging and cleaning the river, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) constructed a road alongside the river.

As a result, Santos said the river became narrower and prone to faster overflowing, causing more floods in different areas of the city.

“Malaki po ang inoccupy nito doon sa Zapote River kung saan makikita natin ngayon na medyo nabawasan yung puwang o luwang ng river na nagdudulot ngayon ng problema dito sa Las Piñas nung raw na mas malapad ito mas maraming tubig ang dumadaloy,” Santos said.

(The road occupies a larger portion of the Zapote River. The width of the river is now smaller, which is causing problems here in Las Piñas. When it was wider, more water was able to flow.)

The DPWH is currently repairing riprap after a portion of it collapsed.

“Itong river na ito, hindi dapat tinayuan para gawing kalsada. Ito po ay para linisin lang ang river, pero kita niyo ang nag initiate na predecessors ko. Conflict of interest po, very clear po dito, kasi lahat ng kalsadang dinaanan papunta sa mga lupa nila ng mga Villar kasi nagpagawa bridge papunta sa mga property nila. Ang dulo nito ay isang malaking mall na pag aari ng pamilya Villar,” Santos said.

(Roads were not supposed to be constructed alongside the river. It was intended for just cleaning the river, but look at what my predecessors did. It’s very clear that there is a conflict of interest because all the constructed roads lead to the properties of the Villars. At the end of this road is a mall owned by the Villar family.)

According to Santos, the road construction began in 2012 and now stretches to at least 10 kilometers.

Posters along Las Piñas Zapote Road indicate the road is a project by siblings and senators Mark Villar and Camille Villar-Genuino and their mother, former senator Cynthia Villar.

Santos won the congressional seat against the elder Villar during the 2025 Philippine elections.

“Wala naman pong kwestyun kung sino mag be-benefit dito e nag re-reklamo mga kababayan ko sa baha (there is no question who will benefit from this project, but the people are complaining about the floods),” Santos said.

Roads were also built alongside the city’s creeks, including Talong Creek in Barangay Pulang Dos.

According to a resident, in 2024, the retaining wall collapsed due to the volume of water and accumulated garbage in the narrower creek.

“Gumiba siya. Nag breach aming wall pinasok kami tubig. May portion pa na neck-deep. Kinakatakot namin papasok na naman tag-ulan wala na natutulog dito,” resident Elmer Pascual said, adding that their subdivision experienced flooding for the first time.

(The wall collapsed after it was breached by the water. In some areas, the floodwaters rose to neck-deep levels. We're concerned that it might happen again during the rainy season.)

In a statement, Cynthia Villar said the Las Piñas Zapote River Drive is a flood control and traffic decongestion project to rehabilitate the Las Piñas River.

She added that it is also a long-term solution against flooding in the city and aims to decongest traffic and connect communities.

Villar said the claim that the project was done to favor a few private properties is a baseless and politically driven accusation. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News