FINDING SOLUTIONS Through its “Better Rivers PH” project, San Miguel Corp. completed the dredging along a 26-kilometer stretch of the mouth of Pampanga River to Manila Bay, a move that is seen to ease the flooding in southwestern Pampanga province. —Photo courtesy of SMC
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA, Philippines — Flooding in Pampanga is expected to ease this year after the completion of the cleanup of the lower Pampanga River, the main drain of the Central Luzon region to Manila Bay.
In a statement on Tuesday, San Miguel Corp. (SMC), which led the cleanup, reported removing around 700,000 tons of silt and solid waste along 26.3 kilometers of the river in Masantol and Macabebe towns in southwestern Pampanga at no cost to the government.
READ: SMC expands Luzon river cleanup program
The two towns are at the mouth of the 260-km river draining below the Caraballo Mountains in Nueva Vizcaya province.
SMC said the cleanup, started in August last year, was part of the company’s “Better Rivers PH” project that began in 2020.
The statement quoted SMC chair and chief executive officer Ramon Ang as saying that the project “effectively deepened the river’s channels and improved water flow out to Manila Bay.”
“Flooding is a major issue for our cities and provinces, with many contributing factors. For our part, we’re committed to doing what we can to clean up our river systems and help the government and our communities,” Ang said.
Deeper channels
Earlier, Macabebe Vice Mayor Vince Flores said that he expected the floods to subside faster because the channels had been deepened.
Flores said the silt was reused in fortifying the dikes and coastal roads and raising the elevation of public infrastructure like schools.
SMC said the Better Rivers PH project also dredged the Bulacan River systems in 2024, extracting over 4.31 million metric tons (MT) of silt and waste from waterways spanning 74.5 km.
According to SMC, the project’s overall accomplishment covered a total of 156.42 km of waterways, taking out 8,348,440 MT of silt and solid waste as of Jan. 2.
Ang said the cleanup “enables safer operations of water ferries, like along the Pasig River, and even improves water quality.” —Tonette Orejas