Marikina, 6 LGUs form ‘Armada’ to protect river
MANILA, Philippines—Officials of Marikina City and six other local government units have formed a fact-finding committee named “Armada” to further investigate the alleged encroachment of real-estate developers on the Marikina River.
“This is an action to be taken by the Alliance of Seven in our bid to make Marikina River a viable river… and to investigate if it was narrowed by encroachment,” Marikina Vice Mayor Jose Fabian Cadiz told the Inquirer on Monday.
The Alliance of Seven is composed of cities and towns that were hardest hit by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” in 2009 like Quezon City, Antipolo, Pasig, Cainta, San Mateo, Rodriguez (formerly Montalban) and Marikina.
The Armada, named after a Spanish fleet, will conduct an inspection of the entire stretch of the 11-kilometer-long river.
“The Alliance of Seven will identify any encroachments on the river… and then submit a thorough report to higher authorities,” Cadiz said.
He added that the fact-finding committee would eliminate whatever obstructions hamper the flow of water along the river system.
“If ever we find out that the encroachment is true, we will initiate proper legal actions against those liable,” he said as he added that other real-estate developers with projects along the river could also be guilty of encroachment.
Marikina Mayor Del de Guzman earlier said that an official of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority had accused Ortigas & Co., the property developer of Circulo Verde, of encroaching on a portion of the river, a claim quickly denied by the firm.
