Para±aque city: Mayor Edwin Olivarez is advocating for the construction of a floodgate and pumping station as long-term measures to prevent flooding in Para±aque City, which has been exacerbated by trash clogging waterways.

According to Philippines News Agency, Mayor Olivarez presented the plans during a meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Don Artes, and other officials. The meeting followed an inspection of recent clearing operations to remove debris from the Baclaran channel.

The proposed floodgate, intended to be built between Barangays Don Galo and La Huerta, is designed to block seawater and debris from entering the Para±aque River from Manila Bay during adverse weather and high tide conditions.

Mayor Olivarez explained that the Para±aque River not only serves as a drainage channel out of the city but also allows water to surge back in during poor weather and high tides, causing flooding. This emphasizes the necessity of a floodgate. In conjunction with the floodgate, a pumping station would expel accumulated rainwater from upstream areas to Manila Bay, mitigating flooding risks.

He pointed out that water from neighboring towns and provinces carries trash through the Para±aque River into the bay, aggravating the problem. The MMDA has repaired the trash trap previously installed at the Baclaran channel, which was damaged by the volume of garbage during recent high tides and monsoon conditions.

To further address the issue, two additional contraptions will be installed along the channel with assistance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The Baclaran water channel, a two-kilometer-long L-shaped canal, begins at Manila Bay and runs inland toward the LRT-1 Redemptorist Station, turning northward toward the EDSA Extension in Pasay City.

The southwest monsoon, strengthened by recent tropical cyclones, caused Manila Bay's waters to swell, coinciding with high tides that pushed more water and debris into the channel. Mayor Olivarez emphasized that resolving the garbage issue requires resident discipline and strict law enforcement against illegal waste disposal in cities and towns surrounding Manila Bay.

Over 100 towns and cities, including Para±aque, share the coastal and upstream areas of Manila Bay, highlighting the need for collective responsibility in addressing the waste problem.