SAN Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) ongoing river cleanup efforts helped reduce flooding in several areas as heavy rains battered parts of Luzon over the past two weeks, but the company warned that garbage clogging drainage systems remains a major threat.
SMC said rivers covered by its Better Rivers PH program generally remained within safe levels despite sustained rainfall. The exception was portions of the San Juan River, where extreme rains on August 17 caused water levels to rise beyond critical levels.
SMC Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang said the waterways have become more capable of carrying heavy volumes of stormwater after years of dredging, widening, desilting and regular maintenance.
Since 2020, SMC has removed millions of tons of silt, garbage and other obstructions from major rivers at no cost to the government. The initiative is now aligned with the government’s Oplan Kontra Baha flood-mitigation program.
The severity of the August 17 rainfall was highlighted by DOST-PAGASA data. Its Science Garden station in Quezon City recorded 201.7 millimeters of rain in just five hours, including 138.7 millimeters between noon and 2 p.m.
The intense downpour caused the San Juan River to overflow near Barangays Tatalon and Talayan in Quezon City. However, no river overflow was reported farther downstream in San Juan City and Mandaluyong, where SMC’s maintenance dredging is nearing completion.
SMC said it has removed more than 442,700 metric tons of silt and waste from the San Juan River since 2022.
The Tullahan River also remained below critical levels despite the heavy rains, with no major river-related flooding reported in nearby communities. More than 1.3 million metric tons of silt and waste have been removed from the waterway, including about 184,000 tons from ongoing maintenance work.
In Laguna, rivers in San Pedro, Biñan, Santa Rosa and Cabuyao continued to flow well. SMC said no flooding was recorded along portions of the South Luzon Expressway covered by its cleanup efforts.
Flooding was also avoided at Ninoy Aquino International Airport and nearby communities following cleanup operations in waterways around Parañaque. More than 380,000 metric tons of silt and waste have been removed from these waterways.
In Las Piñas, no major river-related flooding was recorded as SMC continued cleaning the Zapote and Las Piñas rivers. Nearly 210,000 metric tons of silt and waste have been removed from the two waterways.
However, localized flooding still occurred in some areas, including parts of Parañaque and G. Araneta Avenue in Quezon City.
SMC teams also found large amounts of garbage along G. Araneta Avenue after floodwaters receded.
Ang stressed that river cleanup alone cannot solve flooding.
“Cleaning up our rivers is a big help in mitigating floods, but it is not enough by itself,” Ang said, noting that drains, creeks, pumping stations and other flood-control infrastructure must all work together.
He also urged the public to properly dispose of garbage, warning that trash can clog drainage systems and smaller waterways, preventing rainwater from reaching major rivers.
As of August 18, SMC said its Better Rivers PH program had removed more than 9.387 million metric tons of silt and waste from over 204 kilometers of waterways across Metro Manila, Bulacan and Laguna.
The company has also expanded the program to the Visayas with cleanup operations along the Butuanon River in Mandaue City, Cebu.
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