Squabbles delay Pasig River rehab — Neri

The squabbles among the proponents of the Pasig River project have been causing the delay in the river’s planned rehabilitation, the country’s top economic planner said.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo L. Neri said two ranking government officials have been fighting over the river’s embankment, which has pushed back the project’s timetable by at least six months

An embankment is a long artificial mound of stone or earth built to hold back water or to support a road as protection.

According to Neri, one Cabinet official is adamant on building new embankments while another insisted on keeping the old ones as they are still in good condition.

The Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project (PMRCIP), which aims to mitigate the frequent inundation or massive flooding caused by the overflowing of the river, has not been approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) because of the disagreement.

Neri said they are waiting for the two officials to come to an agreement before finally pushing through with the project.

The P4.608-billion clean-up project is supposed to be financed by the government of Japan’s Special Term for Economic Partnership (STEP). Total foreign cost is P2.419 billion while local counterpart cost is P2.189 billion.

Should the project push through, it will lessen the overflowing of the river through the construction of revetments, walls, and drainage structures.

The PMRCIP will also involve drainage improvement in the areas surrounding the river as excess water from these places end up in the river further contributing to the overflow.