'GMA left behind only flood plans'

MANILA, Philippines - While his government was busy trying to mitigate the consequences of massive flooding in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, President Aquino yesterday blamed his predecessor for leaving behind mere “plans” to solve the perennial problem.

“What is hard here is I just inherited the plans – one of them is the dredging of Laguna Lake,” the President told evacuees in Montalban, Rizal, in reference to a government project he called off in late 2010 due to its apparently dubious nature.

Aquino informed the evacuees that he cancelled the P18.7-billion project since it had no use and would just be a waste of government resources that would entail transferring silt from one end of Laguna lake to the other.

“There is a need to cancel it so that water would increase. It would be foolhardy to spend P18.7 billion just to play with mud. We can use it perhaps in Valenzuela where there is a nine-kilometer dike,” he said.

The government cannot release government funds, which came from taxpayers’ money, just to collect four million cubic meters every year of mud from Laguna lake, and remove the total 12 million cubic meters – only to transfer it to the other side. 

Aquino again took a swipe at former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now a congresswoman from Pampanga, saying the government is more prepared and equipped now to handle such disasters, compared to the past administration.

“So, you can expect… maybe you have noticed that the government now did not come up short (as it did during) during ‘Ondoy,’” he said in Filipino, referring to the tropical storm that practically submerged the metropolis in September 2009 and left around 300 dead.

Aquino already made the rounds last week in affected areas in Metro Manila, among them the cities of Muntinlupa, Quezon City, Marikina, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela.

Other provinces severely affected have likewise been inspected like his home province Tarlac, Pampanga, Bataan and Bulacan. Over the weekend, he visited the towns of Montalban and Cainta in Rizal province and Pasay City as well.    – With Rey Galupo

Aquino thanked Rizal Gov. Jun Ynares for making sure that help is extended to those in need during the calamity. He also made special mention of Aurora Rep. Sonny Angara, who will be instrumental in pushing the House to approve key measures of government.

Garbage problem in Manila

Meanwhile, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim appealed to all Manila residents to cooperate in speeding up the city government’s efforts in clearing all the streets of garbage.

Manila city hall’s department of public services chief ret. Col. Carlos Baltazar reported that the volume of garbage in the aftermath of the rains and floods has gone up five times, compared to the already voluminous trash collected during Ondoy.

Lim also directed city engineer Armand Andres to mobilize the district engineers in each of Manila’s six districts to repair all potholes and other destruction caused by the heavy flooding.

“I hope everyone helps with the problem. There should be citizen involvement in this problem. We should not leave this to the government,” he said.

Baltazar said that on a daily basis, at least 1,900 tons of garbage are collected during normal weather and during storm-related calamities, the volume increases five-fold and includes water-damaged appliances and furniture.

However, a city hall employee told The STAR that the cleanup could take days even if they are working overtime to bring back Manila to normal. – Rey Galupo