'Metro Manila is sinking'

MANILA, Philippines - The entire Metro Manila has started to “sink” to global warming, floods and to the rampant setting up of illegal fishponds in nearby provinces, an expert from the University of the Philippines’ (UP) Marine Institute said Thursday.

Dr. Fernando Siringan of the UP Marine Science Institute made the revelation when he explained why there was massive flooding in Metro Manila in recent weeks even in the absence of a typhoon.

“Ang isang major point is lumulubog ang lupa sa Malabon at hindi lang Malabon. Actually, the entire Metro Manila is sinking. And we said you’ll have to consider that it’s sinking and not slowly, it’s sinking at several centimeters per year,” Siringan told the Senate committee on climate change.

He said that Malabon is “sinking” by several centimeters every year and the sea level is “rising because of global warming by almost one centimeter per year.”

Siringan also pointed out that there is no sense in dredging rivers if it will be filled by trash. “Walang bisa na laliman ng laliman ang ilog because it will be filled up by sediments anyway,” Siringan said.

He said that particularly in the Camanava area (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela), the rising sea level as well as the subsidence of soil should be considered in the conduct of anti-flood projects.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had apparently ignored the UP Marine Science’s recommendation.

“May mga lugar sa Malabon mismo na 10 centimeters every year (subsidence). May mga lugar sa Pampanga at sana kung nakinig ang Pampanga noon pa, halos kalahating metro ang isang taong pagbaba ng lupa,” Siringan said.

Sen. Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate committee on climate change, said there are many reasons why there was massive flooding in the metropolis.

“This is not new because we have been saying this even before. Many areas are sinking every year so this should be incorporated in the planning of projects in the affected areas,” Legarda said.

Legarda said that in the long term, there is a need to clear up water ways, rivers and lakes.

The senator said there is also a need to remove human settlements in major drainage systems.

“We will collate all of these together so that we will be able to have a framework on how to address the massive flooding in the metropolis,” she said.