Lawmaker seeks funds to repair Manila's drainage system

MANILA, Philippines - A Manila congresswoman called on President Arroyo yesterday to order the release of additional funds to rehabilitate the Blumentritt drainage system connecting the waterways of Sampaloc and Tondo before the rainy season.

Manila Rep. Ma. Theresa Bonoan-David said the cleanup of the waterways is not enough to prevent 70 percent of the Sampaloc district from experiencing floods. Plans are afoot to rejuvenate the whole drainage system in the Sampaloc district to prevent floods along Manila’s major streets, she said.

“The existing system needs major rehabilitation and a new one must also be built as garbage and the volume of water have clogged canals for many years,” she said.

Bonoan-David said the new pumping station in Abucay, Tondo, would be “ineffective if the drainage system is already old and clogged up with garbage.”

The Sampaloc district hosts the University Belt, and at least 170,000 elementary and high school students are forced to wade through floodwaters during the rainy season, she said. – Nestor Etolle