Pumping stations fail as flood infrastructure pilfered

Workers conduct repair works inside the Estero de Sunog Apog Pumping Station in Tondo, Manila on August 18, 2025.

The Philippine STAR / Edd Gumban

MANILA, Philippines — Stolen cables, valves and manhole covers are impairing flood control infrastructure in Metro Manila, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon lamented yesterday.

“Citizens must not steal or vandalize public assets. Stripping one small wire causes catastrophic flooding for thousands of families,” Dizon said.

Personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard have been stationed at the Sunog Apog Pumping Station and other vulnerable drainage facilities across the capital to prevent further sabotage.

At yesterday’s inspection of the Sunog Apog facility in Tondo, Manila, Dizon found that stolen high-voltage cables rendered the pumping station inoperative since Saturday.

Replacement cables were installed, restoring the pumping station’s operation yesterday before dawn.

“We worked tirelessly and spent massive public funds to restore this facility and for several weeks, residents enjoyed zero flooding despite heavy downpours,” Dizon told reporters.

Heavy-duty check valves, crucial for preventing backflow from the swollen Marikina River, were also stolen from the Tumana Pumping Station.

Stolen iron manhole covers along Roxas Boulevard have triggered car accidents.

Perpetrators will be arrested and scrap yards will be inspected, Dizon said.

“Before throwing them in jail, I want to dunk them into floodwaters first so they can feel the suffering our citizens go through just because they chose to strip specialized wiring for copper scrap,” Dizon said.

“I speak with raw frustration because we spent huge public funds and exerted massive effort to restore these facilities, only for thieves to ruin them for a few pesos at a junk shop,” he lamented.