Solon seeks balance between short- and long-term fixes vs flooding

MANILA, Philippines — While quick fixes are also important to address the country’s perennial flooding problem, Parañaque Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan said that there has to be a balance between short-term and long-term solutions that are based on science.

In a statement on Friday, Yamsuan said that officials of local government units (LGUs) should also impose stricter rules on waste disposal to ensure that efforts will not be put to waste just because of a garbage problem.

Yamsuan, a former undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, also said that LGUs have to work with the national government in finding science-based solutions to address floods.

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“May short-term solutions tayo (We have short-term solutions); we bring in the backhoes, the mobile pumping stations, and the dredgers to clear the creeks. But the long-term solution is science-based urban planning and discipline,” Yamsuan said in an interview with Bilyonaryo News Channel, portions of which were included in his statement.

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The lawmaker said it is easy to blame residents for improper waste disposal, but he said that LGUs have to do their share too—as there has to be a system or infrastructure in place that would prompt people to dispose of their trash in an easy and accessible manner.

For instance, Yamsuan said LGUs can place garbage bins with waste segregation containers in strategic areas, so that residents can dispose of their trash properly.

“Leadership should be shown by way of programs that people will really follow. For example, in Parañaque, if you are the local government, why not put trash bins in strategic places where people can go to properly dispose of their garbage?” he noted.

Parañaque is one of the areas over the southern portion of Metro Manila which have been affected by floods. After weeks of heavy rains due to the intensified southeast monsoon, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said that the metropolis is encountering a “garbage crisis” after authorities were able to collect 500 tons of trash from the Baclaran estero alone.

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READ: Dizon declares ‘garbage crisis’ as Baclaran estero cleanup hits 500 tons

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself, during his inspection of dredging projects in Las Piñas, attributed the flooding experienced by some areas in Metro Manila to a garbage problem.

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The state of waterways in Baclaran has a direct effect on how water from cities in the southern portion of Metro Manila will move during heavy rains.

The issue has even prompted Yamsuan’s fellow lawmaker from the southern part of Metro Manila, Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos, to call for a uniformed anti-littering ordinance and the employment of anti-garbage police for all LGUs within Metro Manila.

In a statement on Thursday, Santos said the two proposals would allow LGUs to address improper waste disposal, which is still considered one of the top reasons why floods continue to affect the National Capital Region—due to drainages and waterways being blocked by garbage.

READ: Solon seeks uniform NCR trash rule, anti-garbage police to avoid floods

According to Santos, Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 200 already prohibited littering and the improper disposal or scattering of garbage in public places.

For his part, Yamsuan said he has been regularly coordinating with Dizon and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to ease flooding in low-lying areas of Parañaque’s second district.

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Yamsuan said Dizon has sent equipment such as backhoes and mobile water pumping stations to help floods subside quickly. The lawmaker said that Dizon has previously pledged to begin the implementation of a flood interceptor project along Dr. Santos Avenue, where flooding usually occurs. /cb