Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) on Monday said its river cleanup initiatives at the Pasig and Tullahan Rivers, both major tributaries crucial to the rehabilitation of Manila Bay, have exceeded initial targets.
SMC President Ramon S. Ang said the company would aim to increase the daily extraction output from the two rivers in anticipation of potential monsoon rains that usually cause heavy floods in Metro Manila cities near the 27-kilometer (km) Pasig River, and the cities of Navotas, Malabon, Valenzuela, and Caloocan alongside the 27-km Tullahan River.
Both rivers empty out to the Manila Bay and were included in the list of the world’s top 10 rivers that pollute the oceans with plastic waste, according to a report by research web site Ourworldindata.org early this year.
The rivers also receive untreated sewage from households and nearby industries.
Pasig and Tullahan Rivers also suffer from heavy siltation limiting their capacity to receive floodwaters.
“We are proud of our crews’ dedication in getting the rivers cleaned, deepened, and widened prior to the rainy season. This has led to noticeable changes in flooding patterns, with no severe flooding incidents reported particularly in areas near Tullahan River, the past few months,”Ang said.
With the Pasig river’s waste and silt extraction output at 90,000 metric tons (MT) as of November 5, SMC expects to hit the 100,000-MT mark by the middle of November, as daily output has been increased from 1,400 to 1,700 MT per day.
“Once we reach and maintain at least 2,000 metric tons per day output starting this month, we will be on track to achieving our 50,000-metric ton monthly target before the year ends. To meet our goals, we are prepared to bring in more equipment and personnel to further expedite the process,” Ang said.