THE HEAD of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has blamed España Boulevard’s old and clogged drainage system for persistent flooding in the area, saying the drains were too small to handle heavy rainfall and had nowhere to discharge excess water.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said during a Malacañang press briefing that the drainage system along España had not been replaced in decades and needed to be enlarged.
“Ang problema sa España talaga, unang-una, ang mga drainage lumang-luma na talaga ‘yan. Never pang napalitan ‘yan since, I don’t know, the last 50 years siguro. So kailangan nating palakihin,” Dizon said.
(The problem in España, first of all, is that the drainage system is very old. It has never been replaced in, I don’t know, perhaps the last 50 years. So we need to enlarge it.)
The Cabinet official was responding to a question about the Aug. 17 flooding at UST, which trapped students on the Sampaloc campus.
Dizon said the existing drains also had insufficient capacity to carry floodwaters away from España, causing water to overflow once they become full.
The DPWH will begin constructing four cross drains along España in September to divert floodwaters to esteros connected to the Pasig River.
“So kailangan ‘yung tubig dadalhin natin. Meron tayong gagawin na apat na cross drainages na didiretso, tatapon sa mga estero natin papuntang Pasig River sa Maynila,” he added.
(So we need to channel the water elsewhere. We will construct four cross drains that will lead directly to our esteros and toward the Pasig River in Manila.)
