PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a prompt assessment of the damaged Tangos-Tanza navigational gate, which was blamed for severe floodings in Navotas and neighboring cities when torrential rains brought by a typhoon-enhanced monsoon hit Luzon on Wednesday.
The President personally inspected the structure on Thursday.
“What is the remedy for that? Can we block it at least or is there something we can do? At least as an emergency measure, and then we can go back and repair it properly?” Marcos said during a briefing on the effects of the southwest monsoon enhanced by Typhoon Carina at the Presidential Security Command in Manila.
Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco. File photo
“I want to see what the damage is, is there something we can do? Let’s pour sandbag or something, I don’t know. We have to get an engineer to look at it and tell us what we can do so that the inflow of water would not continue. The flood is still high,” he added.
Marcos has directed the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to conduct a thorough evaluation of the structure.
He added that the two agencies could coordinate with the Armed Forces of the Philippines in ensuring the safety of the people in the area during extreme flooding.
Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the gates have been opened for two weeks now, and people affected by Wednesday’s floods have been requesting food.
The navigational gate was damaged when a fishing boat was forcibly towed through it in June. The incident resulted in the flooding of villages in Malabon and Navotas.
“The damage to the floodgate has caused so much inconvenience because the gate is supposed to block water during high tide. Navoteños would not be suffering if the floodgate had not been damaged,” Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco said in a statement.
Tiangco added that an upgrade was necessary because the gate was being overtopped during high tides of 1.8 to 2.1 meters.
He said that as early as 2022, he had requested the DPWH to fund the upgrade of the navigational gate.
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