“Flooding isn’t just a seasonal inconvenience. It’s an economic and humanitarian crisis”
EVERY rainy season, it’s the same sinking feeling. One night of torrential rain and much of Metro Manila turns into a waterworld—cars submerged, homes flooded, families stranded, businesses stalled.
As predictable as the flooding itself is the government’s response: statements of concern, traffic advisories, and the promise of long-term solutions that never quite arrive.
Amid this cycle of frustration, one voice—unlike the rest—has stood out. That of Ramon S. Ang, Chairman and CEO of San Miguel Corporation, who has publicly offered to solve Metro Manila’s flooding at no cost to the government.
At a time when billions are still tied up in delayed or underperforming flood control projects, when dredging, desilting, and waterway rehabilitation programs crawl under layers of red tape, Ang is volunteering engineering expertise, equipment, and funding to unclog the capital’s arteries.
This isn’t the first time SMC has stepped in to do what the government often struggles with. Their ongoing Pasig River cleanup, already yielding results, has removed over 2.3 million metric tons of silt and waste since 2021. The project—entirely self-funded—is transforming the river once deemed “biologically dead” into a functional waterway once more.
SMC has its Better Rivers PH initiative and has undertaken desilting in the Tullahan River, Marilao River, San Juan River, Paranaque River and other flood-prone tributaries, helping mitigate overflow that contributes to Metro-wide flooding.
Clean-up activities were also conducted in the Pampanga River and waterways in Laguna. These are not token efforts. These are engineering-scale interventions with long-term impact.
So when Ang says he can help solve Metro Manila’s flooding—especially through major flood management engineering like deep dredging, pumping stations, estuary rehabilitation, and even retrofitting flood retention basins—we should probably listen.
Flooding isn’t just a seasonal inconvenience. It’s an economic and humanitarian crisis.
In 2024 alone, flash floods in the NCR caused an estimated ₱4 billion in damage to property and infrastructure. Classes were suspended. Work was disrupted. Poor communities were worst hit, as always.
The causes are systemic: decades of urban overdevelopment, poor drainage infrastructure, illegal settlements along waterways, clogged esteros, and weakened environmental enforcement.
In a recent briefing, Ang said the solution to the flooding in Metro Manila is to remove obstructions—steel piles, streets, houses and even school buildings–erected over the waterways.
“Ang kailangan ng Metro Manila isa lang. Tanggalin yung mga steel piles na yan na nagbara ng ilog at tanggalin ang kalsada, housing, eskwela sa ibabaw ng ilog, solve na ang baha ng buong Metro Manila.”
In the same event, he also volunteered to help solve the flooding problem in Metro Manila “at no cost to the people, at no cost to the government,” offering to buy lands where the schools can be relocated and new housing units for those who will be displaced can be constructed.
He called on everyone to work together to address the problem instead of blaming one another.
What Ang and SMC offer is not a magic bullet—but a credible alternative to bureaucratic delay. A public-private solution driven not by profit but by purpose.
Too often, the government hesitates to accept private sector help, fearing political backlash, accusations of overreach, or simply losing control.
But if a reputable company is willing to fund, implement, and maintain solutions where public works have stalled—shouldn’t we consider that seriously?
Public-private partnerships don’t always have to come with conditions. Sometimes, they come with conviction. And if that conviction happens to come from a man and a company that have already proven their commitment to national development, then what are we waiting for?
Metro Manila’s flooding is not inevitable. It is the result of inaction, mismanagement, and lack of vision. Ramon Ang’s offer to help is more than generous. It’s a wake-up call.
Will the government take it? Will it let SMC do what needs to be done—before the next storm swallows the city whole?
Because while the waters will rise again, the question remains: who will rise with them?
(The author is president/chief executive officer of Media Touchstone Ventures, Inc. and president/executive director of the Million Trees Foundation Inc., a non-government outfit advocating tree-planting and environmental protection.)
