“Ang envisions a fleet of government-owned dredgers and barges, stationed strategically across the archipelago, working year-round”
SAN Miguel Corporation Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang has never been one to mince words.
When he says “dredging is the solution,” he’s not speaking from theory or political convenience. He’s speaking from the ground — and sometimes, the muddy riverbed itself.
Through SMC’s Better Rivers PH initiative, Ang has personally overseen the removal of millions of tons of silt and waste from the Tullahan, Pasig, and Las Piñas–Zapote rivers.
His men have braved the foul, murky waters of Malabon, Navotas, and Parañaque – armed not with slogans, but with backhoes and barges.
But in his latest remarks, Ang took that advocacy further. In a recent interview with Sol Aragones aired on Luzon News Media, he called out what many Filipinos have long whispered about: the existence of “ghost flood-control projects” – infrastructures supposedly built to protect communities from floods, but which never truly functioned, or worse, were never finished at all.
“We spend billions, yet the floods keep coming. Where are the supposed billions of flood control projects,” he asked.
Ang’s frustration mirrors the public’s. How many pumping stations are idle? How many drainage systems were reported as complete but collapsed or clogged at the first sign of rain?
In Bulacan, he notes, some projects exist only on paper. “If they were working,” Ang said, “then why is Bulacan still under water every rainy season?”
He is not blaming — he is challenging. For him, the solution lies in visible, mechanical, sustained action: dredging rivers, maintaining them, and investing in real equipment that works — backhoes, barges, dredgers, and dump trucks that can clean every river, estero, and creek in the country.
“Don’t just build flood-control projects. Maintain the rivers. Dredge them. Buy the machines – one for every province,” he said.
From Manila Bay to Laguna de Bay – and beyond
It is remarkable that Ang’s focus has now widened beyond Metro Manila’s rivers.
He wants the dredging model replicated in Bulacan, Pampanga, and Cavite, where rivers connect to Laguna de Bay and the northern floodplains. These are areas where clogged tributaries turn highways into lakes and homes into islands.
He stresses that flooding is interconnected. “When you dredge only Manila Bay’s outlets but not the rivers that feed into it, the problem simply moves upstream,” Ang explained. “You need to dredge from the mountains to the sea – every year.”
That’s why his vision for flood control is national in scale.
He envisions a fleet of government-owned dredgers and barges, stationed strategically across the archipelago, working year-round in partnership with private-sector efforts like SMC’s.
Ghost projects vs. real work
RSA’s candor about ghost projects is refreshing – and uncomfortable. It exposes a long-standing culture of infrastructure on paper.
These “ghost” flood-control works drain billions from public funds yet deliver no protection to ordinary Filipinos.
He lamented the recent flooding in Cebu brought about by Typhoon Tino and just recently the Super Typhoon Uwan that devastated several parts of the country.
Ang’s own example of doing a humanitarian act by dredging rivers to prevent flooding provides a stark contrast. His company publishes actual figures — cubic meters of silt removed, kilometers dredged, and barangays benefited. The work is verifiable, measurable, and ongoing. That’s what transparency looks like.
Reclaiming accountability through dredging
Dredging may not be glamorous, but it is honest work. It’s noisy, dirty, and tangible — the kind of nation-building you can measure in truckloads, not press releases. Ang’s message to government is simple:
• Procure proper dredging equipment — not just for show, but for sustained maintenance.
• Institutionalize river rehabilitation as a standing program, not a seasonal response.
• Audit flood-control projects to ensure funds result in functioning infrastructure, not ghost entries in a ledger.
RSA’s Dredging Doctrine
Ang’s dredging doctrine isn’t merely about machines. It’s about integrity, continuity, and common sense. It’s a reminder that the fight against flooding will be won not by ribbon-cuttings but by river-cleanings.
Floods are not inevitable. Neglect is.
And when a businessman stands in the mud to prove what government engineers have long promised, it tells us something profound about leadership: that vision isn’t just about seeing the future – it’s about clearing the path so the water can finally flow there.
(The writer, 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, is the official biographer of President Fidel V. Ramos.)
