Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco demanded legal action against the company responsible for damaging the Tangos-Tanza Navigational Gate, emphasizing the urgent need for accountability.
He said that if the flood gate were operational, the city government’s 81 pumping stations would have been able to control flooding.
“In fact, during ‘Ondoy,’ flooding was controlled even if we only had 24 bombastik stations at that time,” Tiangco added.
The solon said he is closely coordinating with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the agency with jurisdiction over filing a case against the responsible company. He is determined to ensure that the owners of the boat and tugboats at fault are held accountable.
“We’re studying the legal options available to make those responsible for the damage of the navigational gate accountable,” Tiangco said.
The floodgate was damaged after a vessel, towed by tugboats, collided with it. This resulted in subsequent flooding in Navotas.
Tiangco emphasized that flooding in Navotas has already been managed since the city government built bombastik pumping stations, now at 81, that siphon water during heavy rains and high tide.
Tiangco also said the local government of Navotas continues to assist in evacuating residents from critical areas to the designated evacuation centers in each barangay.
Trucks have been deployed under the city’s Libreng Sakay program, which are plying the C4-Tangos and C4-SRV routes to provide assistance to residents.
Residents in need of emergency assistance can also contact the city government’s emergency hotline at 8281-1111 and TXT JRT numbers – 0917-521-8578 for Globe, 0908-886-8578 for Smart and 0922-888-8578 for Sun subscribers.
