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Press Briefing Room, New Executive Bldg., Malacanang, | News Release below | Audio | http://www.pcoo.gov.ph/pnoy/Press%20Briefing,%2022%20June%202012.mp3 | Aquino monitors Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project President Benigno S. Aquino III inspected on Friday the Pasig River to check on the construction and improvement of revetments, parapet walls, and other structures, under the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project, in a bid to mitigate floodings in Metro Manila. During the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Friday, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) Secretary Ramon Carandang said Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson reported to the Chief Executive the substantial completion of Phase 2 of the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project. "There have been projects ongoing with the DPWH and the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) that are part of a comprehensive program to prevent the kind of systemic flooding that we've seen throughout Metro Manila," Carandang said. Phase II of the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project is about 99 percent complete. So that's what we saw, that's what we looked at. Then there is Phase II-B which is about 87 percent complete. We began in Bahay Pangarap, and we went all the way up to the Pasig-Marikina area, the Napindan Hydraulics Flood Control Structure," he said. The Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement aims for the improvement of the river channel stretching from Pasig River in Manila to the junction of the Pasig River and Marikina River. In order to mitigate the flood damage in Metro Manila caused by the overflowing of the Pasig-Marikina River Basin, the project involves the creation of a detailed engineering design for flood control, information campaign and the clearing of obstructions along river waterways that impede the flow of water. "Again, the idea here is to increase the holding capacity of the river so that it doesn't overflow so easily the next time there's a storm," Carandang said. Carandang said the DPWH, the DENR and other concerned goverment departments are coming up with a master plan for flood management in Metro Manila and the surrounding areas. Basically, what causes flooding in Metro Manila is when you have strong rains, the Wawa River tends to overflow into this tributaries and eventually lead to Pasig River. And because the volume of water is so great, you end up with floods in the Metro Manila area," he said. Funded under a loan agreement between the Government of the Philippines and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the project, under two contract packages with contractor Toyo Construction Company Limited, was implemented by the DPWH Major Flood Control Projects (Cluster 1)-Project Management Office under supervision of Project Director Patrick Gatan, according to the DPWH in an earlier statement. (js)