Pasig City’s long-term plan to curb flooding in its most flood-prone districts, including Pinagbuhatan, is now 80 percent complete, according to Mayor Vico Sotto.
Sotto said the Flood Control and Drainage Masterplan is designed to ensure that all future road and drainage projects are “connected, well-planned, and targeted at the root of the problem,” replacing the patchwork solutions that failed to deliver lasting results.
Recent works include nearly a kilometer of newly built roads with drainage in Acacia and Jabson, worth around ₱14 million. While this offers relief to nearby residents, Sotto noted that flooding remains persistent in Urbano Velasco Avenue and nearby streets such as Esguerra and Caliwag, where water can rise from gutter to knee level during heavy rains.
“The main cause is that when the river level rises, the creek’s level also goes up, and it is now higher than the roads. So even if drainage systems are working, the water has nowhere to go,” Sotto explained, referring to San Agustin Creek, which often overflows during storms.
To ease the problem, the city government, in partnership with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), is completing new pumping stations in Acacia. Sotto said a long-term fix still depends on dredging both San Agustin Creek and the Marikina River to restore the natural flow of floodwaters.
Once completed, Pasig’s comprehensive masterplan will unify all drainage, pumping, and river rehabilitation projects under a single framework to tackle flooding at its source.
