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10M signatures for river dredging sought

MANILA, Philippines -- Marikina residents severely hit by typhoon Ondoy are seeking 10 million signatures to compel the national government to “once and for all” dredge and clear the Pasig River and Laguna Lake of obstructions to allow floodwaters to flow freely into Manila Bay.

“The clearing and the dredging may not be the final solution but itv will certainly prevent a repeat of a devastation of such scale,” the group called “Samahan ng Mga Biktima ni Ondoy (Association of the Victims of Ondoy)” said in a statement.

The group called on nongovernment organizations, church groups, environmental groups and local governments to join the multi-media campaign. They said they were hoping to spread the word via text messaging and through the social networking site Facebook.

The group demanded that the dredging and clearing operations be completed before the onset of the typhoon season in 2010, so they could have "peace of mind.”

“La Niña conditions are expected during next year’s rainy season, which means heavier precipitations and more floods,” the group said.

They added that they were not expecting the government to act on its own and that the signature campaign has been intended to “force the government to act on the matter with dispatch.”

Flood waters in Marikina City reached almost 17 meters above sea level.

“The water could not flow to Laguna de Bay because its own level is also already very high at almost 16 meters, about five stories high. In spite of this height, the water of the lake in turn could not freely flow out to Manila Bay because of the obstructions in the lake and the silted, shallow, and garbage-obstructed Pasig River,” the group said.

The group said the immediate solution lay in increasing further the emptying of floodwaters to the sea, which could be accomplished by either reviving the archived Parañaque Spillway project or widening the Pasig River or both.

The dredging and clearing of esteros and other secondary waterways by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority would also help significantly, the group said.

“But the agency must be given more funds, more teeth, and more cooperation from local executives in Metro Manila. The idea of criminalizing the throwing of garbage into and the construction of obstruction along waterways should be considered seriously,” they said.

The group also asked for a review of the operation of various floodgates along the Marikina and Pasig Rivers, which were built to prevent the flooding of Malacañang at the expense of lower lying areas like Taguig, Pateros, and Marikina.

“Even if the Pasig River is dredged and cleared, wrong operational policies in the timing of the opening and closure of the gates will contribute to flooding,” the group said.

The group also asked Facebook users to join the “Biktima ni Ondoy.”

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