Insider Spotlight
SMC spends billions of pesos annually dredging and maintaining rivers across Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna and Cebu.
Ramon Ang wants more companies to adopt waterways, reducing reliance on government-funded river maintenance.
Ang proposes directing more flood-control funds toward housing, schools, healthcare and job creation.
Tycoon Ramon Ang said on Tuesday that private companies should step up and take on more of the work, freeing public funds for other purposes like schools, healthcare and housing, creating more jobs in the process.
P2 billion and counting
“San Miguel and I promise you, our fellow Filipinos, that despite accusations that I profit from cleaning rivers, we will continue spending money on this work,” the SMC chair and CEO said during a media briefing.
“I think the private sector may be the one that can really help. It should be similar to volunteer firefighting groups,” Ang said.
“Private companies should volunteer to clean and maintain rivers. I think that would be more effective, and it would also be free,” he added.
Billions spent, floods remain
This challenge comes as monsoon rains again submerged communities across Bulacan, Pampanga and Tarlac despite years of heavy flood-control spending.
Government budgets for flood control run into the tens of billions of pesos. Some financed long-term projects, while others—as the recent hearings on the flood-control corruption scandal revealed—were lost to ghost projects.
Ang said regularly clearing blockages was more cost-effective, while local government units could address problems on their end and make it easier for floodwaters to reach the rivers.
“Simple problem: remove things clogging waterways,” he said.
SMC said its river-cleanup work helps limit overflows even when several days’ worth of rain fell in a single day.
Spend it on people
“The flood-control budget could then be used to help our people. It could finance free housing, relocate families to higher ground, build more schools and provide medical treatment to people who are sick,” Ang said.
“I think that’s more important: school buildings, medical support and job creation. Hopefully, we will no longer need flood-control funds,” he added.
The tycoon then pledged that SMC would continue financing river cleanup across Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna and Cebu.
Since 2020, SMC says its Better Rivers PH program has removed more than 9.387 million metric tons of silt and waste from over 204 kilometers of waterways.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
