Manila Guide Online

Reports have shown that Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando denied report that he put to waste a P1-billion flood warning system. According to a report which appeared in Newsbreak, the flood warning system could have been used to minimize the loss of lives and damage to property. Although some people might say this, the worst has come and it is our responsibility to learn and help one another.

MANILA, Philippines—Denying a report that he put to waste a P1-billion flood warning system, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando on Sunday said the equipment was still “operational but obsolete.”

Fernando said the Effective Flood Control Operation System (Efcos) was actually the basis for an evacuation warning issued to Marikina City residents at around 1 a.m. on September 26, the day Tropical Storm “Ondoy” submerged Metro Manila and nearby provinces in deep floodwaters.

He added that another warning was issued at 3 a.m. on the same day.

“As early as 1 a.m., there was a warning for Marikina residents to evacuate. The city was not yet flooded at the time,” he told listeners of “MMDA sa GMA,” the agency’s weekly program on radio station dzBB.

According to a report which appeared in Newsbreak, the flood warning system could have been used to minimize the loss of lives and damage to property.

Quoting sources, the report said Fernando let the equipment deteriorate because the cost of maintaining it outweighed its usefulness.

Financed by Japan, the 1992 project, Newsbreak said, gathered data from water gauges and water level stations which would provide authorities with “advance information on any overflowing of riverbanks along the stretch of the Pasig River, thus alerting them for potential flooding.”

It added that Efcos stopped operating in May 2008 due to budget problems.

Our government is one of the reasons that floods and lives were crushed. They should at least do something about their acts and responsibilities.

Major parts of the Philippines went under water today as tropical storm “Ondoy” unleashed its wrath, leaving thousands stranded and residents climbing to their rooftops for drier ground.

While the provincial regions like Pampanga are known to suffer these flash floods every time there is a storm, Metro Manila was totally unsuspecting of the floods that hit major parts of the country. Hard hit countries included Marikina, Quezon City, San Juan and Paranaque which are still seeking help from rescue teams. The power for these affected parts of the metropolis was also cut by MERALCO to avoid further casualties from execution.

Here are some video footages taken by local residents tied up with the destruction that Typhoon “Ondoy” caused.