After almost a week of non-stop rains brought about by Typhoons Egay and Falcon that also caused the enhancement of habagat, Metro Manila Council (MMC) President and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora stressed the importance of the coordination between the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and local government units (LGUs) in mitigating the adverse effects of the said weather phenomenons. "We are in close coordination with the MMDA and pagdating syempre sa flood control eh malaking tulong po ang MMDA satin. Sakto magkakaroon tayo ng pulong ng Metro Manila Council sa Martes at hihingi din ako ng assessment sa mga kapwa natin mayors sa kung ano nga ba yung naging lagay ng kanilang mga lungsod nitong mga nakaraang araw at kung ano man yung mga kailangan ng mga LGUs natin sa Metro Manila ay icocoordinate natin sa ating MMDA Chairman Atty. Don Artes (We are in close coordination with the MMDA who plays an integral part in our flood control initiatives. On Tuesday, the Metro Manila Council will convene where I will ask for an assessment from our fellow mayors on the situation of their cities in the past few days and determine what they need for it to be coordinated to MMDA Chairman Atty. Don Artes)," Zamora said in a radio interview. He then stressed the importance of the agency's pumping stations scattered around the metro that pump out water toward rivers which helps prevent flooding in different cities in the National Capital Region (NCR). The mayor also urged the public to refrain from disposing of their garbage on waterways and drainages which is one of the reasons f flooding. "Yun nga ho ang ating pakiusap sa ating mga mamamayan. Meron tayong responsibilidad na siguraduhing malinis ang ating daluyan ng mga tubig, mga drainage, kaya dapat eh maging responsable tayo. Magtapon tayo ng basura sa tamang lugar (This is my reminder to our citizens. We have the responsibility to ensure the cleanliness of our waterways and drainages. Let's all throw our garbages properly in the designated disposal areas)," Zamora reminded. "The government has to exert effort and our people have to exert effort as well for us to be able to solve the problem of flooding," he added. San Juan flood control efforts Meanwhile, the local chief discussed the city's flood control efforts and programs to ensure the safety of its residents near rivers and creeks. "Dito sa San Juan, yung mga drainage systems na medyo maliliit ang mga culvert ay nagpapalit tayo ng mas malalaki upang yung volume ng tubig na dadaloy ay mas lumaki. So malaking bagay kung yung mga kapwa nating LGUs ay magkaroon ng mga programa upang palakihin ang daluyan ng tubig (Here in San Juan, our drainage systems that have small culverts are replaced with much larger ones to increase the volume of water it can accommodate. I hope that our fellow LGUs will have the same program to increase the capacity of their respective waterways)," Zamora explained. He added that once the city government completes the construction of its last three pumping stations located along F. Manalo, Barangay Batis, and Barangay San Perfecto, San Juan City may already be declared as a flood-free city. The city government had also started the construction of its high-rise in-city public housing which aims to become the new home of San Juaneños who are living in the city's danger zones or those residents currently situated three meters from creeks and 10 meters within rivers. "Dalawa ho yang malaking gusali na sabay pong tinatayo ngayon at umaasa po tayo na pag pareho na itong naitayo matapos ang ilang taon, almost 1,000 families will be able to transfer (These are two large buildings wherein once completed in the coming years, almost 1,000 families will be able to transfer here)," the local chief said.