Angat River in Bulacan (Freddie Velez)
At least 282.02 million cubic meters of mire, mud, and garbage are targeted to be removed from the receding rivers of Angat, Malolos-Calero; Malolos-Pamarawan channel, and from the Offshore Delta Bulacan at the coast of Bulacan province from Obando to Calumpit in the Manila Bay.
Governor Daniel R. Fernando announced this on Monday, May 5, after the sub-surface soil investigation, geological exploration, and geotechnical investigation conducted on the heavily-silted rivers in Bulacan.
In 2020, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) approved the dredging permit and clearance of Toreja's Construction Supply Corporation (TCSC) with help from the Bulacan Inter-Agency Committee for River Restoration Program which was organized under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order No. 2020-07 in rationalizing dredging activities in heavily-silted river channels.
Engineer Bernie Pacheco, vice president for mining and dredging of TCSC, explained that the four-kilometer seashore of Bulacan had already surfaced due to the 20 meters of mire and mud with garbage having blocked the area for decades.
To be excavated most will be the Malolos-Calero River with 139 million cubic meters of garbage, followed by the Angat River with 80.4 million cubic meter, Malolos-Pamarawan Channel with 40.7 million cubic meters, Offshore Delta Bulacan with 13 million cubic meters. and 8.7 million cubic meters in the Pamarawan River.
Pacheco said the TCSC will use state-of-the-art dredging machineries that have the capacity to dredge 1,500 to 2000 cubic meters per hour which will help speed up the deepening of the shallow rivers.
Fernando said the provincial government stands to gain revenues from the dredging activities - 10 percent in extraction fee and five percent environmental monitoring fee.