Mandaluyong City Mayor Menchie Abalos expressed her full support for the national government's Bayanihan sa Estero program on Thursday, Nov. 21, noting the considerable improvement in Metro Manila's flooding situation after the program's launch.

Abalos made the statement during the cleanup drive held at Buhangin Creek in Barangay Plainview. Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Don Artes was also present during the event.

During the cleanup, the officials found out the need for the creek's dredging for it to become deeper and be able to hold more than enough rainwater to prevent flooding in the city.

Artes said the MMDA will send out heavy equipment to help the city government with the dredging effort.

"The dredging of our creeks will be a big help and at the same time, the informal settlers previously living here have now been relocated at the city's temporary shelters. They were the ones who lost their homes in a previous fire. I thought that the housing project of the city government for them would be finished this year, but it turns out it won't be. The housing project would probably be finished by next year," Abalos explained.

"At the same time nagrequest nga ako kay chairman na kung 'yung ating mga estero ay mababawasan ng silt or burak, I'm sure mababawasan ang baha dito sa may Ortigas at sa may City Hall kasi iyan 'yung mga nakaconnect dito sa aming mga drainage kaya kailangan talaga mabawasan at lumalim (At the same time, I requested to the chairman that if the silt or sludge in our creeks would be lessened, I'm sure that the flooding here in Ortigas and at the City Hall will be greatly reduced as well because those are the ones that are connected to our drainages. This means the silt and sludge should really be reduced and the creek to be deepened)," she added.

The mayor said that ever since the MMDA started the estero cleanup drive and dredging of Maytunas Creek in San Juan City, the flooding situation in Mandaluyong reduced significantly and became much more tolerable than before.

Earlier this month, the Metro Manila Council (MMC), composed of the 17 mayors of Metro Manila, together with the MMDA, expressed its full support for President Marcos Jr.'s “Oplan Kontra Baha,” which aims to reduce flooding in Metro Manila by up to 60 percent through continuous dredging, desiltation, and clearing of major waterways which will run for nine months.

The project is a large-scale inter-agency cleanup operation aimed at clearing waterways in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Rizal, Bulacan, Laguna, and Cavite of about 4 million cubic tons of garbage and other debris to ensure the continuous flow of rainwater and preventing it from accumulating and spreading to towns and cities.

The operation will involve various combined actions by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), local government units (LGUs), the MMDA, and even the private sector who pledged their support for the project through the lending of heavy equipment necessary for the cleanup operation.

The repair and reactivation of unused pumping stations in Metro Manila are also included in the plan, with the MMDA set to deploy mobile pumps in flood-prone areas.

Part of the operation is the demolition of houses and other structures built alongside the cities' creeks and waterways that obstruct the flow of water and pose a grave threat on those living in it.