More than 330,000 metric tons of silt and waste have been removed from about eight kilometers of river channels in Parañaque since September 2024 as cleanup operations continue under the Better Rivers PH initiative of San Miguel Corporation (SMC).

The massive cleanup is part of SMC’s commitment to support the government’s “Oplan Kontra Baha” program, which aims to mitigate flooding through river rehabilitation and improved water flow.

SMC Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang said that for the past 16 months, the company’s river cleanup crews have been working nonstop to desilt, clean, and rehabilitate waterways around the airport and other critical sections of the Parañaque river system.

Ang said the program is being carried out in close coordination with the Parañaque City government under Mayor Edwin Olivarez, to improve the drainage of floodwaters from Parañaque toward Manila Bay.

The removal of silt and waste, he added, is expected to help reduce flooding not only at the country’s primary international gateway but also in nearby communities.

SMC said the initiative aligns with the government’s Oplan Kontra Baha, led by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), in partnership with local government units and other agencies.

“We’re determined to continue delivering on our promise to our kababayans in southern Metro Manila — from Laguna to Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, and Parañaque — that we will improve the flow of water in their rivers to help address long-standing flooding problems. Since the launch of Oplan Kontra Baha in Parañaque last November, we have continued to make steady progress and solid gains,” Ang said.

At the Balihatar–San Dionisio Creek, where the multi-agency initiative was launched, SMC has already removed more than 21,918 tons of silt and waste from a 1.57-kilometer stretch of the waterway. Cleanup operations are progressing simultaneously downstream toward Parañaque and upstream toward Las Piñas.

Meanwhile, along the main channel of the Parañaque River, cleanup operations have reached the Pasay area, with a total of 152,365 tons of silt and waste removed from a 3.65-kilometer stretch.

SMC also continues cleanup efforts at the critical junction of the Don Galo River and the San Dionisio and Villanueva creeks to deepen the channel and increase water-carrying capacity and outflow to Manila Bay.

These efforts form part of SMC’s broader Better Rivers PH initiative, which has been ongoing for six years. The company said it has so far removed more than 8.7 million tons of silt and waste from major river systems, including the Pasig, Tullahan, and San Juan rivers, waterways across Bulacan province, the Pampanga River, and rivers in Alabang, Laguna, and Navotas.

To date, SMC has covered a total river length of 176.44 kilometers—making the initiative the largest river cleanup effort of its kind in the country.