A Metro Manila congressman is espousing science-based solutions coupled with disciplined waste disposal to finally put an end to perennial flooding in the country’s low-lying communities. 

Parañaque City 2nd district Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan said that while band-aid fixes can instantly mitigate flooding, local government officials should also strictly impose laws on proper waste disposal and segregation, and cooperate with the national government in finding science-based solutions to the longstanding problem of flooding. 

“May short-term solutions tayo (We have short-term solutions), we bring in the backhoes, the mobile pumping stations, and the dredgers to clear the creeks. But the long-term solution is science-based urban planning and discipline,” said Yamsuan in a recent online interview.

Local government units (LGUs) should also address the problem of informal settlements in their respective communities, he said. 

Yamsuan’s home city of Parañaque has consistently suffered from severe flooding during heavy downpours for over a decade. 

While it is easy to blame people for illegally dumping their trash on the streets and waterways, he says LGUs should also implement programs that would make it easy and accessible to properly get rid of one's garbage. 

For instance, Yamsuan said LGUs can place garbage bins with waste segregation containers  in strategic areas where people can easily bring and dispose of their trash. 

This system should be accompanied by the strict enforcement of penalties for violating laws and local ordinances on proper waste disposal, said the former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) assistant secretary.

“Leadership should be shown by way of programs that people will really follow. For example, in Parañaque, if you are the local government, why not put trash bins in strategic places where people can go to properly dispose of their garbage?” Yamsuan said. 

Yamsuan has been regularly coordinating with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon o to ease flooding in low-lying areas of Parañaque’s 2nd district, where floodwaters have reached waist-deep in the past few days as a result of the heavy rains brought by the Southwest Monsoon or "Habagat".

Dizon has sent equipment such as backhoes and mobile water pumping stations to help floods subside quickly in Parañaque’s inundated communities. 

On top of conducting declogging and dredging operations, Dizon had also earlier pledged to begin the implementation of a flood interceptor project along Dr. Santos Avenue, where flooding usually occurs. 

Dizon said he will also propose funding under the 2027 national budget for the upgrading of old dikes in the city and the construction of detention basins beneath basketball courts and open spaces, similar to projects implemented in Manila and Quezon City.