I have always thought of Metro Manila’s waterways as the veins in my own body. When my veins are clear and flowing, I am healthy, energized, alive. But when they clog-when plaque builds up and the flow stutters-my entire being suffers. The same is true for the city I call home. Our esteros and rivers are Metro Manila’s circulatory system, and right now, they are on the verge of cardiac arrest.
The images from Parañaque still haunt me. On August 12, 2026, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stood before what he called a ‘critical’ situation-a ‘sea of trash’ so vast it required clearing operations hauling nearly 400 tons of garbage, the equivalent of over 70 dump trucks. Flashfloods had transformed the Redemptorist Water Channel into a grotesque exhibition of our collective negligence. I imagine the heavy debris-furniture, appliances, the discarded remnants of daily life- choking the pumping stations like blood clots in a dying artery, forcing the water to spill into streets and homes.
What struck me most about the President’s inspection was his observation that this was not merely local refuse. These were large discarded items, the kind that don’t appear by accident but by deliberate choice. Someone made the calculation that it was easier to abandon a broken sofa to the river than to dispose of it properly. Someone else decided that the waterway was a convenient grave for appliances that had outlived their usefulness. This was not poverty speaking; this was a culture of convenience, enabled by the absence of consequences.
I believe the solution requires what so many of our problems demand: strong political will. It is not a matter of ignorance-we all know that dumping trash into rivers is wrong. It is a matter of enforcement, of making the cost of convenience higher than the cost of compliance.
The path forward, I believe, must begin with reclamation. Every local government unit must find their original cadastral surveys and remember where their waterways actually are. Then they must do the difficult work: if structures have been built in these channels, they must be demolished. There is no other way for the water to flow freely, for the veins to pump cleanly again.
But demolition alone will not change behavior. We need immediate, practical solutions that empower citizens rather than merely punish them. I propose what I call a Penalty and Reward Ordinance-a mechanism that is budget-neutral and immediately implementable by any local government unit willing to try.
Here is how it would work: a mandatory fine of P1,000 for anyone caught dumping garbage into waterways. This is not excessive-it is the cost of a meal at a mid-range restaurant, a small price to pay for the collective damage caused by choking our city’s veins. But enforcement is the challenge, and this is where the ordinance becomes clever. Citizens who report violations via smartphone, providing photographic or video evidence, would receive a 50 percent reward-P500-for each successful conviction.
This creates a self-sustaining ecosystem of accountability. The fine pays for the reward, with the remaining P500 going toward administrative costs or waterway maintenance. The citizen becomes the eyes of the law, transforming every smartphone into a potential instrument of civic duty. The would-be dumper must now calculate not just the risk of a barangay tanod catching them, but the possibility that any passerby-the jeepney driver waiting for passengers, the vendor selling taho, the student walking home-might document their crime and be financially incentivized to report it.
Some might argue that this turns neighbor against neighbor. I would counter that it turns neighbor toward neighbor-toward the shared interest of a city that functions, that breathes, that does not flood every time the rain falls. We are already paying the price for clogged waterways: the damage to homes, the disruption of commerce, the disease that follows standing water. The P500 fine is not a punishment; it is a repayment of the debt owed to the community.
President Marcos spoke of long-term solutions-waste-to-energy programs, sustainable infrastructure, better waste management facilities. These are necessary dreams. But we cannot wait for infrastructure to solve a behavioral problem. We need immediate action that changes the calculus of convenience. We need to make the veins flow again, not someday, but today.
Our waterways are our veins. When they are clogged, we all suffer. But when they flow freely, the entire city comes alive. The choice-and the will to act-belongs to us.
Dual solutions for Metro Manila: Waste-to-energy and urban relocation
President Marcos is advocating for a waste-to-energy (WtE) program as a long-term solution to Metro Manila’s worsening garbage problem and the flooding that comes with it. He has set an initial implementation target for 2027, and the government has already taken steps to move the plan forward. In particular, the Department of Energy included roughly 400 megawatts of WtE capacity in the Green Energy Auction scheduled for October 13, 2026. If carried out effectively, this approach could help turn waste into usable power while reducing the volume of garbage that ends up in landfills.
While the WtE program may offer lasting benefits, Metro Manila’s local government units can also help address the crisis sooner. In my view, one urgent concern is the continued presence of residents who live along creeks, in violation of the legal easements of waterways. These communities are not only contributing to environmental damage by discarding waste into creeks and canals, but they are also using our waterways as toilets. This behavior can intensify public health risks and worsen existing problems in health and sanitation, especially during rainy seasons when water levels rise and contamination spreads more easily.
Some observers argue that certain politicians may ‘look the other way’ when informal settlers build shelters on creeks, partly because these residents are part of the voting public. However, it is precisely for that reason that local officials should act with seriousness and responsibility. The relocation of families living near waterways should be considered not as punishment, but as a protective measure. When flooding becomes severe, these communities face greater danger to their wellbeing. At the same time, the issue of clogged waterways remains a major driver of flooding, and the repeated cycle of desilting and clearing drains a significant amount of public funds-money that taxpayers ultimately shoulder.
Relocating residents away from waterways can therefore serve two purposes at once: it can reduce the causes of worsening flood conditions and it can ease the long-term costs of continuous cleanup. Just as importantly, it offers these communities a better chance at safer living conditions, especially when flash floods expose the vulnerability of settlements built in prohibited or high-risk areas. For these reasons, local officials should prioritize relocation efforts as a practical and humane step toward protecting both the public and the people most affected by the worsening flooding crisis. All these and other efforts can help President Marcos carry out plans to address Metro Manila’s garbage and flooding problems.
Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza is the Chairman Emeritus of the Federation of Philippine Industries and concurrent Chairman of the Anti-Smuggling and Anti-Illicit Trade Committee.