The unceasing inundation in Tabing-Ilog: Will it ever end?

Marilao, a municipality in Bulacan known for its food, the SM City Marilao, its rich culture and history, which was part of the Philippine-American war; Battle of the Marilao River (March 27, 1899). The infamous "Marilao River", Conserve Energy Future (CEF), one of the world's leading eco-conscious websites, has identified the top 19 most polluted rivers in the world which Marilao River ranked 6. Locals even called the Marilao River, "Basurahan ng Bulacan" as trash from all over the Province of Bulacan flows through it before it empties in Manila Bay thus polluting the bay even more. One of the major area affected by the flooding is the Barangay Tabing-Ilog, ironically named after being nearby an "Ilog" (River). Let's take a look at The unceasing inundation in Tabing-Ilog, and will it ever end?

We conducted a survey for our case study around the neighborhood of Tabing-Ilog, asking locals about their experiences with flood and the Marilao River. All of their responses were almost the same addressing the problem with the river. "Minsan pakiramdam ko di ako ligtas dahil sa mas lumalala at tumataas na baha", response from Mercy whose lived at Tabing-Ilog for only 4 years and had experienced as what she described as "Pinakamalalang baha ng buhay ko" type of flood.

"Sobrang taas na baha na ang hirap na isalba ang mga gamit" A saddening statement from Teresita Riveral, 64, and has lived every single day of her life since birth in Tabing-Ilog, Marilao. Witnessing as the floods through the years got worse and worse and even the situation of the Marilao River she witnessed and even said that "Dati nakakaligo pa kami diyaan at nakakapaglaba, ganon talaga siya ka linis dati pero ngayon wala na, pinabayaan na talaga". 

As we gathered more statements from the residents, we observed that the way that Tabing-Ilog's drainage system works; it does not work at all. It may seem like it's doing the job but it doesn't really as trash just gets stuck through the drainage thus causing quicker up rise of flood. Residents also did point this out as Jayson Bea, 22, said "Patag yung bahay namin na halos katapat talaga ng kalsada kaya sobrang dali lang pumasok ng baha kapag tumaas na at grabe na rin yung kanal sobrang barado at mukhang pantay na nga rin siya sa kalsada dahil parang wala na nagagawa yun para magpigil ng baha". 

We tried to reach an official, the DRRMO in-charge Mr. Maymar Abel but we couldn't get a hold of him to conduct a personal interview but we managed to contact him through messenger and thus he provided his insights to us but he wasn't able to release any official papers from the barangay's office. 

We pointed out to him the construction of a new dike along the Marilao River, specifically the one running through Tabing-Ilog. We asked if he thinks that the dike is a good solution to the flooding in Tabing-Ilog and if it's for him, sufficient to stop any future floods. And the garbage building up to the other side of it and it even had some river water stuck on that side and have nowhere to go other than the neighborhood when rain starts, we asked about their plan on cleaning it up. 

Although the gathered information was very little, it provided another perspective on the issue, which was from an official. A lot of factors have affected the intensity of the floods in the area, and one of the biggest causes to it is the construction of the NSCR project, as the construction of the railway goes through the Marilao River, where the support beams gather garbage from a lot of neighborhoods that the Marilao River runs through. The reconstruction of roads made parts of the barangay uneven, which causes unpredictable and sometimes even more destructive floods even when there isn't any heavy rain or an actual typhoon. The construction of the dike was not tested yet as there haven't been any heavy rains or typhoons that had struck the residence but the construction of the dike left a gap between the road and the actual river which stocked water from the river and garbage that has nowhere to go. Tanneries, textile factories, piggeries, household wastes and municipal dumps also add to the garbage and the worsening case of flood.

We then set-out to find a Registered Civil Engineer, the ones who knows about drainage and flows and might help with understanding if the dike is enough to stop the flooding. We got a hold of Engr. Chris Aiza Mae J. Apordo, RCE to consult about the reliability of the dike built along the Marilao River. 

It was confirmed that the dike is not sufficient enough to stop a flooding although they stated that the dike might be able to help in stalling a freshet, enough to help the residents buy time to prepare for the flood such as raising their valuables and furnitures to protect it from the incoming flood or evacuate their houses if the situation suggests so. The architect also stated that the side of the dike where the houses and roads are should be cleared out from any type of trash and debris as it could just help on polluting the environment thus creating a bigger threat of flooding and other incidents caused by it. 

"I think it's efficient and practical for the government to use dikes in rivers because there are times where the river current can become highly unpredictable as well as the water level especially during typhoons and rainy season. Utilization of river dikes also help people around the vicinity of the river to prepare for impending floods/overflowing. In addition, river dikes also play an important role in maintaining the cleanliness of our rivers in a way that solid waste monitoring in bodies of water becomes somewhat reliable and more accessible to the public, which can be very crucial in preventing floods.

Based on the images of the dike in Tabing-Ilog Marilao, Marilao River, it does look like a considerably decent dike. But what is not practical though is the way it was constructed on the site. The trash build up just projects a big threat of pollution when it gets to the river as if the Marilao River is not polluted enough. It should be cleared of any trash and debris as it may become a bigger threat. The dike in a practical situation may not be enough to fully stop flooding as the drainage may not be that capable of holding in the water and the addition of garbage pollution, it is enough though to buy time for residents to prepare for the flood or evacuate their properties if they have to."

Following this story, several efforts from the municipality of Marilao to clean the river were made, only the river not the areas surrounding it. They did not clean around the parts of the river, they even just left it there on the other side of the river. The river was cleaned but the areas surrounding it are not. They even left out cleaning the drainage and as June, the rainy season is approaching it may be too late to actually prevent the upcoming waves of freshet in Tabing-Ilog.

Prepared by: John Juniel B. Concepcion, Group 13