San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has officially brought its Better Rivers PH initiative to Cebu, launching a major cleanup and rehabilitation effort along the Butuanon River in Mandaue City. The project aims to help ease persistent flooding in the metro area by removing silt, debris, and solid waste from the waterway.
The Cebu project expands a river rehabilitation campaign that has already removed nearly 9.2 million metric tons of silt and waste from more than 190 rivers across the Philippines. The initiative supports the government’s Oplan Kontra Baha program and will focus on a four-kilometer stretch of the Butuanon River, starting from the Mandaue City side.
The Butuanon River, which runs through Mandaue City and borders Cebu City, has long been identified as one of the most flood-prone waterways in the metro. Over the years, rapid urbanization, illegal settlements along the riverbanks, and unchecked waste dumping have narrowed the river’s capacity to handle heavy rainfall, leading to frequent overflows during the rainy season.
Mandaue City has been actively pursuing the rehabilitation of the Butuanon River, with the local government allocating P13 million as counterpart funds for restoration work. Mayor Luigi Quisumbing previously reported that close to 10 percent of the river had already been rehabilitated through earlier efforts.
With SMC’s involvement, the cleanup is expected to accelerate significantly. The Better Rivers PH program uses heavy dredging equipment and systematic waste removal to restore the depth and flow of rivers. The program has already proven effective in Laguna, where SMC removed nearly 88,000 tons of silt and solid waste from the Biñan River alone.
Residents of Mandaue City and nearby areas in Cebu are hopeful that the expanded cleanup will bring tangible relief from flooding, especially as the rainy season approaches. Community leaders have also called for stricter enforcement of easement zone regulations to prevent structures from encroaching on the river’s three-meter buffer zone.
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