Shanties along Pateros river torn down to prevent floods

11/06/2009

The Pateros municipal government has started tearing down shanties constructed along the Sto. Rosario River to clear up the waterways.

Pateros Mayor Joey Medina said the residents of these informal settlements have been relocated to the newly built Gawad Kalinga (GK) houses that served as evacuation sites for displaced families during typhoon “Ondoy’s” onslaught.

Nearly 100 families availed themselves of new homes under the GK housing program which has been in place since October 2007.

Medina said the demolition of the shanties as well as the subsequent clean-up and de-clogging of Sto. Rosario River was done as a means of easing out the floodwaters caused by the typhoon.

The mayor noted the informal settlements were not built along the riverbanks but on the mainstream itself, putting their occupants in constant danger.

Pateros is among the several areas in Metro Manila that are still submerged in floods spawned by Ondoy. Over 4,500 families were displaced during the height of the typhoon.

The demolition was carried out jointly by the Engineering Department, Environmental Sanitation Center, Municipal Social Welfare Development Office, Urban Poor Affairs Office and Office of the Mayor’s Executive Assistant. Pat C. Santos

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