By Christopher Hedreyda
CALAMBA CITY, Laguna– Help is on its way for Laguna’s long-standing flooding problem after San Miguel Corp. (SMC) committed to implement flood control measures in the province at no cost to the government.
Laguna Governor Sol Aragones met with SMC President and CEO Ramon Ang last week and discussed potential collaborations, including the signing of an agreement to dredge Laguna de Bay and widen its connecting rivers and tributaries.
“This is not instant. There is a process to follow. But we are ready to wait because, finally, help has arrived,” Aragones said in a media statement.
She expressed optimism that the partnership would finally deliver a lasting solution to the province’s flood woes, emphasizing the importance of support from the House of Representatives, local government leaders, and the public.
She also announced the creation of a provincial task force that will include all LGUs, national government agencies, and multi-sectoral stakeholders to complement SMC’s efforts.
According to Ang, Laguna rivers have narrowed over time due to the construction of protective walls. Soil excavated from these river walls is often dumped back into the waterways, worsening siltation and making rivers shallower, he said.
“After building the wall, the dumped soil is no longer removed. That’s what causes flooding in Laguna. It’s the same problem all over the country. We keep building walls along rivers, and contractors just keep dumping soil into them,” Ang explained.
To address this, Ang and Aragones committed to finalize a memorandum of agreement (MOA) covering river dredging and bed expansion which seeks to provide flood protection benefits for the next 50 years.
The project will be carried out at no cost to either the national or provincial government and without tax credits or incentives to the corporation.
“We will sign a MOA with Governor Sol Aragones to widen all the rivers in Laguna. Our goal is to provide a long-term solution to the province’s flooding problem for the next 50 years. All narrow rivers will be widened by 30 percent of their current width,” Ang said.
The infrastructure giant also committed to conduct annual river maintenance and cleaning to ensure the sustainability of the project.
Since 2022, SMC has been working with the local governments of San Pedro and Biñan to clean and dredge rivers, citing the heavy buildup of silt as a major flood contributor.
As of July 2025, SMC’s river cleanup program, Better River PH showed that 87,899 metric tons of silt and solid wastes have been removed from Biñan’s river covering 3.2 kilometers of river channels while 53,774 metric tons of silt were dredged from San Pedro’s Tunasan River covering waterways of .830 km.
Based on the province’s hazard and risk maps, 18 cities and municipalities surrounding Laguna de Bay are among the most flood-prone areas, with some floodwaters taking three to six months to subside.
