BBM presses Navotas floodgate repairs

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Saturday inspected the ongoing repair work at the North Navotas Pumping Station (NNPS), months after a key floodgate was damaged and as typhoons and monsoon rains pummeled parts of Luzon.

Marcos was joined by Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco and Representative Toby Tiangco, who briefed him on the persistent flooding in coastal neighborhoods and the urgent need to restore the pumping station’s full operations.

The NNPS, under the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), serves as a vital defense against both inland flooding and seawater intrusion from Manila Bay.

On 11 May, its navigational gate sustained damage after a vessel slammed into it in 2024 — a blow that left low-lying communities increasingly vulnerable as the storm season set in.

“Once the gate is shut, the pumping station begins operations, discharging floodwaters back into Manila Bay,” said Michael Doce, chief of the MMDA’s Pumping Station and Flood Gates Division.

Doce noted that the President’s visit injected new urgency into the stalled repairs.

But with the monsoon rains already wreaking havoc and weather disturbances forecast to continue, the timing of the presidential inspection raised questions.

Critics said this was the kind of maintenance issue that should have been addressed long before the storms struck.

NNPS chief Flocy Ismael said repairs were ongoing and are targeted for completion by 8 August. He cautioned, however, that weather conditions may affect the pace of work.

The delayed repair of the floodgate, a key component in containing tidal surges, has made surrounding barangays more prone to waist-deep flooding, especially during high tide.

Residents in some parts of Navotas have been wading through floodwaters for days, with only intermittent relief from sandbags and portable pumps.

While Marcos underscored the government’s commitment to accelerating flood mitigation projects, the damaged gate has become a stark reminder of how infrastructure lapses — left unresolved for weeks — can turn into larger public risks.