Nieto’s flood finale: Mazinger Z to Voltes 5

Nieto’s flood finale: Mazinger Z to Voltes 5 | Daily Tribune

Robots of Japanese anime may have inspired the names, but for Cainta Mayor Keith Nieto, the “Mazinger, Daimos, Gundam, Voltron, and Voltes 5” of his administration are actually excavators, barges, and tractors deployed to fight flooding.

Although retirement is far from his mind, Nieto said his last mission is to solve the perennial problem of flooding in the town, Rizal province’s gateway to Metro Manila.

“Until it’s not solved, I feel that my government is incomplete. When my town is okay, I can rest,” he told reporters.

Over the years, the municipal government has invested in dredging equipment, pumping stations, and cistern tanks to contain floodwaters.

But unlike other towns that outsource work, Cainta runs its own operations. “I bought my own excavators… 34 tractors… 14 barges,” said the mayor, who had previously served three terms before his wife, Ellen, took over for a term.

“Gasoline is the only thing we spend on. The drivers are from us, the excavators are from us. So there’s no contract. It’s just us,” said Nieto, who had ordered the demolition of houses and other structures built along creeks.

“You’ve been there for decades. Maybe the year we gave you, now we need to get it back for the good of more people,” he told the residents affected by the demolition.

To mitigate flooding further, the local government has installed pump stations that push water out into natural outfalls. “It’s working,” Nieto said, adding that the combination of engineering measures and strict enforcement was slowly making a difference.

“I said, if I’m able to clean all of it, I’ll bring all of those seven excavators to the floodway. And we have 14 barges. That’s a lot. All of the robots of my time are already there. Mazinger, Daimos, Gundam, Voltron and Voltes 5. It’s complete,” Nieto said.

Still, he admitted the challenge is bigger than Cainta alone.

“Everyone knows that Cainta is one of the most affected by floods. But if you notice the data, we were not given a lot of funds by the national government,” he said. “If you can’t help us, don’t let our lives be affected by this.”

For Nieto, who oversaw social services, health programs, and infrastructure projects during his terms, the fight against floods remains the one unfinished chapter.

“This is the last challenge that faces me,” he said.

Nieto first served as mayor of Cainta in 2013 until 2022, completing three consecutive terms. His wife, a lawyer like him, then served from 2022 to 2025, before Nieto got himself elected anew this year.