Taytay, Rizal—Mayor Joric Gacula called on the national government to desilt the inland lake Laguna de Bay to avoid further disastrous floods in Metro Manila and Calabarzon.
Directing his call to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Public Works and Highways, the local chief executive said increasing the holding capacity of the country’s largest lake for rainwater and floodwater would spare surrounding communities from being deluged during the rainy season.
“The lakeshore towns get flooded when the waters of Laguna de Bay rise because of floods which do not empty into any area,” Gacula said in a radio interview last weekend.
Gacula said the local government of Taytay procured an amphibious excavator a month before the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses.
Gacula admitted both the DENR and the DPWH were better equipped than they were and as such hinted at the need for the national government to desilt the lake .
To date, there have been no reports of casualties in Taytay due to Ulysses, he said. Majority of their roads have also been cleared of floods.
Ulysses lashed parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila, Thursday, unleashing floods that submerged villages and displaced scores of families.
