Tiangco: DPWH lied about draining floodwaters during ‘Frank’
Navotas City Mayor Toby Tiangco yesterday sought to belie claims of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers that they operated their pumping stations as typhoon “Frank” passed through the country two weeks ago.
Tiangco aimed his tirade at DPWH engineers manning the Spine pumping station and floodgate on the Navotas side of Dagat-Dagatan.
“It’s not true they operated the pumps (as Frank hit the country). I ordered (Navotas) city engineer Lito Serrano to see if the pump was being operated. The pump couldn’t function because it was either in need of repair or the batteries had been discharged,” he said, adding that it was not because of the accumulated garbage at the Spine creek.
The mayor added that the Bangkulasi pumping station, “for whatever reason, also did not work.”
Francisco Cruz, a machine shop operator near the Spine station, corroborated Tiangco’s claim, saying the flood control machine did not function on the day “Frank” swept Metro Manila.
Tiangco also dared the engineers led by Joel Magtagnob, Camanava Flood Control Project assistant, to prove him wrong.
“Let’s open their own logbook,” the mayor said.
DPWH engineer Gilvis Indanan said on Thursday the Spine creek on Lapu-lapu Avenue in Dagat-Dagatan “could not properly serve its purpose because it is full of garbage,” mainly plastic waste.
He also said the pumping station consumed around 250 liters of diesel just to pump out floodwater to the sea during the recent typhoon.
Tiangco bristled at the insinuation that the garbage that clogged the pumping station came from Navotas.
“Since the Spine creek passes through parts of
The garbage and silt were removed from the Spine creek last Friday on Tiangco’s orders.
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