Recto underpass now passable

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim opened both sides of the Recto underpass to vehicular traffic yesterday.

Workers from the city engineer’s office and the department of public services worked overtime to clear the area of floodwater, mud and debris brought about by several days of heavy rainfall.

Lim commended the city officials and personnel who worked hard to siphon 16 feet of floodwater that filled up the underpass.He also expressed satisfaction that the unclogging of the underpass was done earlier than expected – experts said it would take at least three days before it could be made passable again.