The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Manila city government have forged an agreement to construct underground rainwater impounding facilities at three strategic locations in Manila to mitigate localized flooding during heavy downpours.
The rainwater catchment systems will be established at Remedios Circle, Rajah Sulayman Park, and the Vito Cruz ASEAN Garden located within the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Complex.
MMDA Chairman Romando Don Artes and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno formalized the partnership on Tuesday through the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) at the MMDA headquarters in Pasig City.
Artes explained that the planned installations form part of a broader P4-billion rainwater impounding program designed to retain excess surface runoff during heavy downpours before discharging it into drainage channels once surrounding water levels subside.
“We just have to make sure those don’t overlap so there’s no waste,” Artes said, emphasizing the need for synchronized planning to avoid operational redundancy with existing flood mitigation infrastructure built by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).