On Wednesday, Navotas district Representative Toby Tiangco, called for the urgency on repairing the Tangos-Tanza Navigational Gate.
He emphasized that the floodgate would have prevented flooding in Navotas and other neighboring areas, had it not been damaged. In the past, only 24 Bombastik pumping stations were in operation. Tiangco said that flooding was controlled in 2009, when Typhoon Ondoy hit the city.
Compared to the 81 Bombastik pumping stations now, the damages made became a nuisance for the townspeople.
Tiangco also demanded that legal action be taken against the company that damaged the navigational lock. According to him, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) tried to stop the tear from getting bigger by asking them not to pull out the stuck vessel. However, the culprits did not listen, causing severe damage to the gate.
"Kaya nga sabi ko, talagang dapat may pananagutan yung nakasira nung floodgate. Dahil yung pagkasira ng floodgate, nung nabangga yung floodgate, dapat hindi na pinilit hilahin yung vessel na naandon (That's why I keep saying that the culprits need to take responsibility for the damaged floodgate. They should not have tried to pull out the vessel when the collision happened)," Tiangco said.
The effects of Typhoon Carina happened simultaneously with the 2-meter high tide and the destruction of the navigational gate. Officials said that the full repair of the floodgate can last until August this year, due to the labor-intensive repair process.
