Mandaue City is accelerating major drainage improvements and river cleanup projects to safeguard residents from the upcoming southwest monsoon season. Under the direct orders of Mayor Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano, local offices and contractors are concentrating efforts on the city's most flood-prone communities. This urgent initiative comes as the city braces for heavy seasonal rains that frequently overwhelm infrastructure and disrupt daily life.
Changing How the City Handles Floodwaters
The primary challenge for Mandaue is managing the immense volume of water during severe weather. While older infrastructure often left areas submerged in waist-deep or chest-deep water, the current upgrades aim to accelerate water runoff significantly. City officials acknowledge that climate change and mountain runoff make it impossible to eliminate flooding entirely, but the new infrastructure targets reducing water levels to ankle-deep depths that recede quickly.
Fixing Bottlenecks in Local Drainage
A major cause of localized flooding is structural bottlenecks that trap stormwater in low-lying areas. To address this, the city is constructing a bypass drainage system in Barangay Tipolo, connecting drainage lines from the national highway directly to Tipolo Creek. The new line cuts through a private warehouse property to create a direct outlet for water. Originally scheduled for completion in May, the project received a one-month extension to late June due to excavation delays caused by underground electrical and telecommunications lines. Similar drainage openings completed near the Cebu Rolling Hills Memorial Chapel on A.S. Fortuna Street have already proven effective. City Administrator Gonzalo “Sally” Malig-on noted that complaints about flooding in that area have significantly decreased since completion. “We cannot stop the rain and we cannot stop the water coming from the mountains. What we can do is make sure the water leaves quickly,” Malig-on said.
Restoring River Capacity Through Dredging
Beyond neighborhood drainage networks, the city is tackling broader environmental causes of overflow along its major waterways. Heavy silt accumulation has drastically reduced the capacity of local rivers, causing them to spill over into surrounding communities during intense rainfall. To combat this, Mandaue is launching a large-scale dredging operation along a 3.4 to 3.6-kilometer stretch of the Butuanon River, from its mouth at Channel 2 to the bridge near Pacific Mall. “The river has become heavily silted. When the water level rises during strong rains, the capacity of the river is reduced, causing it to overflow into surrounding communities,” Malig-on explained. The year-long dredging project is structured as a corporate social responsibility initiative in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways, meaning it will require no funding from the city government. Heavy equipment from Manila is scheduled to mobilize in June as operational details are finalized. To prevent ongoing utility delays from slowing these critical projects, the city has instituted regular coordination meetings between engineers, utility providers, barangay officials, and traffic management personnel to ensure deadlines are met.
