MANILA, Philippines — The government is moving to strengthen Metro Manila’s flood defenses with 13 additional pumping stations, as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. warned that increasingly intense rainfall is putting greater pressure on the capital’s already strained drainage and flood-control systems.
Marcos announced the plan on Thursday, August 20, after inspecting the Tripa de Gallina Pumping Station in Pasay City, the largest of the 73 pumping stations operated by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
The 13 projects are expected to be in place by the end of 2026 or early 2027, according to the President. MMDA Chairman Romando Artes clarified that four of the 13 will be newly constructed, while nine existing pumping stations will be upgraded.
The move comes as Metro Manila confronts increasingly extreme rainfall and recurring flooding, with authorities acknowledging that the metropolis needs more than emergency pumping and drainage clearing to keep pace with changing weather patterns.
Why the government is adding more pumps
Marcos said the government is expanding pumping capacity because rainfall volumes in the Philippines are increasing, which means existing flood-control infrastructure can be overwhelmed during extreme weather events.
The warning comes after a particularly intense rainfall event earlier this week.
According to the President, Metro Manila received 201 millimeters of rain in only five hours on Monday—an amount he compared with roughly 44 percent of the rainfall brought by Typhoon Ondoy over a 24-hour period. Daily Tribune reported that the downpour contributed to widespread flooding along major roads including EDSA, Taft Avenue, España Boulevard, Quezon Avenue and Marcos Highway.
Marcos has described increasingly extreme rainfall as becoming something of a “new normal,” underscoring the growing challenge facing Metro Manila’s flood-control network.
Tripa de Gallina: 56 cubic meters of water per second
The inspection focused on the Tripa de Gallina Pumping Station, which has a reported pumping capacity of 56 cubic meters per second.
The facility is one of the most important components of Metro Manila’s flood-management system, but officials also highlighted a problem that money and machinery alone cannot solve: garbage clogging waterways and pumping infrastructure.
PIA reported that waste had previously overwhelmed the Tripa de Gallina system and contributed to flooding in low-lying communities, including parts of Parañaque. Artes said the facility had recently undergone upgrades, with its pumps receiving a major capacity improvement in 2022 under a World Bank project.
Marcos emphasized that even powerful pumps can lose efficiency when garbage continues entering the drainage system.
That makes waste management a critical part of the government’s flood strategy—not simply an environmental concern.
The 13 pumping stations are only one piece of the plan
The new and upgraded pumping stations form part of a much wider flood-mitigation program being pursued by the administration.
Under Oplan Kontra Baha, government agencies have been conducting drainage rehabilitation, waterway clearing, dredging and desilting operations, while also working on larger flood-control infrastructure.
Earlier this year, the government ordered non-operational pumping stations in Metro Manila restored and intensified efforts to clear drainage systems and waterways before the rainy season.
The administration has also pursued drainage upgrades in known flood-prone areas.
In Quezon City, for example, the G. Araneta Drainage Improvement Project involved installing larger underground pipes and mobile pumping equipment. The government later reported that residents experienced faster flood recession following the improvements.
The Sunog Apog Pumping Station in Tondo was also rehabilitated after reportedly remaining dysfunctional for years, highlighting the government’s effort to restore existing infrastructure rather than relying solely on new construction.
Government also studying water storage
The flood-control strategy is expanding beyond pumps.
According to PIA, the government is reviewing and updating Metro Manila’s Flood Control Master Plan while completing detailed engineering work for underground water-storage facilities at 30 sites. Authorities are also studying water-capture and reuse systems that could collect water for household, industrial and irrigation purposes.
A separate government assessment has identified 39 sites across Metro Manila as possible locations for floodwater storage and retention projects, signaling a broader shift toward temporarily holding excess rainwater rather than simply trying to move it out of flooded areas as quickly as possible.
MMDA has also engaged Dutch engineering and consultancy firm Haskoning for a study of additional flood-mitigation measures for the metropolis, according to Daily Tribune.
The bigger problem: Can infrastructure keep up?
The government’s latest announcement comes with a major caveat: more pumping stations alone will not eliminate Metro Manila’s flooding problem.
Aging drainage networks, clogged waterways, solid-waste disposal, rising rainfall intensity and the sheer volume of water reaching the metropolis all remain part of the equation.
Recent government reporting has pointed to some improvement in flood recession in several areas following drainage, dredging and pumping interventions. Residents in flood-prone communities have reported that water is receding faster than in previous events.
But the scale of recent rainfall demonstrates how quickly the system can still be tested.
The government’s challenge now is not simply to install more pumps. It is to ensure that the pumps, drainage networks, waterways, floodgates and waste-management systems work together before the next extreme rainfall event arrives.
For millions of Metro Manila residents, that is the question that matters most: Will the 13 additional pumping stations be enough when the next record-breaking downpour hits?
What to know
- 13 additional pumping stations are planned for Metro Manila.
- 4 will be newly constructed.
- 9 existing stations will be upgraded.
- Target: end-2026 or early 2027.
- 73 pumping stations are currently operated by the MMDA.
- Tripa de Gallina has a reported capacity of 56 cubic meters per second.
- The government is also pursuing drainage upgrades, dredging, desilting and water-storage projects.
- Officials continue to identify garbage and blocked waterways as major contributors to flooding.
- The administration is also reviewing Metro Manila’s broader Flood Control Master Plan.
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