Posted on August 13, 2025
CITY OF MEYCAUAYAN, BULACAN, Philippines — At least 11 heavily clogged waterways, mostly creeks in this city and in adjacent Valenzuela City in Metro Manila—identified as major contributors to flooding along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) during recent tropical cyclones and the southwest monsoon rains—are now undergoing dredging by the government and NLEx Corp.
NLEx said it has been deploying 120 personnel daily, supported by amphibious backhoes, backhoes on barges, boom trucks, dump trucks, and a generator set to speed up the clearing that began on Aug. 4.
In an advisory on Sunday, NLEx said the cleanup was being expedited “to improve water flow ahead of inclement weather conditions.”
The project followed an interagency meeting initiated by Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon on Aug. 2 with NLEx, the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the local governments of Valenzuela and Meycauayan, and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
The meeting identified the 11 waterways whose blockages had worsened flooding in Valenzuela, Meycauayan, and sections of NLEx.
Portions of NLEx became impassable during Severe Tropical Storm Crising (international name: Wipha) and monsoon rains in July. Nearly half a kilometer of the northbound and southbound lanes in Valenzuela was submerged under a meter of floodwater for more than five hours—from 6:40 p.m. to 12:20 a.m. on July 21.
NLEx said it is “regularly conducting inspections on the clearing to check the progress of the works.”
‘All-out effort’
Similar flooding occurred during Typhoon Carina (Gaemi) last year, when northbound and southbound lanes in Valenzuela and Meycauayan were closed for hours, and the northbound Marilao section was also rendered impassable.
Dizon, along with NLEx officer in charge and Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) chief financial officer Luis Reñon, MPTC chief regulatory officer Arrey Perez, TRB executive director Jay Art Tugade, and Valenzuela City Mayor Wes Gatchalian, inspected one of the critical areas in Valenzuela.
“This is an all-out effort of all the stakeholders—NLEx, City of Valenzuela, DOTr, DPWH. This is a work of all; this must be done in one simultaneous effort,” Dizon said. /cb
