A four-kilometer cleanup of the Butuanon River aims to restore water flow and help protect communities after severe flooding brought by Typhoon Tino.
Flooding has become a familiar worry for many families in Mandaue City, especially during heavy rains. When Typhoon Tino hit in November 2025, the Butuanon River overflowed after more than a month’s worth of rain fell over the city, leaving communities to deal with flooded streets, damaged property, and disrupted daily life.
Part of the challenge lies beneath the water. Years of silt and accumulated waste have narrowed sections of the river and blocked its outlet to the Mactan Channel, making it harder for floodwaters to drain.
With that in mind, San Miguel Corporation has brought its Better Rivers PH program to Cebu, launching a cleanup of a four-kilometer stretch of the Butuanon River. The effort supports the government’s Oplan Kontra Baha program and will be carried out in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Mandaue City government.
The company will deploy excavators and barges to remove silt, soil deposits, and waste that have built up along the river. Based on its initial assessment, the conditions of the Butuanon River resemble several waterways where Better Rivers PH has already carried out similar rehabilitation work.
SMC Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang said the company wanted to help after seeing the impact of flooding on residents. He added that Mandaue has long been home to San Miguel’s operations and many of its employees, making the project especially meaningful for the company.
Since 2020, Better Rivers PH has removed nearly 9.2 million metric tons of silt and waste from more than 190 kilometers of rivers and waterways across the country. The initiative has covered major rivers including the Tullahan, Pasig, San Juan, Pampanga, and Meycauayan, along with waterways in Bulacan, Laguna, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, and Parañaque.
Big efforts like river rehabilitation begin with someone deciding to act. If a project like this can bring people together to care for a river, every neighborhood, school, workplace, or circle of friends can also find its own way to help. Change does not always start on a massive scale. Sometimes it begins with one cleanup, one volunteer day, or one community choosing to care for the place it calls home.
