SMC clears 116K tons of silt, waste from San Juan River in maintenance cleanup

San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is nearing the completion of a ten-month maintenance cleanup along the San Juan River, having successfully removed over 116,000 metric tons of waste and silt. This recent initiative, which covers 6.1 kilometers of the waterway from the Pasig River junction to Talayan in Quezon City, serves to preserve the progress made during the company’s extensive 2022–2024 rehabilitation project, which cleared approximately 322,000 metric tons of material from the river’s entire stretch.

Through its “Better Rivers PH” initiative, SMC aims to maintain the river’s natural depth and water-carrying capacity to help reduce flood risks for the cities of San Juan, Manila, Mandaluyong, and Quezon City. SMC Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang emphasized that these efforts are conducted at no cost to the government and are designed to support national flood mitigation programs, such as the Department of Public Works and Highways’ Oplan Kontra Baha. Furthermore, the company has expanded its environmental commitments by recently launching its first cleanup effort in the Visayas, focusing on a four-kilometer section of the Butuanon River in Mandaue City, Cebu.