The Quezon City Government, through the QC Department of Engineering (QCDE), in collaboration with other city departments, including the Barangay and Community Relations Department (BCRD), the Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department (CCESD), and the Department of Sanitation and Cleanup Works of Quezon City (DSQC), has launched the “Tanggal Bara, Iwas Baha” Program, tapping the city’s 142 barangays to augment the flood mitigation efforts of both the city and national governments.
The program prioritizes the regular maintenance and clean-up of clogged drainage systems, sewers, street inlets, manholes, and interceptors across various barangays to accelerate the receding of floodwaters despite the increasing volume of rain due to climate change.
Apart from improving drainage systems, detention basins and retention ponds have also been installed in multiple barangays as part of the city’s commitment to mitigating rainwater overflow and reducing flooding in city streets.
This upgrading and modernizing of the city’s drainage systems is in accordance with the QC Comprehensive Drainage Master Plan, developed in partnership with the University of the Philippines – Resilience Institute.
As of October 2025, the city government had restored 86,700 cubic meters of drainage system capacity and removed 5,900 cubic meters of garbage from the San Francisco River.
A total of 3,064 de-clogging and road maintenance works have been completed from January 2025 to date. Almost 1.4 million cubic meters of sludge have also been retrieved from the San Juan River and Tullahan River during the extensive dredging operations done in partnership with the San Miguel Corporation.
To know more about the city’s flood mitigation projects and de-clogging efforts, kindly reach out to QCDE or check out the QC Drainage Masterplan on the QC Government’s Official Website for a better understanding.
Regarding concerns and requests for clean-up or garbage collection, QCitizens may coordinate with DSQC or file a report using the People’s Corner following the How to Request for Services in Your Community guide on QCitizen guides. Follow their Official Facebook pages, Quezon City Department of Engineering and Department of Sanitation and Cleanup Works of Quezon City, for more updates.
