Agham, an organization of scientists advocating science and technology, called San Miguel Corporation (SMC) owner Ramon Ang ridiculous when he offered “free help” to the government to resolve the flooding problem.

Earlier, the group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) also condemned Ang for his statement.

“As the head of San Miguel Corporation, his infrastructure projects are why flooding has become persistent in Metro Manila,” Agham and Pamalakaya explained.

Experts from the Department of Science and Technology and other institutions denounced SMC’s New Manila International Airport for worsening flooding in nearby communities. This includes parts of Metro Manila such as Navotas. The project displaced over 700 families and destroyed more than 600 mangroves.

The Department of Transportation itself criticized the Metro Manila Skyway and MRT-7, both projects of SMC, for contributing to flooding by blocking former waterways.

According to Agham, Ang’s solution to “clean clogged drains and canals” addresses only part of the problem. As long as infrastructure projects continue without little foresight, quarrying and mining operations destroy watersheds, and Metro Manila residents are forced to live in natural flood-prone areas, the problem will definitely persist.