Development of the Laguna Lake is key to end the Metro Manila flooding and save the government billions of pesos in flood control measures, an environmental scientist said.

This was the recommendation in the study conducted and patented to environment scientist and medical doctor Benedicto D. Dorado, who spent ten years studying the phenomenon of Metro Manila flooding. “Dredge the silt lying within the 90,000 hectares of Laguna Lake, pile the silt around the edges of the lake to form giant dikes and on them build the longest lakeshore park in the world, and save the government billions of pesos in flood control measures,” Dorado said.

This method , according to Dorado will not only end the constant flooding of the whole Metro Manila and the nearby provinces but will rehabilitate the lake to its original purpose as the catch basin of all major river tributaries within the metropolis before the waters empties into Manila Bay through Pasig River.

At the same time, Dorado said, his method will not disrupt nor the ecological balance of the lake.

In fact the lake once rehabilitated will continue to be a major source of precious aquatic resources. More importantly, Dorado said, the lake shore park that will be created out of the dredged silt will form the foundation of a mega-coastal city complex very much like the reclaimed land along Roxas Boulevard but on a much bigger scale but at a fraction of the cost.

“I call on President Gloria Macapagal and her successor to implement my study and save the government billions of pesos on costly projects such as the spillway from Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Even during the Marcos regime, this can not be implemented because of the expenses it will incur in paying the cost of right of way and the many residential and business establishments that will be displaced,” Dorado said.

But if implemented properly, the project will not only build the longest lakeshore park in the world but this project will attract tourists and investors both here and abroad, create jobs and be a saving grace to the flood prone people in Metro Manila. “This can be replicated in other lakes with modifications in other Philippine lakes like Lanao Lake in Mindanao, Lake Buhi in Camarines Sur, Taal lake and Mainit Lake,” Dorado continued.

He said that dredging of the lake should be done alongside or even before dredging of the Pasig River as water seeks its own level. Laguna Lake should be restored back to its original depth of 6.3 meters. Dorado said dredging of the Lake should be done in phases per zone ( given number of kilometers per phase per six months zone) to allow the fishes and other marine life to thrive and complete its spawning and maturity cycle.

From the silt that has accumulated for thousands of years under the 90,000 hectares Laguna Lake, some 10,000 to 20,000 hectares of solid land can be reclaimed by piling them around the 220 kilometers shoreline of the lake. The silt which has the same ph or acidity of the lake is more solid than sand and soil dumped in other reclamation areas.