The river of garbage: Workers wade through rubbish after storm hits the Philippines

By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 09:05, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 09:06, 12 August 2026 Rubbish collectors have been sent to swim through a river filled with garbage in the Philippines after nine days of torrential rain.  Photos showed the workers wading through nearly shoulder-deep waters in Paranaque City yesterday after the devastating monsoon that has inundated the country for over a week.  The non-stop rain has pushed countless tons of waste into waterways in the coastal city.  Across the city, photos showed rubbish was almost completely blanketing the water, which was barely visible.   As a result, sanitation workers had to plunge into filthy rivers to clear rubbish-choked rivers and streams.  They have been assisted by cranes, boats and containers which are all being used to pull away and store as much rubbish as possible.  One particularly ingenious man was seen standing in the bucket of a digger that hovered just above the water.   The worst-hit area is believed to be the Redemptorist Water Channel in Barangay Baclaran, where workers were up to their necks in rubbish and visibly covered in filth.  A worker collects garbage that washed into a river amid heavy southwest monsoon rains near Baclaran Church in Paranaque City, Metro Manila, Philippines, August 11, 2026 A worker aboard an excavator removes garbage that is clogging a river amid heavy rain on August 12, 2026 in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines Workers remove garbage that is clogging a river amid heavy rain on August 12, 2026 in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines As the city begins to clear away the endless rubbish, local authorities are looking to implement harsher littering fines.  A spokesperson representing the country's president said: 'This is not what the government wants to happen. We want proper waterways where water can flow freely.' Rubbish has been a serious problem in the city and the wider area for years. A 2021 study found that the nearby Pasig River was a major contributor of plastics leaking into the ocean.  Landslides and rain caused by the monsoon have so far killed several people across the country, while eight more are missing and 13 are injured.  Over 500,000 people across 33 provinces in the Philippines were affected by the monsoon, which was made worse by two tropical cyclones.  An estimated 98,000 people were displaced from their homes, with hundreds being damaged by the poor weather.  A worker removes garbage that is clogging a river amid heavy rain on August 12, 2026 in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines Photos showed the workers wading through nearly shoulder-deep waters in Paranaque City Across the city, photos showed rubbish was almost completely blanketing the water, which was barely visible Tens of thousands were evacuated to hundreds of emergency shelters, officials said.  Most of the deaths were recorded in the provinces of Benguet, Rizal and Batangas, on the nation's main island, Luzon.  In the mountain city of Baguio, four people died and six others were missing after a landslide buried several houses.   State weather forecaster Dan Villamil said rains in the vacation town, four hours north of the capital, were already 47 per cent higher than normal for the whole month. 'The rainfall recorded for August 1-9 was highest in Baguio, with an accumulated 1,413.2 millimetres (56 inches),' he said, adding the city's typical downpour for the month was 963.2 millimetres.  Parts of Metro Manila had recorded rain equivalent to about 90 per cent of a typical August, he added. Landslides killed six other people elsewhere on Luzon, while another drowned, one was hit by a falling tree, and one was electrocuted, according to a civil defence office tally. While heavy rain continued to fall Monday evening, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon told a news conference that floodwaters were receding. Rubbish has been a serious problem in the city and the wider area for years As the city begins to clear away the endless rubbish, local authorities are looking to implement harsher littering fines A worker with torn gloves remove garbage that is clogging a river amid heavy rain on August 12, 2026 in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines 'Our interventions are continuing, but we really need to fix the years and decades' worth of faulty flood mitigation interventions,' Mr Dizon told reporters, referencing a scandal over bogus flood-control projects that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars. The Philippines is the first major landmass facing the Pacific cyclone belt, and the archipelago is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, putting millions of people in disaster-prone areas in a state of constant poverty. Scientists say human-driven climate change is making extreme weather more frequent, prolonged and intense.