Chamber of Secrets? UST’s flood-control project 75% complete, to end mid-2021

The joke among University of Santo Tomas (UST) students and alumni is that one’s academic experience won’t be complete without getting stuck on campus surrounded by floodwaters. Sampaloc, where Asia’s oldest university is found, is often beset by flooding during the rainy season. But things are looking up for UST with its soon-to-be-completed new drainage system, which was unveiled to the media earlier this week.

On its website, UST said that the project would “replace the existing drainage lines” with a new system while providing “detention facilities to accommodate floodwater.”

The school added that the replacement was being done due to the “observed increase in rain and floodwaters plaguing the campus during the rainy season.”

Father Dexter Austria, the school’s Facilities Management Office director, told The Philippine Daily Inquirer that the project is 75% complete and that construction will end by mid-2021. He said that the school is located in a “flood-prone” area and that the construction was necessary because the old drainage pipes were “too small.”

Started in 2018, the drainage system covers several zones on campus. These are:

• Zone A, found on Araullo Drive (facing the Quadricentennial Pavilion, España side) and Roque Ruaño Drive (facing the Roque Ruaño and Albertus Magnus Buildings)
• Zone B, located on Arellano Drive (facing the Parade Grounds, España side) and Tamayo Drive (facing the Beato Angelico and Buenaventura G. Paredes, O.P. Buildings)
• Zone C, on Osmeña Drive (in between the Parade Grounds and Benavides Garden)
• Zone D, on Quezon Drive (in between the Benavides Garden and Multi-Deck Carpark and Quadricentennial Pavilion)
• Zone E, on Leon Ma. Guerrero Drive (in between the Multi-Deck Carpark and Health Service) and Ceferino Gonzales Alley Drive (in front of the Santísimo Rosario Parish Church)
• Zone F, on Ceferino Gonzales Drive (driveway leading to the A.H. Lacson Gate) and Intramuros Drive (fronting the Arch of the Centuries)
• Zone G, on Leon Maria Guerrero Drive (fronting the Hospital)

Founded in 1611, some of UST’s most notable alumni include national hero Jose Rizal, former presidents Diosdado Macapagal, Jose Laurel, and Manuel L. Quezon.