No money to clean up Bulacao River

CEBU, Philippines - Talisay City does not have the money yet to clean the Bulacao River.

 "I received the communication from barangay Captain Raul (Cabañero), but I was told by Sir Ed (budget officer Edgardo Mabunay) that we just ended the fiscal year, hence, all projects that need funding must wait for the next fiscal year," said City Councilor Bernard Odilao, chairman on council committee on Environment.

 Odilao said the project, which he is bent on starting, may "not likely" happen this month, but "hopefully by August."

 Talisay City has experienced heavy rains which have caused flooding in several lowland areas including the flood-prone barangay Bulacao.

 But before the rains came, barangay Bulacao chief Cabañero had requested the city to conduct a cleanup operation in Bulacao River, which as of the moment is covered with all types of solid waste.

 Cabañero, in his earlier interview, had said these plastic materials which have now dominated the surface level and the sides of the river could possibly block the natural flow of the water during heavy rains, thereby causing it to overflow.

 He said if it happens, it is putting a risk on the residents living along the riverbanks.

 Cabañero said he has asked the city government to help the barangay remove the waste from the river since it has all the manpower and the heavy equipment to do it.

 The city has more than 900 temporary or "job order" employees, which Odilao, in a separate interview, said could be utilized for the task.

 "But we need funds for their food, and all other things to get it going," he said.

 Meanwhile, apart from Bulacao, barangays Poblacion and Tabunok also experienced flooding the other night, after the heavy downpour the other day.

 In Poblacion, the water was knee-deep causing residents to panic. According to one resident, it was the first time that the water was that deep, and the people blamed it on the lack of proper drainage system.

 Poblacion, especially in the inner part, relies on the small open canals made by the residents themselves that collect rainwater that lead to the main drainage area.

 But these small canals are no match to the rainfall which came last Wednesday. 

 The same was also the case in barangay Tabunok, of which area near the overpass became a huge pool of rainwater causing heavy traffic. Tabunok, considered the city's commercial district, is also one of the flood-prone areas of Talisay. This flooding, which occurs everytime there's heavy rain, is a common sight in these areas, which the people has blamed the city's lack of drainage system.

 The city has long completed its comprehensive drainage master plan feasibility study, conducted by SPACESytems.4719 last 2008 for P5 million.

 Supposedly, the project, which costs at least P100 million to build, was supposed to be completed this year.

 But City Councilor Rodi Cabigas, chairman on council committee on Infrastructure, said the city does not have that budget yet. But he assured that the first base implementation of the plan will start "very soon." — THE FREEMAN