City building gabion dams in north and south

CEBU, Philippines — After a series of convergence meetings, the Cebu City government is now looking for potential locations for the construction of one gabion dam in the north district and another one in the south district, as long-term solutions to address the water crisis.

City Council Joel Garganera said that is aside from the immediate help extended help to the 28 mountain barangays in Cebu that were declared under a state of calamity.

“Naay mga hose, naay mga baril, naay mga container then mga tanks, and at the same time we also gave goods, mga foods, labi na katong mga 500 nga farmers nga directly nga naigo ba,” said the City Council committee on disaster risk reduction and management, safety, and climate change adaptation chairman.

He said the assistance were already purchased and are set to be distributed within the week.

On the gabion dams, Garganera said the city has composite teams, whose members include those from the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office and the barangays, that would scout possible areas for the mini-reservoirs.

“Mas maayo man gud sad ipangita ron kay init ang yuta, I mean, maka-build gyud ta og gabion dams; so one in the north and one in the South,” he said.

He also said that the City has consulted with and tapped the expertise of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for this purpose.

He said ocular inspections were already made, as the City has to consider lot ownership to build the dams.

Garganera likewise said that the city government also provided irrigation pumps for distribution in the mountain barangays to further assist the farmers.

The pumps are not just used for farming but also for personal use among the families to aid their water supplies.

As for water rationing, Garganera said the City has station Mobile Syphon Tank (MST), in coordination with the Metro Cebu Water District, in barangays Cambinocot and Bonbon.

“That is 24 hours ni siya nga round-the-clock nga gatrabaho. And then mao na sad siya ang mga barangay muadto pud ngadto aron manguha og potable water,” he said. — (FREEMAN)