North Metro dike project suspended

People in the low-lying areas of Pasig, Pateros and Taguig whose houses remain submerged in floodwaters that refuse to subside might yet see no immediate relief unless government officials see the greatest good for the greater number and resolve the problem with dispatch.

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials yesterday said that the construction of the North Lakeshore Dike Project, which should have begun in September or October, has been indefinitely suspended.

Officials said Pateros-Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano and Taguig Mayor Ricardo Papa have expressed resistance to the implementation of the originally approved plan and proposed a "re-alignment" of the approved dike plan.

The project, financed by a P3.9 billion loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), is touted to be the "ultimate solution" to the crippling effects of flooding in those low-lying areas of Metro Manila.

Officials, who declined to be named, said intervention by local officials after the planning stage has upset the schedule of construction, caused more problems and unduly delayed the immediate solution of the flooding in the area.

The alternative proposed by Cayetano and Papa favors the alleged maximum use of land along the stretch between the dike and the Laguna Lake. The two officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Project management officers said the two favored a new design with the dike closely following the natural contours of the Laguna Lake shore.

After three or four meetings last year, DPWH Secretary Gregorio Vigilar acceded to the intervention of the two local officials allowing for a more thorough study on their new proposals even if it meant more costs for the implementing agency and the government.

"The DPWH had wanted to start the project immediately in September despite objections from local officials since early last year but had to suspend it indefinitely to accommodate the new proposals," said Flood expert Emil Sadain of the Project Management Office-Major Flood Control Projects (PMO-MFCP).

Cayetano and Papa had earlier proposed the realignment of the lakeshore dike west of the Mangahan Floodway "at least 200 meters from the shoreline of the municipality of Taguig" as early as March 2000. This proposal has since been revised and sought to follow the natural contours of the Laguna Lake shoreline.

Sadain said this kind of political accommodation could mean a virtual revision of the original design, additional studies to be made and ultimately more cost to be incurred by the government.

Sadain, however, said that despite the interruption, the agency is willing to allow for some changes but wished the local officials had proposed them while the project feasibility was still being studied (from 1988 to 1990 aside from a detailed design study conducted from June 1991 to May 1993).

"We are open to whatever technical changes that are necessary but we wish they made them during the feasibility study stage or even during the planning stage, and not when the plan has already been approved and set to go," Sadain said.

The official said the government is committed to the schedules as agreed with the loan lenders. He said the delay would upset the schedule and prejudice the commitment made by the government to the JBIC.

Sadain said the original plan has already been agreed upon between the government agencies and the local residents and other stakeholders after sufficient consultations.

Officials said a change in the local leadership got in the way and caused the present predicament.

The North Lakeshore Dike Project stretches some 8.5 kilometers from Lower Bicutan to the Mangahan Floodway in Rizal province.

The top of the dike is a gravel-paved, 10-meter wide public road for light vehicles only.

Original schedule of construction should have been the second quarter of 2000 to be completed by the first quarter of 2004.

This project is also seen to solve the serious and frequent flooding in the provinces of Rizal, Cavite and Laguna.