Councilor wants ‘defective’ Valenzuela megadike explained

MANILA, Philippines - A Valenzuela councilor called yesterday on the project engineer of the Valenzuela-Obando-Meycauayan (VOM) megadike project to explain why defects were found in the structure. 

In a privilege speech, District 1 Councilor Rovin Feliciano urged his colleagues to summon engineer Elias de Guzman why cracks were found in parts of the megadike in Barangay Wawang Pulo in Valenzuela up to Barangay Tawiran and San Pascual in Obando, Bulacan.

The cracks allowed water to erode the megadike’s foundation, Feliciano said.

According to the councilor, the P5-billion megadike project was conceived to solve the flooding in some barangays in Valenzuela and in the Bulacan towns of Meycauayan and Obando during the rainy season and high tide.

The VOM dike is the second phase of the Camanava flood control project, which was supposed to have been completed in 2007 but remains unfinished.

The Valenzuela public information office said the project, which covers 21 square kilometers of flood-prone areas, was conceived in 2011 but the actual construction started early last year. It involves the construction of pumping stations, independent floodgates, draining mains and river improvement works.