Can we clear the waterways of structures?

We were all very worried when the weather bureau forecast tropical depression Ramon to hit Central Visayas. That satellite images showed it was not to pack the kind of destructive winds Ening in ‘64, Nitang in ‘84 and Ruping brought to our lands, but was not a bit relieving. According to PAG-ASA, the swath of the rain Ramon carried was wide. It encompassed a large area. What it predictably lacked in gustiness, it compensated in something else. Ramon was estimated to dump unimaginable volumes of water that floods and landslides would probably occur. That was what worried us. Horrible pictures of quickly rising waters and immensely swirling floods Ondoy, in 2009 and Pedring recently brought to Luzon, cowed us.

 Here in Cebu City, our experience with recent heavy rains has been near tragic. For example, there was this unusually heavy rain on January 25, this year. There was no storm then, but, after an hour of rainfall, many portions of our city submerged. Some of the affected areas suffered flooding for the first time in decades such that the victims did not know how to deal with such a catastrophe.

 His Honor, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, actually anticipated this problem. We have had flash floods which his predecessor might not have attempted to remedy. So, upon assumption of office, he partly correctly analyzed that the inundation the city suffers, now and then, has been mostly caused by the narrowing of our waterways. This, in turn, was the result of the uncontrolled construction of houses along our river banks and esteros. According to the mayor, not only were the easements taken over by structures, the builders even erected posts deep into the waterways themselves.

 Practically all of such structures were made without notice to or consent of government authorities. In fact, the owners erected their homes in apparent stealth, making sure that no one would really notice the structures as they took form. They would not attempt to get building permits because they knew permits could not be issued under the circumstance.

 With houses standing on the river banks, erosion naturally follows. A little amount of soil put under the house plus a little pail of concrete on a recently leveled patch make the width of the river banks narrower and narrower almost each day. Then the posts, erected on the river bed themselves, impede the flow of water. Worse, they catch floating substances and start the process called avulsion.

 Having partly correctly known the problem, the mayor planned an appropriate response. He wanted the easements cleared of illegal structures. It did not come as an easy decision, but I suppose, the mayor had no other recourse. For the safety of a great number of the mayor’s constituents, the illegal structures along the city’s waterways have just got to be demolished. But, achieving the objective, the affected settlers, arguing that they have nowhere else to do, filed a case to stop the mayor. And so, unfortunately, while the mayor could not proceed with the demolition, he gets our blame if floods do come.

 In the midst of this impasse, a good development might have taken place. The city council, all belonging to the political group called BOPK approved the kind of money the mayor, a non-BOPK, asked for dredging the waterways. We should thank our city lawmakers for cooperating with the chief executive. Indeed, we are elated that our leaders can look beyond their political colors when the higher interest of the greater majority is the issue.

 Yes, millions of pesos are earmarked for taking out the silt that had long deposited on our rivers and esteros. There is now money to move men and machinery to make our waterways accommodate the volume of water rains tend to carry. If this undertaking succeeds, we may yet see the lessening of city floods.

If I sound very cautious, it is because, the informal settlers are still occupying the easements. There is no access to most of our rivers and esteros. The houses of these settlers prevent city personnel and equipment from doing their job. If the work cannot be undertaken, the appropriations made by our city will be but worthless budget unless, the councilors also help the mayor in getting those structures out.