Drainage masterplan needs P8.2B

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Council has asked the Regional Development Council and the Office of the Presidential Assistant of the Visayas to lobby for the P8.2 billion budgetary requirement for various infrastructure projects in the Integrated Drainage Masterplan in the city.

Last Tuesday, Councilor Jerry Guardo delivered a privilege speech on the status of the drainage system of the city.

Guardo said the Department of Public Works and Highways-Unified Project Management Office has revealed that the city will have an estimated budget of P8.2 billion worth of infrastructure projects for the next few years.

“We also learned from DPWH-UPMO during the executive session that based on the masterplan, Cebu city alone will have an estimate budgetary requirement of P8.2 billion worth of projects which includes river improvements, diversion channel and the drainage mains improvements,” he said.

On top of the P8.2 billion, Guardo said the city government will have to look for projects that will be charged against the P1.5 billion unutilized budget for the flood control projects.

In 1983, a drainage masterplan for the city and the neighboring cities showed that the city has 18 flood-prone areas.

At least 23 years after, Guardo said the city has 127 flood-prone areas as stated in the drainage master plan in 2006.

“Since little work was done up to present time, the flooded areas significantly increases as seen in the past weeks in particular, the last September 1 flooding,” he said.

Guardo welcomed the creation of the inter-agency task force on flooding (IATFF) which is comprised of engineers and experts from the national and local government.

The DPWH has an ongoing P740 million construction of river improvement program in Mahiga Creek, Tejero River, Guadalupe River, Kinalumsan River, and Bulacao River.

“The challenge now is for the immediate relocation of some informal settler families which according to the tagging conducted by DPWH will roughly reach to 700 families,” he said.

To discuss these projects, the City Council called for an executive session on October 8 wherein the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor, Local Housing Board, and the city government in prioritizing the housing needs of the affected families.

The national government has already downloaded at least P140 million for the relocation of these families.

Councilor Eduardo Rama also expressed his frustration on the P700 million Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) project at the busy intersection of F. Llamas Street and Natalio Bacalso Avenue.

Rama said the SMART tunnel project is reportedly designed to address the flooding but it is now causing flooding in the south district of the city.

With this, the council asked the DPWH to submit a comprehensive report on the SMART tunnel which reportedly caused the flooding problem in the area.

Further, the City Council requested Mayor Edgardo Labella to include Association of Barangay Councils-President Franklyn Ong, non-government organization representative, and chairman of the committee on infrastructure in the inter-agency task force.

Meanwhile, the city recommends a massive cleanup drive as per city memorandum circular reference no. 24-09-19.

City Assistant Administrator Mary Rose Lubino said that all city government personnel, department heads, assistant department heads to participate in the clean-up drive along Mahiga River, in coordination with the city of Mandaue and Cebu City itself this Saturday.

In line with this, the city gov’t has requested all local employees, including local government units, barangay officials and their constituents as well as the residents living beside the river, to participate in the event.

The cleanup will start at Sitio Mayupay along Lower Mahiga in Barangay Banilad, Mahiga Bridge at Gov. Cuenco Avenue, Barangay Kasambagan, Cabahug Bridge, Subangdaku Bridge, Urot Bridge Mabolo National High School, Abattoir bridge, Logarta Bridge beside SM Hypermart going to CPA Bridge.

“The river becomes stagnant because of the wastewater was directed to it, as well as there were also report received in the office of CENRO that some residents are raising hogs,” CENRO Head Atty. John Jigo Dacua said. (FREEMAN)