Cameras to monitor riverbanks urged

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Council yesterday urged barangays located beside rivers, or have rivers in their respective jurisdiction, to install CCTV cameras as a preventive measure against flash floods.

This came eight days after a four-year-old child in Sitio Tender, Barangay Day-as died after he slipped while at a riverbank and fell into the water.

The police said they only knew about the drowning incident after seeing a CCTV footage that went viral that captured the moment the boy fell into the river.

Authorities are investigating if somebody was monitoring the CCTV camera in the area when the incident happened.

“This is another preventive measure to save lives, especially with the regular occurrence of flash flood this rainy season. I hope that our barangay officials will accede to this request by appropriating emergency funds for the purpose of acquiring CCTVs,” said City Councilor Rey Gealon, on his approved resolution.

In particular, the resolution called for all "barangay officials with rivers in their jurisdiction to install CCTV and assign a person to continuously monitor the CCTV in the area to prevent any incidents."

Also, City Councilor Jerry Guardo said the City Council is now waiting for Brgy. Sambag 2's resolution placing Sitio Kawayan under a "state of emergency", following the collapse of a riverbank riprap just hours after a similar structure across it also crumbled in Sitio Upper San Roque, Brgy. Calamba at 1 p.m. last Tuesday.

The collapsed riprap in Sambag 2 is at Guadalupe River's side opposite to the side in Calamba where a riprap also collapsed.

Guardo, chairman of the council committee on infrastructure, said they would need the barangay resolution so the City Council can make a similar declaration, so that emergency funds could be used to immediately repair the collapsed riprap wall.

After the incident, Sambag 2 barangay officials recommended to City Hall the clearing of at least six structures that violate the river's three-meter easement, to ease the flow of the river's raging waters caused by Tuesday's continuous rain.

The six structures are occupied by seven families comprising 38 individuals, who must be evacuated through the intervention of the City's Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor.

In the meantime, they are currently staying at Sambag 2's covered court.

The City's Department of Social Welfare and Services provided them with food packs.

Mayor Michael Rama, in yesterday's live program of the Sugboanon Channel, a social media page run by the Cebu City Government, also said that recovering the three-meter easement is crucial, adding structures within the easement are the root cause of all incidents of landslide and flooding.

Guardo also said that as immediate temporarily solution, debris from the collapsed riprap would be used to construct a makeshift riprap wall.

"Karon kay unpredictable kaayo ang panahon so we really need an immediate clearing in the area," said Guardo, who added a more permanent engineering solution should also be done the soonest.

In a separate interview, Sambag 2 Barangay Captain Ryan Aznar, said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DWPH) and Public Works is already working to improve the flow of the river in their barangay.

"Naa na may project ang DPWH, katong Silt Filing nila from B. Rodriguez bridge all the way to Sitio Lower Kawayan.... Ang contractor nagsugod na sila'g pundo sa ilang mga equipment naa dira sa V. Rama," he said.

"So maayo gyud na dira, as soon as possible. Dili nata kinahanglan mangita og budget kay naa nay budget ana," he added.

Aznar said they already cordoned off the area the seven families vacated, it being a danger zone, and assigned barangay peace officers to keep anyone from getting inside.

Explaining what happened Tuesday, Guardo said soil, rocks, and other debris from the collapsed riprap at the Calamba side of Guadalupe River created a barrier that constricted the flow of the water.

That, he said, resulted to a much stronger water current that stressed the Sambag 2 side's riprap wall, so much so that the structure also collapsed two hours later.

"So, tungod sa (water) current, paghampak sa wall naharang man sa mga bato, so diri sad nahampak sa pikas side. Dili na siya free flowing ba," he said.

"Ang problema kay ang riprap sa Sambag 2 mura'g karaan and medyo gabok na bitaw," he added. — / RHM (FREEMAN)