Mandaue City Mayor Gabriel Luis “Luigi” Quisumbing (left photo, 5th from left) leads the groundbreaking ceremony of the Butuanon River viewing deck. Above is an artist’s rendition of the P2 million project in a portion of the banks of the river. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
Quisumbing: Project to create awareness on river rehab, condition
TO CREATE more awareness on the general condition and rehabilitation of the Butuanon River, a P2 million viewing deck will be built in a portion of its bank in Mandaue City.
“We needed an area bitaw sa Butuanon River where people can see the general condition of the river in an easy to access manner,” said Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing about the project, which broke ground on Friday.
The viewing deck, which is projected to cost about P2 million, will be funded by private entities such as the Vicsal Foundation and Matimco.
Quisumbing said the construction of a viewing deck, which had been targeted to be finished in the first week of November, would provide a space for the public to see the actual situation of the Butuanon river.
“The entire intention of this is to bring awareness, hopefully positive change on the development for the Butuanon River,” he said.
The city government has been conducting the river rehabilitation.
The pilot area of the river rehabilitation project is a one-kilometer stretch, which covers three barangays in the city – Ibabao-Estancia, Alang-Alang and Paknaan.
Within the area, Quisumbing noted the poor quality of water in the river, which also showed high form of sedimentation.
“This area really needed a lot of help because for many decades the Butuanon River had been neglected. This is why the water quality is very poor because of the garbage thrown in the river. This is also one of the the causes of flooding because garbage will clog the waterways. Aside from that, this (garbage) is also causing high sedimentation in the river,” the mayor said in Cebuano and English.
Vice Mayor Carlo Pontico Fortuna also cited households as a big contributor of water pollution in the river.
“The large part of it comes from the household. Kanang hinugas, maligo, tanan paingon sa river because the drainage system of the city connects to the river and all the way to the sea,” Fortuna said.
At present, the city government has been raising awareness especially to settlers living along the riverbanks and factories that dump their waste directly to the river.
“We have been working with the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) to make sure nga ang ilang waste management labi na ilang sewage and septage systems are up to standards,” Quisumbing said.
While, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is also installing slope protection on the riverside.