Labella directs City Engineering to siphon floodwater trapped in Poblacion Pardo

The natural creek that flows through Barangay Poblacion Pardo in Cebu City. The blockage of some parts caused the long term flooding of a subdivision in the area. | Delta Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella directed the City Engineering’s Office (CEO) to immediately siphon the floodwater trapped on a street in Barangay Poblacion Pardo.

The mayor issued the order after he received the report on the trapped floodwater in the barangay, which has posed health risks to the residents, upon his return to Cebu from a five-day trip to Xiamen, China on Thursday, September 12.

The  second street of a subdivision in Barangay Poblacion Pardo has been submerged in flood since the rainy season begun last July, and because of a blockage built by residents on 3rd Street, the water could not flow into the lower area where it could drain naturally, the City Engineering’s Office has earlier reported.

Labella said he was very concerned about the health risk posed to residents by the stagnant floodwater and directed the CEO to have the floodwater siphoned from the area as soon as possible.

As a long term solution, Labella said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have allotted P8.2 billion for drainage projects in Metro Cebu,  mostly in Cebu City, with a dedicated budget for the drainage system at the Natalio Bacalso Highway.

The city also has a P1.5 million budget for the drainage expansions that has remained untouched since 2015, he added.

The recently formed Inter-Agency Task Force on Flooding  will be tasked to hasten the implementation of major flood control projects ahead of the projected completion date of 2026.

“We cannot wait for 2026. It is too long. We need a solution to the flood sooner,” said Labella.

The mayor said that if the drainage in N. Bacalso Highway is solved, it will lessen the accumulation of water in the 2nd street.

However, the CEO  said that the only way to stop the flooding on 2nd Street  of the subdivision is to open 3rd Street to allow the water to drain through it. The residents on 3rd Street have been hostile towards the city’s personnel attempt to negotiate the removal of the blockade.

Read more: Refusal of residents to open up creek passageways keeps Pardo flooding unsolved- DEPW

Labella said the law will be on the city’s side because flooding is a matter of general welfare and he will have the case looked into by the City Legal Office to determine the legal intervention that City Hall might have to do so they could address the flooding situation in the area./elb