The presence of riverbank dwellers is blamed for delays in the implementation of flood control projects in Cebu City. | CDND Photo by Tonee Despojo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — At least P140 million worth of flood control funds have remain unspent by the Cebu City government.
The Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7) said that the allocation will be reverted back to the national coffers if unspent by yearend.
Engineer Earl Carl Escanuela, assistant head of the DPWH-7 Unified Project Management Office-Flood Control Management Cluster (UPMO-FCMC), met with Mayor Edgar Labella on Tuesday morning, October 1, to remind the mayor of the need to already hasten implementation of programs and projects that will be funded from the allocation.
Escanuela also raised a concern on the continued presence of informal settlers along riversbanks which delays the implementation of flood control projects in the area.
“The purpose of the P140 million is for the informal settlers to be relocated. Nothing has been done and if we cannot use that P140 million this year, it will be reverted (back) to the national government (coffers),” Labella told reporters in an interview after their meeting.
City Hall has to relocate at least 700 families who occupy the city’s riverbanks. Of these, at least 200 families can be considered as informal settlers.
Labella said that the P140 million allocation may be used for the purchase of lots where these riverbank dwellers may be relocated. He said that City Hall will shoulder the cost of the planed construction of medium rise tenements that will house these families.
He said that they are now looking at properties located in Barangays Quiot and Cogon for use as socialized housing project sites.
“I told DWUP (Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor) to act fast. You have to act fast because we have the money,” the mayor said.
DPWH-7 earlier raised a concern on delays in their implementation of dredging and widening projects along the Lahug, Tejero, Guadalupe, and Kalunasan rivers because of the presence of informal settlers in these areas. / dcb