This photo shared by Talisay City Mayor Samsam Gullas shows all kinds of debris, including garbage, stuck in a drainageway in the city.
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas is looking to rent a machine that can vacuum garbage and silt from major drainage ways in the city.
This after the mayor, in a Facebook post shared on Thursday, October 15, 2020, said the Aksyon Agad Team found bulk of garbage and silt in the drainage in Barangay Linao that connects to the national highway.
“Actually sa Linao part, dako man ang drainage, masulod ang tao. The problem now is ang basura sa drainage sa national highway. Tungod sa silt and sa garbage, mu bara gyud ang canal. Tungod sad sa silt, mugamay na nuon ang drainage sa national highway,” the mayor said in the post.
(In Linao, the drainage is huge, a person can fit there. The problem is the garbage found in the drainage along the national highway. Because of silt and garbage, the canal will really be clogged. And because of the silt, the drainage way along the national highway becomes smaller.)
The mayor even said that the Aksyon Agad team once pulled out a bed mattress and some construction materials from the canal. Aside from that, there were also whole plastic bags full of garbage, an indication that residents have been throwing their garbage into the canals.
Because of these factors, water from villages around the area couldn’t flow freely, which then leads to flooding especially when there is a heavy downpour.
“The drainage sa national highway maoy mu handle sa tanan tubig gikan sa tanan balay ug development sa babaw sa Linao and even sa Lawaan 1 dapit Starmall. When ma bara ang drainage, that’s when mu baha gyud,” said Gullas.
(The drainage along the national hgighway handles all the water from houses and other developments from upper areas of Linao and even Lawaan 1 near Starmall. Whtn the drainage gets clogged, that’s when flooding happens.)
With this, the city government is eyeing to rent a machine that could regularly clean major drainage ways in the city. This is the city’s short-term solution to the flooding problem.
The mayor said this would also serve as a preemptive measure for the expected heavy rains of the La Niña season.
“We here in the city, we will look for band aid, short term [solution] and work with DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) for long-term solutions to this problem. I have asked people, even without all the development in the city, it has been a problem since 10-15 years ago. But we will face this problem head on,” said the mayor.
For long-term solutions, the DPWH promised the city that it will build another outfall to redirect the floodwater to the nearby rivers.
They are currently negotiating with a private land owner to allow the construction to pass through the property. Gullas is hoping the project can start next week.
Read: Gullas vows to give Talisay’s tourism industry a boost
/bmjo