City dad wants more funds for flooding in Cebu City

Parts of Barangay Tisa are submerged in waters after the 8 p.m. rains on October 13. Some portions of the area had leg-deep floodwaters. | Contributed photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Jerry Guardo wants more funding for the drainage and anti-flooding projects in the city following the massive flash floods in the past week.

In a privilege speech, Guardo said that the flash flood was caused by accumulated unresolved problems of obstruction of waterways, uncompleted drainage projects, and continuous garbage problems.

“But now, the problem has reached the uptown and it is quite alarming; thus, we should look at the root causes,” said Guardo.

The councilor said that agencies such as the Department of Public Work and Highways (DPWH), Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW), the Office of the Building Official (OBO), and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) should work together and solve the problem.

Read: Two dead, minor still missing due to flooding in Cebu City

The incident last October 13, 2020, where three people died because of the overflowing of the Kamputhaw River should serve as a warning to the city that things may get worse this La Niña period.

For a start, Guardo wants the hotel, which built a box type bridge on top of the Kamputhaw River near the Rahmann Bridge, to be investigated on why they did not comply with the proper height to allow flow of floodwater during heavy rains. The freeboard should have reached 1.5 meters.

The Kamputhaw River has also narrowed due to other obstructions and informal settlers along the more than 7 kilometer stretch of the river.

Read: In photos: Floods hit parts of Metro Cebu after heavy downpour

Guardo noted that this was a common problem in other major river systems such as Lahug, Bulacao, Kinalumsan, and Butuanon.

For this, reason, Guardo called on the OBO to provide the council a list of all structures that have violated the 3-meter easement policy and even directly obstructing the waterways.

He also called the DEPW to conduct massive dredging in the rivers and remove silt and garbage to provide more space for water to flow.

Finally, he called on DPWH Secretary Mark Villar to appropriate more funding for the implementation of Flood Control Projects in the city.

Read: Labella: Households in riversides need to be relocated to solve flooding

Mayor Edgardo Labella said they were working with the establishment obstructing the waterways so that they would volunteer to remove these instead of a city-sanctioned demolition.

The city is also looking for a place to relocate the informal settlers as he insists that no demolition be made unless the families are properly relocated.

The mayor added that they have coordinated with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to clean up the riverways to prevent future floods./dbs