Garbage are stuck in drainage holes along the national highway in Talisay City after floodwater subsided on Thursday morning, May 27, 2021. CDN Digital photo | Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas appealed to residents to be more responsible with disposing their garbage after heavy rains on early Thursday morning, May 27, 2021, caused some flooding anew along the national highway in Barangay Bulacao.
In a Facebook post, Mayor Gullas said it has been quite some time since the area had been flooded and was surprised that it returned after a heavy downpour that started on Wednesday night.
“Since I began my term as mayor, the drainage issue in Bulacao was one problem Talisay faced all throughout the years. In fact, to address the matter permanently, we even asked DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) and their contractors to speed up their ongoing drainage projects in Bulacao. And for a time, the flooding problem in Bulacao was solved,” said the mayor “And na-surprise gyud ko nga after so many months nga niuwan siya, karun ra gyud nibalik ug baha to that extent.”
READ: Gullas says DPWH currently working on drainage system to address flooding problems in Talisay
A netizen posted on Facebook the extent of the flooding on Thursday morning that went viral on social media.
Watch it here:
Gullas said that because of the flooding problem in the city, he created the Aksyon Agad Team to respond to flooding and help unclog road drainages.
Shortly after the floodwater subsided on Thursday, the team immediately responded and found out that garbage was still the main reason why rain water caused flooding in the area.
No excuses
“Upon close checking sa mga drainages, nakita gyud ang problema. Garbage. Tons and tons of garbage were found lodged in our drainages. Mostly plastic pa gyud ang gipanglabay. Despite our efforts to help mitigate flooding in Bulacao through infrastructure, flooding will still occur as long as indiscriminate atong paglabay sa basura,” Gullas said in the post.
The Aksyon Agad team reported that the drainage holes were filled with garbage, blocking the flow of rain water. The water also pulled more garbage to these holes, causing more blockage.
Gullas, however, said the city government is not making any excuses over the flooding problem and promised that they will find a long term solution to the problem.
READ: Garbage, silt in drainage causing floods in Talisay City
Still, the mayor is appealing to residents to be more responsible in dealing with their garbage to help prevent flooding, especially since they will be the most affected when this happens.
