After being told that their establishments were built on top of what used to be natural waterways, what next?
It was the turn yesterday of a motel, mall and condominium to be asked to submit their drainage plans to the Cebu City government after being sent notices of violation.
“What is common among all the three establishments is that the waterway is underground. I told them that the thrust of the river council is to open up our rivers and to recover the three-meter easement,” said Joey Daluz III, chief of the Cebu City River Management Council.
Daluz met with representatives from Ayala Center Cebu, Prince Court motel and Lot 8 Condominium after notices were sent to seven companies last week for alleged encroachment on rivers, creeks and waterways in the city.
He said the City Planning and Development Office should have copies of drainage plans of businesses operating in the city but there were none.
Company representatives were “very cooperative”, he said, and “exploratory talks” would continue to find solutions and “how the city and these establishments can help each other in recovering our rivers.”
“Ayala even said that their underground canal is big enough for a jeepney to pass through. We want to investigate. It’s underground and we can’t see. We can’t say the drainage is adequate since they (Ayala and other businesses) admitted that they still experience flooding in their areas,” Daluz said.
WHAT VIOLATION?
Ayala Center Cebu has an “appropriate drainage and sewage network” worth over P700 million, said Jeanette Japzon, corporate communications manager of Cebu Holdings Inc. in a statement.
She said this was “large enough to accommodate the drainage outflow to and from our property. The development is covered by appropriate permits from the respective government agencies.”
Ayala Center was developed on the old Club Filipino golf course, a province-owned property sold in a public bidding in 1998 during the term of Gov. Emilio Osmeña.
CHI, which operates Ayala Center Cebu and is one of the top real estate taxpayers, questioned the notice sent to them by City Hall.
“There were no violations cited both in the notice we received and at the clarificatory conference which was more of an exchange of information to find a solution to the city’s problem,” Japzon said.
She showed a copy of the CCRMC’s notice of violation sent to Ayala Center.
None of the seven listed possible violations were checked to specify any lapses of the mall.
She said Ayala Center conducts “periodic” dredging of the canal outside their property, along MJ Cuenco Ave. as part of its “pro-active initiatives.”
An initial P6 million was invested to upgrade their drainage systems.
“Technical review of facilities, including drainage, is ongoing in the light of the changing climate and environmental conditions,” she said.
The City Hall list several possible violations: the non-compliance of easement regulations in the Civil Code of the Philippines, provisions in Presidential Decree No. 1067 or the Water Code of the Philippines; and Republic Act 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.
Other possible offenses listed are extraction of sand and gravel from riverbanks, dumping of garbage and solid waste into the river, converting part of a bridge or wharf for private use or obstruction and putting up structures that are a public nuisance under City Ordinance 1481.
“In view of the foregoing, you are hereby notified to voluntarily remove/demolish your illegal structures and reverse any and all effects of such violation,” the notice reads. It also directs the establishment to attend the clarificatory conference scheduled by the city.
Last Monday, in a similar conference, lawyer Mark Avila of Colonnade Mall and Supermarket of the Oriente Theater complex, said their establishments on Colon Street were built on property existing long before the Water Code and Civil Code were passed.
He presented an 1873 vintage map that showed Teatro Junquera, later known as Oriente Theater, located at the end of a creek.
On Tuesday, representatives of PLDT and Visayas Community Medical Center appealed to City Hall not to single them out, and to include all business establishments in the anti-flood efforts.
Daluz said the commission decided to start with the seven firms to set an example.
“It only takes one establishment to sacrifice, open the river and improve it, It will just spread and others will follow. I hope there’s one establishment that will do that,” he said.
Related Stories:
Japan consultants say Cebu drainage plans need update
Where’s Metro Cebu drainage master plan?
Rama wants summit, review of drainage master plan