The Cebu City government and the regional office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-7) are drafting an “alternate drainage plan” for the city’s downtown area, specifically in Colon.
Cebu City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo said the alternate drainage plan would redirect floodwaters away from the downtown. He said the DPWH has asked City Hall to ask the help of the private sector to help shoulder the project.
Castillo said the plan was conceived because the city government would find it difficult to persuade commercial establishments to get rid of structure that encroach on the three-meter easement zone in rivers.
Castillo said the city government still cannot enforce the three-meter easement due to the constant flooding in the downtown area.
“Giuna gyud nato og solve is the drainage (We first solve the drainage). We cannot establish the easement if magbaha. Ako gyud nabantayan sa Colon is magbaha (We cannot establish the easement if it floods. I notice that Colon always gets flooded),” Castillo said.
Movement
Instead of destroying part of the buildings of commercial establishments which Castillo said would be costly, the DPWH would build an alternate drainage system based on their study of flood flow.
Castillo said the project is a collaboration between the city government and the DPWH since Colon Street is a national road.
He said he hopes the DPWH can submit the plan within this week.
Castillo said the alternate drainage plan would convince some stores in Colon to remove the elevated railings that prevent persons with disabilities (PWDs) and the elderly to enter their premises.
“So if we solve the flooding, we can level the entire sidewalk in Colon and we can recover the areas like the easement,” he said.