‘Water crisis’ in Cebu City, declares Mayor Rama

CDN FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Mayor Michael Rama has declared a state of water crisis in Cebu City following the rise in the daily heat index, which could potentially lead to a water shortage.

“I will now declare a crisis on water. I declare a crisis now,” Rama said.

This water crisis declaration of Rama on April 1 stems from the 28 mountain barangays in Cebu City having been placed under a state of calamity as a result of the adverse effects of El Niño.

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The situation has led to concerns such as saltwater intrusion, which threatens potable water sources in the city

Addressing water crisis

Rama urged city departments, his appointees, and lawmakers to come together and address the upcoming water crisis.

While preparations for the El Niño phenomenon have been ongoing since March 2023, Rama noted the importance of increasing efforts to prevent or minimize the anticipated crisis and address water shortage in certain areas.

He mentioned plans to request the council’s declaration of a state of calamity to allocate funds for aiding affected barangays.

Rama wants to find more water sources for areas with water shortage.

Practical approach

According to the mayor, when he visited the city’s 80 barangays, he noticed that there are still untapped water sources in the mountains that haven’t been affected by El Niño.

These areas include barangays Bonbon, Boot, Lusaran, and Tagbao.

To address this issue, Rama wants to hold a meeting to discuss the plan. He believes that using “common sense” and practical approaches is crucial when dealing with water distribution.

Furthermore, Rama wants to prioritize the construction of gabion dams to store runoff water in certain areas.

This will help capture water during rainy periods for future use.

State of calamity

Last March 27, Cebu City declared a “state of calamity” in 28 mountain barangays.

City Councilor Joel Garganera, who penned the said resolution, emphasized that the declaration of a state of calamity in Cebu’s mountain barangays aims to facilitate the mobilization of resources and the implementation of critical measures to mitigate the impacts of the crisis.

These include the barangays of Budlaan, Binaliw, Paril, Taptap, Pulangbato, Guba, Cambinocot, Pamutan, Sirao, Sapangdaku, Sudlon 1, Sudlon 2, Bonbon, Buot, and Tagbao.

A total of P96 million for the needed El Niño expenditures and other Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) activities was proposed by Garganera.

Though the idea of the request was approved, the approval of the budget allocated for the necessary expenditures for the said intervention are still yet to be discussed by the council for the next session. /with reports from Kim Ablaña