Residents voluntarily dismantle a wooden foot bridge over the Mahiga Creek connecting barangay Mabolo in Cebu City and barangay Subandaku in Mandaue City. At least 18 foot bridges are the subject of demolition.(CDN/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
WITH the onset of the rainy season and risk of flashfloods , at least 10 of 18 foot bridges on Mahiga Creek were dismantled last June 22, Tuesday.
The demolition which started at 9 a.m. was carried out by residents living on the Cebu City side of the creek in barangay Mabolo which overflowed when rains hit Metro Cebu last June 18.
They chose to remove the concrete bridges and metal bars themselves to salvage the materials rather than let City Hall’s wrecking crew do the job.
After seeing last week’s urban flooding in Cebu City after a downpour, Raquel Arce, who heads the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (PROBE) team, said they started the demolition of foot bridges along the Mahiga Creek.
“Most of the foot bridges are being used by Subangdaku residents in Mandaue City. They use it as access to Cebu City,” she said.
In a 10-day notice sent out on June 3, PROBE asked residents to voluntarily “clear” the foot bridges or else the task force would do it for them.
The demolition will take several days since they lack equipment to speed up the work.
She said the demolition is overdue since most of the residents already moved out after roadside structures were demolished in 2011.
“Our policy is that if we remove the footbridges, the owners won’t get to keep the materials. But if they demolish it, they can keep the materials,” Arce said.
With the links gone, Mandaue City families living near the creek will have to take a longer route to get to Lorgata street in Mandaue City where SM Hyper Market is located.
Mandaue City Hall also started relocating families on their side of the Mahiga Creek located close to the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) office and across the old Cebu City nursery.
One footbridge leads to the Mandaue city slaughterhouse. Will Probe remove it?
Arce said “if it is included in the clearing order, then we will remove it.”/INQUIRER with Reporter Victor Anthony V. Silva, Correspondent Nestle L. Semilla and CTU Intern Marc Eric A. Cosep