The rainy season has begun, but Metro Cebu isn’t ready for the return of flashfloods.
Summer came and went, with no massive dredging of the Mahiga Creek or other waterways that overflow during a downpour.
And just this week, City Hall started to remove foot bridges over the creek.
Only Cebu’s leaders who attended the Metro Cebu Development Coordinating Body (MCDCB) meeting cheered when it was announced that consultants would arrive in July to start a feasibility study for an integrated drainage plan for Metro Cebu.
To the public at large, especially those who’ve witnessed flashfloods occuring more easily with one or two hours of heavy rain, last week’s announcement seemed like a we’re back to square one.
Another return to the drawing board for multi-million peso projects to meet needs identified long before.
The public has been through this cycle before.
An integrated flood and drainage master plan for Cebu City was drafted in the late 1990s. The plan needed large funds but didn’t materialize because Cebu’s leaders weren’t united enough to lobby for funding support from the Palace.
Feasibility studies will take over a year to complete, after which the hunt for funding and the budget process may overtake the three-year term limit of local officials.
The macro solutions that require infrastructure will mean waiting for the government to get its act together.
In the meantime, what do citizens do?
Staying idle and helpless is not a recipe for survival. Households and business enterprise have to take serious steps to plan ahead for disaster response and mitigation. Urban flooding will recur, that’s for sure.
Staying alert for weather updates and flood-proofing one’s environs is a worthwhile effort but remains a self-centered response.
We strongly suggest getting involved in solutions lying in front of us.
Unfinished road construction sites will aggravate both traffic and water flow. If you see a site virtually abandoned by contractors, yell and demand that the mayor or some key official take responsibility and act.
Volunteer for river cleanup drives and take the initiative of removing trash in public places — canals, side streets, anywhere you spot them.
Dont’ add to the problem by tossing out plastic and waste that ends up in clogged sewers.
Metro Cebu residents will have to clench their teeth when the rains start pouring hard.
Whre’s that drainage master plan? Let’s make sure public officials buckle down to fund, implement and complete the damn project.