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Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Editorials: Cebu City’s drainage problem
It’s surprising how easily Cebu City Government officials raise their arms in surrender in the face of flashfloods that have caused the drowning of six people in Sindulan St., Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
The drainage problem in the city is formidable but only because officials seem to be looking for “grand” projects, neglecting, in the process, the use of available yet less ambitious methods that may not totally solve the problem but can mitigate its effects.
Factors
While the idea that the drainage issue needs to be approached from a wider perspective, thus the appropriation of millions of pesos for feasibility studies, that should not be a reason to indulge in a waiting game and allow the situation to deteriorate.
One cannot fully claim, for example, that the tragedy that befell four members of the Balagapo family and two others would have been prevented had a multi-million peso, foreign-financed drainage system been in place in the city.
While it may have helped, one point that sticks out is that factors—such as the blocking of the creek, the narrowness of drainage pipes and the construction of a weak wall—contributed to the flooding and the trapping of the six victims in a basement.
Those are things that close monitoring and a good dose of political will could have addressed prior to the onset of the rainy season.
Blame game
That does not mean, though, that only the Office of the Building Official (OBO) should be blamed for what happened; barangay officials should share that, too, considering they were closer to where the action was, and also residents who didn’t raise a howl.
And even more so top City Hall officials.
OBO personnel, barangay officials and people in the affected areas will only be able to do the things expected of them if City Government officials provide them with the necessary leadership and focus to prevent the occurrence of tragedies during flashfloods.
With top officials identifying the problem areas, taking stock of available resources, pinpointing priorities and mobilizing the people in the barangays, the deterioration of the situation would have been prevented.
Assurance
Unfortunately, City Hall seems to have realized this only lately—or have noted it before but did not act on it with resolve—when six people drowned in Sindulan.
Even this is no assurance that lessons have been learned; after all, the politicians’ penchant for talk always outstrips their determination to act on problems with dispatch.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 5, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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