Thursday, May 31, 2007 Editorial: Identifying ‘dangerous’ sites
THE plan of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDCC) to pinpoint danger sites and warn concerned residents of the risks posed by floods is good.
There is no substitute for preparation when disaster is the topic.
More so with the onset of the rainy season after a long dry spell.
Riverbank structures
As announced by Councilor Gerardo Carillo, chairman of the CCDCC, more than 2,000 structures in 35 barangays along riverbanks will be marked "dangerous sites."
After that, it will be up to the concerned residents and barangay officials to ensure that the danger areas will be cleared once the water rises during heavy rains.
A river cleanup is also supposedly in the works.
Rainy season
Unfortunately for Carillo and CCDCC, what they are doing already runs smack into the initial stages of the wet season, when rains have fallen and rivers are flowing.
Why they did not plan this months earlier shows neglect or lack of foresight.
Now the CCDCC need to speed up the posting of the signs and the river cleanup will be done in a more difficult and dangerous situation, considering flash floods.
Of course, the CCDCC is not the only agency suffering this lapse.
It was only after rain started to fall days ago that talks about improving the drainage in some areas to ease flooding have become the vogue again.
What is laughable is that in areas where City Hall workers started replacing the drainage pipes, they were so slow the first few rains already caught up with their work.
Not the elections
One can say that the elections may have interfered with the effort of some councilors to prepare for whatever problems the onset of the wet season will bring.
But that is precisely the reason why incumbent officials running for reelection are not forced by law to resign once the campaign period starts: to ensure continuity.
The problem then is not the election period but:
--One, the tendency of officials to give less importance to the delivery of basic services like disaster preparedness and drainage; and,
--Two, their penchant to work feverishly only when problems are staring at them in the face.
