Tuesday, March 25, 2008 Talisay sets aside P5.9M for programs
THE Talisay City Council has allowed Mayor Socrates Fernandez to disburse P5.9 million from the calamity fund for the City’s disaster preparedness programs this year.
It approved the resolution of Councilor Ben Abatayo, committee chairman on social services, that gives the mayor authority.
The measure stresses the need to undertake disaster preparedness activities to ensure safety and survival of Talisaynons during emergencies.
Vulnerable
It cited a report of the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that Talisay is vulnerable “to almost all types of natural and man-made hazards.”
The MGB, it said, has declared some barangays in the city as prone to floods and landslides.
This includes Barangay Lagtang, which has become susceptible to mudflows during heavy rains because of uphill housing subdivision projects in neighboring Barangay Bulacao.
Last December, a small village in Lagtang was inundated by rainwater because of the clogged drainage system of an unfinished hilltop subdivision project.
The drainage is linked to the Mananga riverbank.
Abatayo also cited joint Memorandum Circular 2003-2 of the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Interior and Local Government allowing the council to use calamity funds for disaster preparedness activities, “provided the council shall declare an imminent danger of calamity.” (GC)
