Sunday, October 12, 2008 Editorial: Wanted: Arnedo dike plan
FOR the longest time, the Arnedo dike has been a real cause for worry every time heavy rains fall and the Pampanga river swell with floodwaters coming from various sources, notably water channels from Tarlac and Nueva Ecija.
The latest scenario is typical: Strong water currents with logs and other debris pummel the dike. The continuing rainfall causes the river to overflow. The dike is eroded and in danger of breaching somewhere. Towns become basins. Life, livelihood and projects are threatened with costly devastation.
Comes now the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). It has started fortifying damaged portions to avert disaster, but not quite. The intervention, although palliative, will help, so declared a DPWH official.
It's about time the agency had a longer horizon for making the Arnedo dike as strong as it can ever be without throwing good money - taxpayers' money-after bad palliative measures done year in and year out. It will also spare a lot of people whose lives and safety depend on the dike's integrity the bperiodic anxieties, uncertainties and certain losses owing to a dike that potentially is a disaster every time it rains hard and heavy.
It's not just about protection from floods and inundations. The upside of a strong, dependable and safe Arnedo dike should spur more productivity and economic growth in communities around it.
There should, in fact, be a concerted effort among all government agencies that can put together a common plan revolving around the dike. It can change the whole landscape in the towns of Arayat and Candaba, and other parts of the province.
Unwanted: Arnedo Park resolution
It turned out that a recent provincial resolution declaring the Arnedo Park in the provincial capitol as freedom park was not necessary.
Sun.Star Pampanga's columnist, lawyer Jun Bautista, made such clear to all, particularly to unbelievers like embattled Governor Eddie T. Panlilio and encumbered provincial administrator Vivian Dabu.
Citing the law and pertinent jurisprudence, in particular Batas Pambansa 880, Bautista said the park is question is, in fact, a freedom park. In effect, he was saying there was no need for any local law declaring it as such.
Unless of course, the legalists at the Provincial Capitol would like to challenge Bautista's opinion or interpretation.
