Saturday, July 07, 2007 Mayor forms TF Contra-Avenida to resolve flooding
MAYOR Celso Lobregat on Friday formed Task Force Contra Avenida, a group mandated to develop and formulate short-, medium-, and long- term mitigating measures to totally resolve drainage and flooding problems specifically along the city's 7-kilometer radius.
The creation of the Task Force was a result of a meeting with multi-sectoral groups held at the City Hall conference room Friday.
It is a follow-through of the present administration's relentless effort to prevent and control flooding during heavy rains in the city.
Lobregat stressed that flood control and the improvement of the city's drainage program are among the top priorities of his administration since his first term in office in 2004.
The same programs, he said, are included in the League of Cities and World Bank-sponsored program City Development Strategies 3 Program or CDS3, which is an enabling platform for good governance and improving service delivery.
During the meeting, the mayor cited the need for a thorough study and assessment of the existing flood control and drainage program in view of the ongoing development in the different areas of the city.
Directly affected by the flooding and drainage problems are the barangays of Tumaga, Pasonanca, Tetuan, Tugbungan, Talon-talon, Mampang, San Jose Gusu, and the areas within the city's 7 kilometer radius.
The task force is composed of national government agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Science and Technology (Dost) and its line agencies, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Department of Agiculture (DA), Philippine National Police, City Engineer's Office, District Engineer's Office, the United Architects Association of the Philippines-Zamboanga chapter, the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) Zamboanga chapter, the Sangguniang Panlungsod, the barangay officials of the concerned areas several other groups.
Lobregat chairs the task force with DOST Director Brenda Nazareth as vice chair.
The group's functions will include the following: to maintain technical data bases to assist in planning and decision making to include but not limited to existing drainage system, rainfall data, inventory of existing flood control, topographic maps, location maps and barangay center maps, flood susceptibility map, barangay inputs and tidal record; to review and evaluate existing flood control/ drainage programs of the national and local government and submit appropriate recommendations; to review and assess on the Report of the Flood Susceptibility Map of Zamboanga and other relevant data/ studies and draw up a flood control on the Master Development Plan identifying specific mitigating measures which can be implemented within the next 6 months, medium term and long term; and to draw up capital investment plan for the implementation of the project.
The meeting Friday was attended by the representatives from the different national government agencies, CEO, City Planning and Development Office, Zamboanga City Water District, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, Cables Networks, barangay chairman from concerned barangays, and Councilors Abdurahman Nuno, Lilia Nuno, Jawo Jimenez, Eddie Saavedra, Nonong Guingona, Rey Candido and many others. (SEC)
