THE Ancillary Services Unit (ASU) of the City Mayor's Office wants construction firms disposing their wastes be penalized after finding out that its construction materials are the ones clogging canals in Davao City.
ASU head Paul Bermejo said Tuesday, June 18, that these construction wastes, such as debris, sands and gravel, are being disposed in some open canals and gutters, contributing to the clogging of the city's drainage.
Bermejo said his personnel recovered some of these wastes during their clean-up operations in the city.
"Before, inig kusog ang ulan, after how many hours, mu-subside dayon. Karon, dugay na mu-subside ang water. Dati, ang mga flood-prone areas ra ang ginabaha. Karon, halos tanang areas, pati major streets sa Davao, ginabaha na. Ta's dugay pa mu-subside (Before, flood brought by heavy rains would subside in a few hours but now, it would take longer. Also, areas that are not usually prone are already being flooded)," he told SunStar Davao.
The ASU official also noted construction practices that must be corrected.
"Kung naa man gud ka sa construction, gahimo ka og foundation. Imoha mang kwaan og tubig na diha. Ang tubig nila, diha nila sa drainage nila ginadiretso, unya maapil man ang lapok. Nakit-an namo nag-stagnant na ang tubig kay dili na kasulod sa drainage. Ang lapok halos naa na sa gutter magtapok (In their construction practices, instead of properly draining the used water, they would throw it directly into the drainage. This would include mud, which clogs the drainage)," Bermejo said.
He said an ongoing construction of a private firm in Agdao is doing such practice, which he will be filing a complaint to the Office of the City Building Official (Ocbo) for immediate sanction.
Bermejo said his office has sufficient evidence to prove his complaint.
He also said a school currently being constructed in Talomo had also been dumping its construction wastes in nearby canals.
Although he is still uncertain of the penalty these firms might face, the illegal disposal of water waste from the construction site is a violation of the Sanitary Code of the city, said Bermejo.
He also said other agencies such as City Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office and City Transport and Traffic Management Office have observed such malpractices.
"Amo kanang tutukan karon. Isa na sa nahisgutan sa among department meeting (sa City Hall) (We will monitor it. It was already discussed during our department meeting at the City Hall)," Bermejo said
He also said there is a possibility that ASU will be pushing for an enabling ordinance to stop these construction malpractices on waste disposal.