THE Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) and village personnel recently covered 13 manholes in Barangay Basak Pardo, Cebu City to prevent a similar tragedy as that which claimed a five-year-old boy’s life last month.
On July 13, 2019, John Clark Ebua was playing with a ball in the rain outside his house in Basak-Pardo when he fell into a manhole, got carried by the floodwaters therein and drowned.
The City Council, on July 23, passed a resolution, which was authored by Councilor Dondon Hontiveros and seconded by Councilor Dave Tumulak, to request the DEPW to cover the open culverts and manholes.
The DEPW conducted an inspection, and its personnel discovered that 13 manholes were open in Basak-Pardo. Some of the manholes were opened during the search for Ebua’s body.
Before the resolution was passed, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella had ordered to put covers on open manholes in the city to avoid future incidents similar to that of Ebua’s predicament. (From PAC of Superbalita Cebu/KAL)