Disaster office revisits Cebu City drainage plan

FOLLOWING the massive flooding and landslides Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) is revisiting the drainage master plan of the City.

The Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW), for its part, deployed its personnel and equipment to clear landslides in the absence of a long-term slope protection program.

“So for now, reactive pa ta. Kung naa slide, actionan dayon sa ato Team Bukid (DEPW peronnel assigned in mountain barangays),” said City Engineer Kenneth Carmelita Enriquez.

Enriquez said his office is asking for funds to defray the cost of design and slope protection works.

CDRRMO officer-in-charge Ramil Ayuman said there is a need to revisit the City’s drainage plan to address the massive flooding after the intense rainfall on Tuesday.

He also said he has asked the barangay chairpersons of all 80 barangays in the City to submit a contingency plan.

Ayuman met with the barangay officials in Tisa over the flooding in Sitio Tambisan.

He said they discussed the ongoing developments, mostly subdivision projects, in the area.

He said Cebu City Councilor Phillip Zafra, former Tisa barangay captain, suggested that a certain property in Sitio Tambisan be expropriated and converted into a catchment basin.

The DEPW also proposed a P100-million budget for drainage design consultancy in the 2021 annual budget.

Pending the design consultancy for the drainage system, Enriquez said massive declogging is being conducted in areas that are frequently flooded.

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella assured that he will support the DEPW proposal.

Earl Escanuela, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Unified Project Management Office Flood Control head, said the DPWH has three ongoing projects in Cebu City for the improvement of several drainage outfalls.

Escanuela said the projects involve river widening, construction of revetment using steel sheet piles and dredging of the rivers of Subangdaku, Tejero, Lahug, Guadalupe, Kinalumsan and Bulacao.

He said construction works were hampered by the coronavirus pandemic and the obstruction caused by informal settlers.

Ayuman said the CDRRMO should not wait for people to get hurt.

“Wala ta’y mga casualty (karon) pero di ta ganahan muabot ana,” said Ayuman.

Meanwhile, Cebu City Police Office Director Josefino Ligan said he has mobilized 32 policemen from the Cebu City Mobile Force Company and 11 police stations to serve as search and rescue team.

They have also prepared their rescue equipment, including a rubber boat and life vests.

Ligan said police monitored the water level in the major rivers in the City as well as the landslide-prone areas in the mountain barangays. (JJL with AYB)

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