PERENNIAL flooding in a residential area near the three-hectare City Camp Lagoon has prompted local officials to consider the permanent transfer of residents for their safety and protection during typhoons and heavy rains.
But the transfer will only push through if available lands for resettlement and titles awarded to residents by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will be reversed, said Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan.
Domogan said the areas usually hit by the floods have never been identified previously as a settlement site but intended for city needs including a satellite open market and terminal for West-bound public transport.
The mayor raised this concern after citing the yearly pre-emptive evacuation of residents in the area as waters in the lagoon reach critical levels despite improvements made by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The DPWH installed tunnels intended to drain water from the City Camp Lagoon to the Asin River.
In 2010, DPWH placed gigantic screens to filter trash but during typhoons and strong rain, these steel filters continue to get clogged by garbage from residents and communities nearby.
Domogan said residents fear of the structural integrity of their houses in the area. They even oppose efforts to blast a bigger tunnel near Crystal Cave to make way for a wider drainage tunnel, leaving no choice for the city but to make more proactive approaches to address flooding experienced by residents.
He said that the local government will discuss with DPWH and Representative Nicasio Aliping on other remedial measures to undertake in the area or they will have to move residents and find a suitable relocation site for them.
The House committee on lands will discuss the problem on titling of lands in the frequently flooded area and find ways to reverse these titles and relocate residents to a safer location, said Domogan.
"Relocation is one of the plans that we have to consider but alam naman natin na kailangan natin na hingin ang cooperation nila and more importantly kailangan din natin malaman kung saan natin irelocate ang mga tao dyan," he said.
He said former settlers at City Camp Lagoon have already been awarded lands for relocation at Quezon Hill and Hillside in the 1980s but the residents eventually went back to live near the lagoon while also keeping their awarded lands.
The city mayor added residents near the lagoon have also sold these lands to other individuals making it a more complicated issue as residents eventually multiplied in the area.
"We hope na ang mga affected residents will cooperate at tingnan natin on what is the best solution that we can do," he said.
In an interview on July 31, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Undersecretary Eduardo Del Rosario said local governments with the capability to resettle those in critical areas must undertake relocation of residents to ensure the safety during the typhoon season.
Del Rosario said that while most local governments cannot immediately conduct relocation, these local government units (LGUs) must set aside their calamity funds for eventual relocation of these residents.
Meanwhile, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Director John Castañeda said resettlement of those in critical areas must be enforced as Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPs) serve as guides for identifying safe places to build residences.
Castañeda also stressed revising and updating the CLUPs is already hard task for the DILG to push in LGUs.
However, he agreed with Del Rosario's suggestion for local governments to have the political will to eventually transfer those living in danger zones.