MY ARTICLE titled "Beyond Politics: Sensible Solutions to prevent the next flash floods!" published in my column on August 4 had elicited many responses, feedbacks, and suggestions from the readers.
This only goes to show that Bacolodnons are concerned with what is happening in the city, especially on matters and events that seriously affect everybody.
This is a good sign because smart, world-class cities like Singapore and Seoul in South Korea, foster citizen participation and their leaders ensure adequate citizen inputs in city urban planning.
So, I was very happy for the citizens' feedback and suggestions that they sent to me about the recent floods that inundated much of the built-up areas in Bacolod on August 2, 2018.
Isagani Tan, Jr. wrote for the city officials to "encourage more citizen engagement in implementing and pursuing the proposed Master Drainage Plan of the City. This Plan has to be made public so that citizens can participate and push for the City Government to pursue it including allocating budget for it to materialize sooner than later."
I believe the Master Drainage Plan of the City mentioned by Mr. Tan, if it exists, is different from the on-going drainage project in Lacson Street implemented by the National Government through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Even then, the failure to communicate on the part of the DPWH has resulted to many residents asking why the drainage in Lacson Street was put in the middle of the road, instead of putting it on the side of the road, which is the lower portion.
Farley Peñaflorida, a US-based engineer said the root cause of the floods was lack of discipline. He suggested that each barangay, together with the city environment management team, should conduct a garbage disposal program orientation and then reinforce that with full enforcement of the law/ordinance.
Mr. Peñaflorida said what is needed to implement his suggestion is political will on the part of the Bacolod City officials.
This talk about political will has appeared on the various feedbacks that I received from the Bacolod city residents, saying that the City lacks the political will to implement and enforce the law and ordinances.
This holds true in the case of not implementing the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, especially on the absence of segregation of waste and garbage at source, in the barangay level, which had greatly contributed to flash floods.
That is why lawyer Roland Ravina has suggested that the local government should exercise decisive leadership and political will in order that it can impose discipline and enforce obedience to our laws.
Atty. Ravina said Bacolod has an ordinance banning/regulating the use of plastic as a packaging material which was approved in 2011 but was forgotten.
There are other sensible feedbacks and suggestions from many readers, but all of them have expressed the same - especially on the need for political will to implement the laws and ordinances.