NINETY percent of the Task Force Gubat sa Baha (TFGB) program focuses on flood mitigation, yet the Cebu City Government has not allocated a dedicated budget or manpower for it.
This prompted Melquiades Feliciano, a retired military general who now leads the task force as chief implementor, to seek P15 billion in funding from the City to implement his proposed medium- to long-term solutions to mitigate flooding in the city.
Feliciano told SunStar Cebu on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, that he presented his proposed programs and projects to the council to support the TFGB infrastructure programs in fighting against flooding in the city.
“Well, according to the estimates, it’s probably around P15 billion, more or less, but that’s just an estimate…I presented to the council last month the detailed engineering and estimates of what we need. If funds are available, it can be implemented within five years. It can be implemented simultaneously,” said Feliciano in Cebuano.
“I just presented it to the Council, so it’s up to the City how they can make the funding available,” Feliciano emphasized.
The task force, which was created in 2022, focuses on the strict implementation of the three-meter easement and the construction of medium-rise buildings to house displaced residents affected by the project. It has a list of comprehensive components that will be prioritized, including an infrastructure approach, public awareness, controlling the source of water, and proper solid waste management.
Feliciano, who has been with the TFGB for four months, reiterated that the task force has no dedicated budget for the implementation of their medium- to long-term programs.
“Kanang medium and long term wala pa, short term ra ang naa and kon unsay naa nga available dinha sa mga department pero as to the medium- and long-term wala pa (The medium- and long-term plans are not in place yet; only short-term measures are available, utilizing what’s currently available in the departments. There is still nothing for the medium and long term),” stressed Feliciano.
But Feliciano stressed that Acting Mayor Raymond Garcia has been very supportive of the program of the task force, but he hopes that the City officials can find a way to make the funds available to implement the project he presented.
According to Feliciano, the city’s existing drainage system, particularly on Colon St., is outdated and inadequate for the city’s current needs, as it fails to account for the impact of climate change and the major developments made in recent years.
A report by SunStar Cebu on June 30, 2024, said that the city’s existing drainage system was built in 1980, which is 44 years old and is presently used.
Feliciano stressed that flooding is inevitable, but if the old drainage system is improved, the flood will immediately dry up.
“The identified infrastructure is more on the so-called water trunk drainage system that will be constructed in the middle and under the road that is big with the size of a truck, which will also identify areas like the Colon proper and other subsequently flooded areas,” Feliciano said.
A water trunk drain is a large-capacity drainage channel or stormwater pipe that carries runoff from local street drainage systems to receiving waters.
This water trunk drain will measure 3×3 meters in diameter and will have a cylindrical diameter of 2.6 meters, said Feliciano.
He also said that the improvement of tributary canals and rivers is part of the medium- to long-term programs.
Short-term plans
According to Feliciano, the city has funding for TFGB but it is only available through the department.
He said there is already P400 million in funding from the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office for dredging and desilting rivers.
“Yes, what the departments have, that’s what can be used. That declogging machine is in the DEPW (Department of Engineering and Public Works); there is P24 million available, but initially, those are only short-term programs that can be implemented, and those relocation facilities that have been approved for P600 million,” said Feliciano.
The dredging, desilting, the procurement of declogging, as well as the three-meter easements, include the programs that the City has funded.
“Actually, I just don’t know if the Task Force can be funded, or maybe through the departments, as long as we have a program, but it depends on the executive and legislative branches,” Feliciano said. /CDF