You would think that a national agency like the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) would coordinate and consult with a local government unit (LGU) before it would implement a project in the latter’s area of jurisdiction.
In an ideal world, it should. But as we all know, it’s far from ideal, so the answer is no. It doesn’t coordinate or consult.
This has prompted Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival to ask DPWH 7 to provide a complete list of all flood control projects in the city since 2022, including their cost and status.
It may have come as a shock to Archival when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reported that Cebu ranks second nationwide in the number of such projects, even though it is not even found on the top 10 list of flood-prone provinces.
But before conspiracy theorists can even utter “foul,” let me hit the pause button for a minute. The President’s list was incomplete. He said there are 414 flood control projects in Cebu, second only to Bulacan’s 668 projects. But he didn’t explain what these projects were specifically.
The public may have a slight inkling, but I’m pretty sure whatever they know they gleaned from the internet since the Philippines is not exactly known for its civil engineers. Singers, yes. Seafarers, yes. Dictators, definitely.
I had to google “flood control projects” to learn that these are broadly categorized into structural and non-structural approaches.
Structural methods involve physical modifications to the landscape or infrastructure, such as dams, levees, and drainage systems. (AI Overview’s words not mine.)
Well, what does that mean in lay man’s terms?
I guess these refer to projects that are built to control how water moves, like dams, which hold water back. Residents of Cebu City are familiar with that word, albeit with “gabion” preceding it, because it’s bandied about whenever the rainy season starts. Of course, when summer comes around and the city is baking under searing temperatures, all talks of dams, gabion or not, evaporate into thin air.
Levees or dikes also fall into this category. To those who don’t know, a dike refers to walls that are built along rivers to prevent flooding. (I know some of you are thinking it, so behave.)
I haven’t been exactly on the lookout for dikes so I have yet to see one. Then again, I’m not sure I would know what one would look like even if it was right in front of me. But Cebu City does have them. The AI Overview said so. According to it, the DPWH has constructed a 771-meter flood control structure along the Mananga River in Bonbon, a mountain barangay, which includes a spill dike. Then it tries to show off and spews out technical jargon, like I would have an idea what Z-Type steel sheet piles are.
But we all know what drainage systems are. There’s one right smack under J. Urgello St. in Barangay Sambag 1. The whole stretch looked like a battlefield for several years before the project could be completed. Are residents complaining now? Of course not. But during its implementation, which took years, by the way, invectives were hurled. Several times.
So that brings me to non-structural methods. Again, I refer to the almighty AI Overview for answers. These refer to approaches that focus on land use planning, flood forecasting and public awareness to minimize flood damage.
I know. Boring.
So what did Mayor Archival exactly tell Beyond the Headlines, SunStar Cebu’s online news and commentary program?
He said the LGU is often excluded from planning, which is why he wrote the agency, asking it to make him understand why this is so.
In other words, he wants the City to be in the loop; otherwise, he would withhold approval for new projects unless the DPWH “provides a clear schedule, commits to 24-hour work and assigns personnel to reduce traffic disruption.”
I guess it could happen.