Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival stated that damaged and insufficient equipment is slowing daily canal and drainage declogging operations aimed at reducing flooding ahead of the rainy season.
The equipment shortages persist because 397 city-owned vehicles and assets were reported beyond economical repair, with ordered replacement equipment expected to arrive in four to five months.
Despite the slowdowns, Archival reported that recent floodwaters now recede within one to two hours, and some waste-heavy areas have been successfully cleared by 90 to 95 percent.
CEBU City’s damaged and insufficient equipment is slowing daily declogging operations meant to reduce flooding ahead of the rainy season, Mayor Nestor Archival said.
Archival said the city has been clearing canals and drainage systems daily in flood-prone areas, but equipment breakdowns and shortages have limited cleanup efforts.
“Sometimes, because of the equipment that is broken or lacking, that’s the big problem. We already ordered, but it will arrive in about four to five months,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Department of General Services reported that 397 city-owned vehicles and equipment were beyond economical repair and recommended for disposal.
The Cebu City Disposal Committee reappraised the assets at P10.75 million for negotiated sale under government disposal rules.
The inventory includes service vehicles, buses, dump trucks, garbage compactors, ambulances, patrol units and heavy equipment. Among them are a dredging machine valued at about P4.6 million and bulldozers with acquisition values of up to P4.8 million each. Many units are stored at the city junkyard at the South Road Properties, while others remain in barangays. About 130 units lacked acquisition dates, and several had missing purchase records and valuation data.
Archival said recent rains still caused flooding in parts of Colon St. and areas near Cebu Technological University, but floodwaters now recede within one to two hours instead of lasting for several hours or until the next morning.
He said the City will continue daily declogging and river dredging with help from the Department of Public Works and Highways, barangays and City Hall personnel. Some areas that previously collected large amounts of waste and silt have been cleared by 90 percent to 95 percent, he said.
Archival said he plans to seek continued support from the Department of Labor and Employment’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged / Displaced Workers program to sustain community-based cleanup activities. / CAV