SEVERAL vendors dwelling near the Humay-Humay Public Cemetery in Barangay Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City expressed their woes for low sales over stagnant floodwater.
Preparations may have been set by the vendors for the upcoming All Saints and All Souls day, however murky waters in front of their stalls strain potential customers to buy from them.
Severino Igot, a flower and candle vendor whose store sits by the flooded road told SunStar Cebu in an interview on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, that the water in the area has not subsided since last week.
“Niadtong semana, katulo ko si’g tawag sa City Engineering’s Office ni-request ko na pasuyupan pero wala, Sabado nalang karon,” said Igot. (Last week, I called three times to the City Engineering’s Office and requested to have it suctioned but it did not happen. It’s already Saturday now.)
“Naglibog nami kung kinsa among duolan, kinsa among duolan sa City Hall na masulbad ni among [problem] kay among paninda diri dako na kaayo og alkanse,” he added.
(We are confused as to who we should approach, and who we should approach at the City Hall to solve our problem because our sales have been reduced severely.)
Income loss
Meanwhile, Severino’s brother, Marcial Igot, shared his concerns, revealing that visitors to the Humay-Humay Public Cemetery tend to choose stalls that are safely out of reach from floodwaters.
“Taga adlaw mamaligya mi diri (flowers) pero sayang among baligya kay di man mapalit tungod aning tubig. Maabtan og kamatay ang mga buwak, abtan nalang og labay,” said Marcial.
(Every day we sell flowers but our products are not sold because of the water. The flowers end up wilting and before they can be purchased and thrown away)
“Nag expect mi pag Lunes na ilang pasuyupan pero wa ma’y nagpasuyop. Kay mao ma’y ilang ingon lage na wa’y problema kay naa ta’y truck ari na mu-vacuum ani atong mga tubig pero wa man nitunga,” he added.
(We were expecting last Monday that they would come to suction the water, but no one showed up. They said there wouldn’t be any problem because a truck was supposed to come and vacuum up the water, but it never appeared.)
Regularly, Marcial earns P5,000 to P6,000 and during the commemoration of All Souls and Saints’ Day, he earns approximately P50,000.
He added that with the onset of the rainy season and floodwater still pooling in front of his store he foresees that his family’s main source of income since 2016 will drop during the season.
Two other vendors (who requested anonymity) near the public cemetery said they expect a reduction in their income, especially with stagnant flood waters still present in the area.
SunStar Cebu tried to reach out to the City Engineering Office through calls and text messages on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, but had yet to respond as of press time.
‘Cause’
Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Gun-ob Barangay Captain Carl Weigel said that pipes around the area are blocked and there is no outfall connection.
Weigel also explained that Barangay Gun-ob is a “low-level area” wherein flood water stagnates.
“Even though it is a band-aid solution the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction Office team suction the areas upon a request from our constituents,” said Weigel in a mix of Cebuano and English.
“But time will come that it (water) will come back and remain stagnant, especially with an impending typhoon,” he added.
He said that the barangay willingly assists residents with their requests noting the availability of suction truck units and the schedule set for the requests.
“Right now, there are about five to six areas that keep experiencing flooding, so they really schedule visits every week. There are just times when they get busy with tree trimming requests,” said Weigel.
Weigel assured that once other drainage projects are completed, he will discuss the problem with the City Government to address the piping and drainage line issues in the area.
Humay-Humay Public Cemetery is one of the identified cemeteries in Lapu-Lapu City that is expected to be crowded every Nov. 1 and 2. / DPC