FRUIT vendor Claiclai Saun who displays her stall along Tejero High School in Barangay Tejero, Cebu City still remembers that around the months of June to July last year, her products were floating in the flood following a heavy downpour.
“Wa pa man unta to ni kusog og maayo pagsugod... ni saka na dayun ang tubig. Pwerte nakong hakot sa mga gamit (It didn’t start off as heavy rain, but when I came back, the water level had already risen. I had to gather my things),” she said.
There wasn’t even a weather disturbance at that time. Now that the state weather bureau has declared the start of the rainy season, Saun, along with other residents of Barangay Tejero, is worried that more flooding will contaminate the streets which could be detrimental for her stall.
“Dako na jud problema. Manglutaw og mahugawan jud ni alangan ako mga produkto. Kay ig baha, naa man jud nay basura manglutaw pud (It is a big problem. My products will certainly float and be contaminated. Because once it floods, there will also be garbage floating around),” she added.
Drainage system
According to Tejero Barangay Captain Hermogenes Galang Jr., there is an existing drainage system in their jurisdiction. However, it is not enough to hold excessive rainwater.
He explains that the barangay’s topography is an exit of the Lahug River which serves as a tributary of it.
“Kung combined na gani ang overflow sa rivers ting-uwan, dili na na kaya sa drainage systems (If the overflow of the rivers is combined, then the drainage systems won’t be able to accommodate such heavy volume anymore),” said Galang.
The barangay captain also notes that there are tons of garbage thrown into the streams.
“Di jud malikayan sa mga tao ang paglabay sa ilang basura. Bisan mag pile up na na sa sapa, manglabay pa jud gihapon (It is inevitable for people to throw their garbage. Even if it’s already piled up in the river, they would still continue to throw their wastes),” said Galang.
They implement clean-up drives every week to remove wastes obstructing the continuous flow.
However, these clean-up drives do not suffice to mitigate the flooding problem, especially when poor waste disposal is an ongoing problem in the barangay.
Gubat sa Baha
The Cebu City Government created the Gubat sa Baha Special Task Force (GSBSTF) last Sept. 17, 2022 which installed biofences as part of their garbage clean-up plan.
This is a floating garbage-trap made of recycled water bottles wrapped in nets along the river boundary of Tejero and T. Padilla.
As part of Tejero’s flood control project, these are manufactured to find out which of the barangays are the sources of the garbage in the river.
The weekly clean-up drive is also done along with the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office, Department of Public Services and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
According to GSBSTF Secretariat lawyer Kristine Centino, a rough estimate on the weekly clean-up drive’s data says that it collects about four tons of garbage. These are mainly assorted plastics, styrofoams, trees and branches collected from the boundary of Tejero river.
A more concrete action is the dredging plan to be implemented this June of 2023.
Dredging is a process which removes accumulated sediment from the bottom of the river to deepen rivers and creeks.
Long-term solution
There is a long-term solution to the problem through the DPWH in the form of a river widening project that was included under the 2017 comprehensive drainage master plan of the city.
It was implemented in 2018 and has started its operations in the Lahug River in T. Padilla, Bulacao River, and the Tagunol Creek. However, it hasn’t reached full operations in Barangay Tejero yet.
Currently, DPWH constructed ripraps and sheet piling along Tejero creek to stabilize and reinforce areas near the riverbanks in order to mitigate the flooding.
According to Allan Yaun Jr., project engineer for flood control in Tejero, operations in Tejero creek are partially complete and are slated for completion this July of 2023.
The plans on Tejero’s river widening and improvement were originally set in 2020 with a proposed budget of P523,080 and a duration of 1.5 years to accomplish.
However, Yaun mentioned that because of the informal settler family (ISF) disputes that have not been settled in Barangay Tejero until 2023, the project was delayed.
“If not for the help of the LGU sa pagsettle sa disputes, then dili pa unta namo masugdan og implement ang project dayun (If not for the help of the local government unit in settling the disputes, then we wouldn’t have been able to start implementing the project immediately),” he said.
Despite structural measures already being implemented, Yaun emphasized non-structural measures such as solid waste management that need to be integrated for a sustainable drainage and flood control project in Tejero.
“There will still be problems sa drainage system if di ma consider ang solid waste management sa barangay, kay attributed man jud gihapon ang flooding ana (There will still be problems in the drainage system if the barangay won’t consider solid waste management because the flooding problem is still attributed to that),” said Yaun.
Relocation of households
Households within riverbanks are required to be relocated in compliance with the Water Code of the Philippines and the Urban Development and Housing Act (Republic Act 7279 UDHA) which prohibits the establishment of structures along the easement of rivers.
The GSBSTF, which is also in charge of this for the city, is currently waiting for a list of affected families to be moved in their temporary shelters or “prefabricated housing structures” on J. Vestil Street, South Road Properties.
While it is still in its bidding phase, these prefabricated housing structures are to be implemented this year.
Galang mentioned that the ISFs were informed and are being prepared for relocation.
Once the flood-control project in Barangay Tejero and its non-structural measures of solid waste management are intact, Galang hopes to see his residents walk with no floodwaters reaching up to their legs and expect that their homes and stalls will not be infiltrated with such floodwaters again every time it rains.