THE sitio in Barangay Basak Pardo where residents complained of persistent flooding is actually flood-prone and barangay officials could not act fast to solve the problem as the drainage system is under a private property, an official said Monday, July 17, 2023.
Barangay Basak Pardo Chairman Catalina Cabardo said they have been trying to address the flooding reported by some residents of Sitio Fatima, but stressed that they cannot do so much as it is under a private property.
"Dili mi makapataka kay private siya. Pwede man malihok pero taud-taod pa jud na tungod sa kadaghan sa papeles," she said.
(We cannot just act on it because it’s a private property. It can be done but it will take a while because of the amount of paperwork.)
Some residents of Sitio Fatima complained last week of a “never ending” problem on flooding, especially during heavy rainfall. They said they have been enduring the flooding for several years and the barangay officials have not acted on it.
But Cabardo said Monday that the drainages in Sitio Fatima are clogged due to garbage.
She said the barangay can only act on drainage that are located in the interior portion of the village, but those in the exterior or main roads, works have to be passed on to the Department of Public Services.
Cabardo also said that there are other factors that prevented them from acting on the problem, adding that the area where the residents live is prone to flooding because it is where the water from the creek drains.
She said personnel of Tapat were also just tasked to clean the city highways, not those located in the borders.
“Ang kanang Tapat sa City Hall na, unya kana sila igo ra na mag limpyo sa highway pero sa katong lugar nga ngilit kay dili na nila apilon,” Cabardo said.
Tapat is an organization that is being paid by the City Government to maintain cleanliness in the city.
Cabardo also clarified Monday, July 17, that she had sent personnel from the village to help prevent cases of dengue.
Maria Theresa Barredo, a barangay health worker from Sitio Fatima, and Merlyn Albaño, City Health midwife, both said that there is currently no dengue outbreak in the sitio.
“If naay dengue or namatay tungod sa dengue, ma inform man mi ana. Unya inig kahibaw namo ana, alerto dayon ang taga barangay aron ma actionan dayon,” Albaño said.
(If there’s a dengue case or someone died from dengue, we will be informed immediately, and the barangay team will go directly to the area to make a rapid action.)
“Taga dinha man kong dapita. Dugay naman na nga issue nga naay namatay tungod sa dengue dinhang dapita. Pero sa karon wala ra man. Ug ang baha jud diha dugay na pod na nga issue,” Barredo added.
(I’m also residing in Sitio Fatima. That issue about someone died due to dengue happened years ago. But currently, no one has died due to dengue.)
The barangay officials also said that the village collects the garbage every day at 9 p.m.
They also installed signage to tell the residents where to put the trash, so that the garbage collectors can easily retrieve it.
“Ang kanang mga basura, wa mi kahibaw og asa na gikan. Siguro kanang mga ga pataka ra sila og labay. Unya mao na among gibuhat, gipang butangan namo og ing-ana aron makahibaw sila og asa dapit og kanus-a ang ting kuha,” Cabardo said.
(We don’t know where the pile of uncollected garbage is coming from. The residents might have thrown them anywhere. We have in fact installed signage to tell them where to put their garbage and when is the schedule for garbage collection.) (Angele Leduna and Hazel Faith Saymo, CNU interns)