THE Public Safety and Security Office (PSSO) and the River Patrol Monitoring Team (RPMT) continues the dismantling of illegal structures built on top of dikes and underneath bridges.
PSSO Head Angel Sumagaysay said they conduct the demolition every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
He said the goal of the RPMT is to remove any illegal structures from Davao's dikes.
“Unang una ang dike man gud is a dike para sa tubig [sa sapa], dili dapat siya masira kay mao ni nagapugong sa’tong mga tubig kung panahon nga magbaha (First of all, the dike is for the water [in the river], it shouldn’t be destroyed because this prevents water during flood),” he said during the I-speak session on Thursday,.
He said they first communicate with the barangay captains and purok leader and carry out surveillance before conducting demolition and monitoring.
From January to September this year, a total of 13 illegal structures have been dismantled. Most of these are house extensions like comfort rooms, kitchens, kiosks, and animal cages.
Areas and barangays that have illegal structures atop dikes that were surveyed, monitored, and demolished include Catalunan Grande, Bangkas Heights, Barangay 10-A San Rafael, Punta Dumalag, Barangay 19-B Bacaca, Waan, Times Beach, Mahayahay Bridge, Wangan, Bago Aplaya, Matina Crossing and Calinan.
Sumagaysay added that some constructed boarding houses.
“Himuan nila na og apartment then pa-arkilahan, in expense sa atoang dikes so, naga-income sila. So, ana ka innovative ang atoang kaigsuonan (They construct an apartment and rent it out in expense of our dikes, so they gain an income. That’s how innovative they are),” he said.
He also said they did not receive any violent reaction from the owners.
“Nasabtan nila eh. Pila na ni ka-tuig nato ginahimo. Although, papilion man namo sila – self-demolition or kami mismo. Para at least magamit pod nila ang ilang mga materials, usahay sila na, voluntary na sila na ga demolish (They understand. We’ve been doing this for many years now. Although, we will let them choose- a self-demolition or we do it ourselves. And sometimes they demolish voluntarily so that they can still use the materials),” he said.
“So, ginatuyok nato ang tanan nga mga dikes sa tibuok Davao City. Pero again, paspas gihapon, sige-sige ang monitoring kay kung magiging complacent ta, balikon gihapon na siya (We visit all of Davao City's dikes. And we continue to monitor because they will return if we get complacent),” he added. CIO