AFTER inspecting the area, Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella requested the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRMO) to assess the housing site in Barangay Budlaan.
Eight houses are in danger of collapsing after heavy rains in the past days and the current of the river has caused the soil to erode.
In a letter addressed to Nagiel Bañacia, officer-in-charge of CCDRMO, Labella asked the office to mitigate the continuous erosion in the riverbank below the houses.
“The undersigned humbly requests that your office provide the necessary plans to maximize the hazard posed by the erosion on the riverbanks and reduce the vulnerability of these residents from such risk,” Labella said.
Labella inspected the area last Wednesday and witnessed the “grave risk” brought by the situation to the lives of those living in the area.
The site, which is owned by the National Housing Authority (NHA) in Sitio Lower Tac-an, and eight of the houses there, are already standing on a cliff.
Some 15 families are at risk, since there are two to three families occupying a house in the socialized housing site.
Budlaan Barangay Captain Nerissa Antolihao, who expressed concern about the situation of the families there, sought the help of Labella and CCDRMO.
In a separate interview, Bañacia said they received a report on the matter last month. This has been referred to the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW), he said.
Bañacia said that Antolihao went to his office to report the matter.
He said that as recommended by DEPW, the area will be included as a component of a road network there and a riprap will wall be constructed.
Bañacia assured the barangay and Labella that DEPW will do the project as early as possible to address the concern of the residents.