A RIVER preservation advocate said that dredging the Cagayan river is not the best solution to reduce flooding in Cagayan de Oro City.
Dr. Rosalina Huerbana, executive director of Safer River, Life Saver Foundation, Inc., the social responsibility unit of Liceo de Cagayan University, said while she agrees with the objectives of the City Councilors with their plans to rehabilitate the river, she has reservations in dredging the river because it could destroy the habitat of living organisms underwater.
On Monday’s City Council session, the legislative body discussed dredging the river to prevent potential flooding in this city.
City Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya said the river needs to be dredged as rocks, boulders and silt have made the river shallow.
For this reason, Nacaya said, heavy rain upstream routinely causes flooding in the riverside barangays.
"Daghan na kaayong stocks, makita na nato ang bato nga mulabaw diha sa river kung mohunas. So it's about time we at least do something para makuhaan ang problema sa baha. Kung taob ang dagat, mutaas ang water level and of course higher water will come out, running from highland to downhill, ang mahitabo ana mag-overflow, so kinahanglan nato nga palawoman (There are too many stocks and we can see the stones in low tide. So it's about time we at least do something para makuhaan ang problema sa baha [to reduce flooding]. Water level rises during high tide and of course higher water will come out, running from highland to downhill, so if the river overflows, we need to dredge it to make it deeper)," Nacaya said.
Huerbana noted that siltation had since been the problem of Cagayan river because of heavy rains upstream that brings debris down to the mouth of the river.
“Gamabaw ang atong suba because of debris coming from upstream, considering we have 73 tributaries in Bukidnon and these pollutants mao kini ang reason sa siltation. But the dredging, I think this isn’t the only solution to the siltation problem because it can also damage the flora and fauna, the species underwater will be disturbed. When we say dredging man gud, gakaluton ang yuta nga naa diha sa atong suba paghuman ug kalot, syempre atong isda and other organisms, madisturbo (Our river is getting shallow because of debris coming from upstream, considering we have 73 tributaries in Bukidnon and these pollutants are the reason for siltation. But the dredging, I think this isn't the only solution to the siltation problem because it can also damage the flora and fauns, the species underwater will be disturbed. When we say dredging, soil is dug from the river and after it has been dug, fish and other organisms are disturbed),” Huerbana said.
Huerbana said there are two types of dredging, mechanical and manual, which are also both practiced in the city.
“Naay sa Bonbon mechanical dredging ang ga-operate, they use machines to do it, while sa Consolaction ginagmay lang na quarry (Bonbon operates using mechanical dredging while Consolacion uses a small quarry),” she said.
Huerbana said that they have a program in aquaculture that disperses fingerlings in different species as they started their rehabilitation of the river.
Huerbana said the City Council must first conduct a holistic study before implementing the plan.
“We have been trying hard to revive and rehabilitate our river, so there is really a need to conduct a study para naa silay picture of the Cagayan river, and consider all that would be affected, siyempre we also acknowledge that some of the residents is quarrying to earn a living (We have been trying hard to revive and rehabilitate our river, so there is really a need to conduct a study so they have a picture of the Cagayan river and consider all that would be affected because we also acknowledge that some of the residents is quarrying to earn a living),” Huerbana said.
City Councilor Zaldy Ocon, chair of the committee on environment, wants the whole river to be excavated and not only choose parts of it just like what quarry operators are doing as this could cause the water bed to be uneven.
Ocon said they will also send a letter to the President to inform him of the dredging plan and direct concerned agencies whether the plan is feasible.
For City Councilor Teodulfo Lao Jr., proper guidelines should be established to assure that it will not destroy riverbeds and the habitat of living organisms in the river.
"Laws should be strictly followed and environmental impact assessment should be made," Lao Jr. said.
No existing city ordinance on quarrying is present to regulate quarry operators in Cagayan de Oro City.
Lao said the body who issues permits to operators is the City Mining and Regulatory Board, chaired by the director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and co-chaired by the head of the committee on environment councilor Ocon.
The guidelines is patterned with the national standards of dredging, such as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Department Order No. 139, Series of 2014 standards, which includes the conduct of series of soil investigation, proper environmental clearances such as Certificate of Non-Coverage or Environmental Compliance Certificate shall also be secured from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The DPWH said a detailed dredging plan and design report must be likewise submitted to the concerned DPWH offices in accordance with its delegated authorities issued by the DENR.
Nacaya, chairman of economic enterprises, meanwhile, said if the plan pushes through, the project would be under a public-private partnership arrangement.
Nacaya assured that the city government will not be spending a single centavo for it.