Floods: No clear plan, no solution

By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent .

WHILE officials are confronted by the worsening urban floodings in the city, aggravated by the absence of a clear government plan, a former congressman and an environmentalist advised decision-makers to go back to what they said is the root cause of the problem in order to understand that the solution is beyond territorial boundaries and would need inter-agency cooperation and the involvement of other local governments.

Much of the floodwaters come from central Mindanao, particularly from the landlocked province of Bukidnon that has lost much of its forest covers, said environmental activist Ronnie Ravanera and ex-congressman Erasmo Damasing Jr..

The problem has been aggravated by the absence of a drainage masterplan for the city, said Councilor Teodulfo Lao Jr. This was acknowledged by city engineer Rolando Pacuribot who revealed that the much of the flood-control projects being undertaken by the public works department in the city now are based on a 2016 study made by a group from the University of the Philippines.

Damasing, who sounded alarm bells over the absence of a drainage masterplan for the city when he was vice mayor during the Magtajas administration, warned that the Department of Public Works and Highways could be wasting public funds on useless flood-control projects.

“Kanang tubig ulan nga gikan sa Bukidnon, kinahanglan nga tamokon kana sa usa ka catch basin aron nga dili kini lakip modahili padulong dinhi sa Cagayan de Oro,” Damasing said.

Damasing said the logging and mining operations contributed a lot to the problem.

Ravanera, one of the pillars of the environmentalist group Task Force Macajalar, said Cagayan de Oro’s flooding problem is the result of decades of government inaction to protect the environment, particularly in Bukidnon.

He said the landlocked province has lost much of its forest covers to big pineapple and banana plantations.

“Pagbundak sa ulan didto sa bukid, moderitso pagdahili ang tubig ulan pagulong sa suba kay wala na may mga kahoy didto,” he said.

Ravanera warned that more and more floodwaters would find their way into the city as the Bukidnon plantations expand, and no drainage masterplan for the city can prevent this from taking place.

“Kon dili masulbad pag-una sa gobyerno ang problima sa kabukiran, walay kasulbaran ang baha sa Cagayan de Oro kay ang baha gikan man sa bukid, dili man dinhi sa syudad,” said Ravanera.

Damasing said it has reached a point when no drainage system could prevent floodings in low-lying places in Kauswagan, Carmen, Lapasan and other areas near the Macajalar Bay.

Damasing said he doubts if Bitan-ag Creek, even if rehabilitated, could prevent floodings at the Limketkai center and its surroundings.

He called for the creation of an inter-agency task force by the national government that would involve local governments.

Damasing said one of the first things that should be done is to build a catch basin in Bukidnon as a first line of defense against floodings in Cagayan de Oro.

Mayor Oscar Moreno has remained optimistic, saying there are still plenty of engineering solutions to the city’s flooding problem.

But Moreno said, “The bigger the problem, the costlier the solutions get.”

He added: “But we won’t give up. Our allocations for engineering interventions have been steadily on the rise.”

Moreno said the national government has set aside funds for flood control, and aid agencies like the Japan International Cooperation Agency have been providing assistance.

He cited the Jica-backed flood risk mitigation program along Cagayan River that costs P8 billion.

“But flooding is not solvable by the government alone. The community can help a lot in may ways. How? Among many other things, let’s protect our creeks and waterways from undesirable elements,” said Moreno.

Lao, for his part, said Cagayan de Oro’s flooding problem is similar to what many areas in Metro Manila had in the past.

The problem, he said, was addressed by constructing “big pools” along major waterways near the Manila Bay and floodgates, and by pumping water out into the bay.

“If we have a drainage masterplan, then the DPWH will have to follow it,” he said.

Lao said a masterplan would also identify priority projects that would “probably prevent the flow of water” from the uplands like Indahag, Lumbia and Macasandig.

“Kinahanglan unta nga didto pa sa uptown area, na-a nay drainage didto aron mabahin ang distribution sa dagan sa tubig padulong dinhi sa ubos. Pero wala man na karon kay wala man tay masterplan,” he said.

Lao agreed that a task force should be created but added that this should be dominated by technical and engineering experts, and led by Moreno as mayor of the city bearing the brunt of flooding problem.

Engr. Pacuribot said government engineers have been guided by an August 2016 study of UP Planades, a foundation that provides research, consultancy and extension services, academic development and training in environmental, urban and regional planning and related disciplines. Since 1977, the foundation has been providing technical assistance to government and non-government entities.

The UP Planades study consists of 400 pages about a masterplan and the feasibility of urban drainage improvement in the city.

He said it was the DPWH that contracted the services of UP Planades, and the City Engineer’s Office was given a copy of that study.

Pacuribot said major drainage systems being constructed in the city is based on the UP Planades study. These projects include those being built in Kulambog in Lapasan, the highway in Kauswagan, the Gumamela and Villarin streets in Carmen, the Bitan-ag Creek area up to the Agora area in Lapasan.

“Ma-o na ang mga drainage nga ongoing construction karon. Pero kon mo-ingon tag entire masterplan from the hinterland  barangays down to the city proper, wala pay ato ana,” Pacuribot said.

Lao, meanwhile, said a masterplan should include the city’s hinterland barangays, especially the uplands.

“Akong gipangotana ang mga engineer sa DPWH nga nganong didto pa man sila nangayog pagto-on sa mga taga UP nga wala man sila masayod sa kahimtang sa Cagayan de Oro. Wala sila makatubag sa akong pangotana,” Lao said.