Pacuribot: Oro has no master drainage plan

By LITO RULONA
Correspondent .

Cagayan de Oro City has no master drainage plan to solve the urban flooding.

This was confirmed by City Engineering Office (CEO) chief Engr. Rolando Pacuribot during the Committee of the Whole Meeting on Master Drainage Plan following a special report of City Councilor Teodulfo Lao, Jr. during the 89th regular session on the recent flooding due to the poor drainage system and the need to have a drainage master plan.

Pacuribot claimed that the city does not draft any master drainage plan after they obtained a copy of the feasibility study made by University of the Philippines students who called themselves as “UP Planades.” The UP Planades plan also covers the Cagayan de Oro Water Basin.

The feasibility study was obtained last year and was not taken into consideration until urban flooding struck again recently.

However, City Councilor Edna Dahino, the chair of the Committee on Finance, Budget, and Appropriations was irritated after knowing that the city government does not have a plan or program to have as its own master drainage plan.

“Meaning to say there is no plan made by the city? We only have a master drainage that is not made by the City Engineering Office and only have this book made by people that is present during a flooding incident. These are our own problems,” she said.

Pacuribot explained that they are still on the process of getting data to enable them to draft their own master plan. The CEO is also on the process of making the plan that connects the Department Public Works and Highways (DPWH-10) regional office.

Pacuribot explained that the UP study was commissioned by the DPWH-10 to conduct the study on urban flooding that already occurred in city and that was their reason that the city did not make any master drainage plan.

“There is a plan already but only in areas identified by the DPWH like Kauswagan, Barangay Lapasan, and CM Recto-Limketkai areas. Pero wala pa kini mapatuman,” he said.