Targets of Mahiga Creek cleanup to ‘cooperate’ with City Hall

Owners of three Colon Street stores  are ready to “cooperate” with City Hall  after being tagged as the next targets of a cleanup drive of Mahiga Creek.

“Anything they request, we will give help if we can help,” said Alex Gaisano, whose family  owns Gasiano Main department store.

He and officials of 138 Mall and Harbour City Dimsum House Co. said they are willing to attend a  dialogue with Mayor Michael Rama who said he would call parties to discuss how to end flooding  their area.

The three establishments were identified by City Hall as encroaching  the creek’s three-meter easement zone, where about 30 shanties have already been demolished since May.

Gaisano, in a phone interview,  said the department store’s structure does not obstruct or cover  the creek’s water flow.

He said he has it checked every week for the presence of  squatters to make sure it is free of obstruction.

“Our area is small and when there is high tide, the mall is affected. How much more if there is a downpour?” Gaisano said.

He said they will wait for the notice from Cebu City Hall for the dialogue.

The 138 Mall operated by Ye Sen Fa Development Corp. also said it would cooperate with  the city government.

Mall administrative officer Jean P. Siacor said the downpour and resulting flashflood last June 18  forced personnel to transfer  their stocks on high shelves.

“We’ll wait for their notice and we will be there for the dialogue so that we can talk and raise issues and agree on whatever possible solutions we can do to solve this problem,” Siacor said.

Siacor said one problem they identified in a meeting with barangay officials  was the  small drainage canals in front of the mall.

She said bigger concrete culverts are needed to avoid flooding.

A representative of Harbour City Dimsum House Co. also said the restaurant is also willing to have a dialogue and cooperate with City Hall.

Last Friday, Josefa Ylanan, chief of the Office of the Building Official,  identified the three business entities as among the  large establishments build at the side of the creek.

Ylanan said these buildings were erected  before the passage of the  National Building Code of the Philippines that requires structures to be built outside a  three-meter easement of  waterways like rivers, creeks and esteros.

Ylanan said the OBO will make an inventory of establishments  in the area next month and will require each to clean up their part of the waterway.

“If they will not clean their river ways, the city will have to come in,” she said, adding that most establishments have paved over  the creek to use as a  driveway.

Mayor Rama said a dialogue will be held once the OBO completes their inventory.

The Cebu City Council approved P36.2-million worth of projects to help improve the city’s drainage system.  Implementation will start  within the year.

A total of P26.3 million is for  dredging T. Padilla Creek, Bulacao River and the Tagunol River while P9.9 million will be used to build riverbank protection measures at the Inayawan River.