COTABATO CITY, Philippines—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Mindanao has proposed a community-wide effort in a bid to address the perennial flood problem here.
The proposal came in the aftermath of last month’s severe floods—blamed on overflowing waterways and thick growths of water hyacinth blocking river flow—that submerged almost all of the city’s 37 villages.
Tungko Saikol, DENR Central Mindanao director, on Tuesday said that under the “adopt an estero-river” program, residents living near waterways would be tapped to remove obstructions so that water will freely flow into the sea.
DENR Central Mindanao covers the provinces of north and south Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and the cities of Cotabato, General Santos, Tacurong, Koronadal and Kidapawan,
In a PowerPoint presentation before city officials here, Saikol said there are donors interested in the project being proposed for implementation here.
The city, inhabited by close to 200,000 people, is surrounded by three rivers and 39 tributaries that often swell when waterways become heavily silted and clogged with water hyacinth and other debris swept from upstream.
He said residents will be trained on how to properly prevent floods, adding that it would just be “like cleaning your own backyard.”
All it would take to get the project started, Saikol said, is for the city government to sign a memorandum of agreement with the Environmental Management Bureau.
Mayor Japal Guiani Jr., however, said the city government will have to study the proposed MOU first because the project may duplicate the current program of the Presidential Task Force on the Mindanao River Basin Rehabilitation and Development headed by Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo.
The task force supervises de-silting and de-clogging efforts in waterways surrounding the city and nearby areas.
Guiani also said that the city government also needs to determine how much fund is needed for the DENR-proposed project even as Saikol admitted it would entail “big work and resources to maintain.”
“I don’t want to be misunderstood again, that’s why I want the DENR’s proposed MOU to be thoroughly studied before we approve it with our signature,” Guiani said.
In Davao City, the MGB said quarrying activities in tributaries had contributed to the June 29 flashfloods that killed 31 people and displaced about 15,000 families.
Noel Angeles, MGB mining engineer, said debris coming from quarry areas had silted and made rivers prone to swelling.
Angeles said assessment showed that poor soil management in upland areas also contributed to the siltation and eventual flooding of lower parts of the city.
Based on the terrain analysis of the city, there are areas already declared as non-tillage above Baguio district but farmers continue to plant crops there for subsistence, Angeles said.