Life vests for donation to flood-prone areas

City Hall  plans to distribute life vests  to residents of flood-prone barangays in case they  need to  survive chest-high water levels, officials said yesterday.

Mayor Michael Rama said the life vests and one container van were  donated by Phil. Span Asia Carrier Corp., formerly known as Sulpicio Lines Inc., to the city.

“These life vests will help avoid loss of life during severe flooding,” he said.

A container van full of  life vests was  inspected yesterday in the Cebu port by Alvin Santillana, head of the city anti-disaster council.

He noted that they looked  worn out, so he asked for  replacements,  which the management agreed.

“The purpose of distributing life vests is not for people to swim but just in case a flood occurs, they can save themselves and their families,” said Santillana.

A heavy downpour was experienced in Cebu City and other parts of Metro Cebu at past 9 p.m last Sunday.

Ankle to knee-deep flooding was experienced in low-lying areas like  Colon, Junquera Street,  Sindulan in Mabolo, Bonifacio Street, Happy Valley in Banawa, and Labanon.

Meanwhile, the mayor blamed the City Council anew for the city’s failure to implement drainage projects.

“How can we achieve success when we have not done much?” Rama said during a  press conference.

He said  drainage projects could have been implemented on a half-billion peso budget but the council  approved P100 million.

A 2004 Flood Mitigation and Drainage Study for Cebu City was submitted to City Hall by consultants during the term of former mayor Tomas R. Osmeña with Rama as vice mayor.

It  details what part of each barangay in the city is at risk of flooding and the location of canals, creeks and drainage lines that need intervention.

However, the plan was not implemented.

To secure residents from floods, Rama yesterday suggested buying more  life vests for distribution to barangay residents in flood-prone sites.

In 2000, a mother, her three children and a niece drowned in flood water  that covered their rented house in Sindulan, Mabolo.

A 20-foot container van which Sulpicio Lines donated two to three years ago, were already distributed to barangays for their disaster response and rescue operations.

Rama said he will continue to work with private sector partners to complete the city’s integrated and comprehensive drainage masterplan.

The mayor called for a meeting with private engineers and tapped the academe to help him update the city’s drainage master plan that was completed more than 10 years ago.

Rama also hit the City Council’s refusal to allow the use of the city’s P157 million disaster budget which include appropriations for disaster preparedness and relief operations.

The council deferred approval of the disaster budget until they are clarified how the appropriation will be spent.

They also wanted to know how the city risk reduction management office spent their 2011 appropriation.

Rama directed Alvin Santillana, the disaster office operations head, to write the council and appeal for the approval of their P157 million appropriation for 2012.

Santillana said the non-approval of the disaster budget, has prevented the city government from releasing housing materials to the victims of a recent fire which hit barangay Basak Pardo.

He said the city government will also continue to clear the creeks and rivers of existing occupants.

The Department for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) listed 10,000 families who live within the three-meter easement.

Santillana said they are just waiting for the identification of relocation sites so that they could already start the transfer of these families.

He said the city is kept busy dredging and desilting water channels to improve water flow.

“Dredging alone is not the solution. We have to clear water channels and enforce the three-meter easement and remove the garbage dumped by these occupants,” he said. /Doris C. Bongcac, Chief of Reporters  with Correspondent Edison delos Angeles