Rama seeks P700M to solve city’s flood woes

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is asking for a P700-million share in the 2012 budget to fund major drainage and dredging projects aimed at addressing the city’s flooding problems.

Rama said P500 million would be used for drainage improvement projects identified in the drainage master plan while the P200 million would be set aside for dredging works.

“What I am seeing now (the flooding problems of the city) is no longer a joke,” Rama said.

But until the money is made available, Rama has tapped the help of scuba divers to help determine the level of siltation at the opening of creeks and rivers.

“We wanted to know the level of siltation at the mouth of the creeks,” he said.

He also plans to meet with drainage experts for a “consultative meeting” discussing how the city can improve its drainage system.

The mayor plans to invite in the meeting representatives from the Civil Engineering Association, Cebu Contractors Group, Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Engineering and Public Works, deans of the colleges of engineering and makers of the city’s drainage master plan.

Rama said he also wanted Councilor Roberto Cabarrubias, head of the council’s infrastructure committee, and city administrator Jose Marie Poblete to be present at the still-to-be-scheduled meeting.

Rama also said that city would need to start implementing flood mitigating measures to prepare for more typhoons that would be expected in November.

“The rain can’t be stopped,” he said. Rama cited the flooding caused by the heavy rains last Friday as a reminder of the need to focus on drainage improvement.

On earlier claims of Mandaue City officials blaming Cebu City barangays of causing the flooding of some of the Mandaue areas, Rama said that the flood problem had already been there since the previous administration.

He instead encouraged the Mandaue City government to work together with his administration to address the problem.

He said that if Mandaue City officials were really serious in addressing flooding problems in their city, then they should also clear their side of the Mahiga Creek of illegal structures. /Doris C. Bongcac, Chief of Reporters