Floods raise doubt about P500M projects

CEBU CITY—More than P500 million worth of drainage improvement projects were implemented in Cebu City and Cebu province in the last two years but they hardly eased the city and province’s flooding woes.

Several portions of Metro Cebu, including Cebu City, were flooded late Friday when more than an hour of heavy rain caused water to rise from knee- to waist-deep.

The entire stretch of A.S. Fortuna Street in Mandaue City, a site of a national government drainage improvement project, looked like a river.

Engineer Suzette Nwannaka, of the 6th Engineering District of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), said garbage, especially plastic, blocked the waterways, causing water to overflow.

“The floodwater carried a lot of garbage that blocked the manhole inlets,” she said.

Friday’s floods prompted Mandaue Mayor Gabriel Luis Quisumbing to enforce a 2010 city ordinance that bans the use of plastic.

“I humbly ask for cooperation and understanding as we implement these measures. I am convinced these are for the greater good,” said Quisimbing, following a meeting with his crisis management team on Saturday.

The ban on the use of plastic, which would take effect after a week, was posted on Mandaue City’s Facebook page.

Violators face a penalty of P500 fine or imprisonment of not more than five days.

Quisumbing said the ordinance would be implemented after a week of information dissemination.

The city legal office and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office were tasked with training village watchmen to enforce the ordinance.

Oscar Tabada, of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) based on Mactan Island, Cebu province, said Friday’s downpour was caused by the intertropical convergence zone.

He said Pagasa recorded at least 55 millimeters of rain in an hour. This was equivalent to 25 percent of the average rainfall in the city a month—202 mm.

The rains and floods caused hundreds of commuters to be stranded in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu and neighboring areas.

The floods surprised many Cebuanos since the DPWH implemented about P516.4 million worth of drainage projects, most of which had already been completed.

A status report posted on the DPWH regional website showed that seven of the projects had been completed while four others are 95 to 98 percent completed. Three others are ongoing.

Nwannaka, of DPWH, said maintenance workers also cleaned drainage systems along national highways.

The problem occurs when floodwater carries garbage from subdivisions and village interiors to the drainage systems, she added.

“We do not have jurisdiction in subdivisions and barangay drainage systems so these are not included in cleanup (work by the DPWH),” said Nwannaka.