Floods catch us by surprise

Last week we  witnessed how  heavy rains swamped parts of Cebu City and some residents suffered  damage to property and lost belongings in flooding.

This didn’t happen as much before but  as the city grows with more people populating the land  and building houses and commercial buildings in every space available, street flooding has become  a common occurrence.

Definitely the city has to implement a flood control system or a massive drainage improvement  to address what’s going on.

This  is a matter that can’t wait. Today if it rains, flooding follows to the grief and inconvenience of many city residents.

I now believe the budget  allocated for  proposed new flyovers should be  realigned for a more sensible drainage system or flood control project in Cebu City. This would be a more pro-poor infrastructure than a flyover  because it addresses a more pressing need than traffic.

The flood problem of the city is beyond partisan politics and needs the cooperation of all  concerned in the city and national government.

I welcome the decision of the Regional Trial Court dismissing complaints  filed by some  Mahiga Creek occupants against Mayor Mike Rama and the city government  because the creek dwellers are  one of the reasons  we have flooding in city streets especially around SM City in the North Reclamation Area.

It’s basic that  rivers and creeks are beyond the commerce of man. Occupants of waterways ave no right over the river. They and their political patrons know this.

I appeal to  politicians to refrain from misleading  occupants with  false hopes that they would never be evicted.

Government officials should be telling them basic legal realities that they have no right to osbtruct or live in danger zones near  creeks and rivers which are outlets for storm water to exit to the sea during a heavy rain.

So what the Cebu city government is doing is just correcting a  wrong practice that was tolerated before.

The RTC decided that  occupants of the Mahiga creek were  not qualified as housing beneficiaries. Despite that, the city government  provided a relocation site in the upland barnagay of Budlaan. Occupants rejected the place because it is far from their sources of lievlihood.

Lucky for them  all they have to do is  squat by  rivers and creeks, then they get offered land as a  relocation site. I am hoping  the occupants  realize that it’s not safe or legal to continue living there with the threat of overflowing riverbanks.

What the city government is doing is for their own protection.

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The two Dodge Charger sedans that were donated or sold to Minnie Osmeña are  being used by her brother Congressman Tommy Osmeña.

The vehicles  carry the Cebu City seal and blinkers. This  should be investigated because regardless of the position of the congressman,  I think a private  car that bears the seal of the city is   misrepresentation becauseit is not the property of the City of Cebu.

People would mistake the cars, which look like police patrol cars and were actually used in film making for that purpose as official vhehicles.

It’s a a matter of propriety and delicadeza, if not legality.

I think the good congressman  should not insist that he has the right to use the city’s official seal on what he insists is now a private vehicle.

If  the city government allows this, it would  means it’s all right for any other  Tom, Dick and Harry to put the official seal of Cebu City on their own cars.

I think the congressman should be careful about setting an example for others especially since, as a congressman, he should be following the law aw instead of clearly offending sensibilities of  delicadeza, if not violating the law.