NEWS BRIEFS

INVESTIGATE SOUGHT ON MANDAUE DRAINAGE PROJECT

Mandaue City officials called on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to investigate the drainage project at A. S. Fortuna Street near a funeral parlor after it failed to stem flooding in the area.

A month after the drainage project was completed, the area remains prone to flooding, said Mandaue City Planning Officer Architect Florentino Nimur.

Water is knee-deep along A. S. Fortuna Street near the Rolling Hills Memorial Chapel in Banilad due to runoff water from the mountains.

Barangays Canduman and Casuntingan in also serve as the outflow of floodwater from barangays Pit-os and Talamban in Cebu City, Nimur said.

The project was started last July. It has reached the corner Hernan Cortes Street going to Cabangcalan.

Nimur said the drainage system can also be clogged by garbage dumped in the site. He said sanitation personnel were tasked to make sure the drainage system is cleared of garbage./Correspondent Fe Marie Dumaboc

PRIORITIZE METRO CEBU DRAINAGE

A resolution was passed by the Central Visayas Regional Development Council asking the Department of Public Works and Highways to prioritize the drafting of a Metro Cebu Drainage Master Plan.

In last Wednesday’s meeting in Dumaguete City, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama told the RDC this was more important than flyovers.

A drainage master plan “should not be set aside as floodings is one of the immediate concerns of the people especially in the urban areas,” said Rama, RDC chairman.

Heavy raining fell in Metro Cebu last Thursday afternoon.

The rainfall at 3:56 p.m. reached 23 mm which was stronger the usual, Engr. Oscar Tabada, Mactan chief of the state weather bureau Pagasa told ABS-CBN.

There was no low pressure area at the time. The rain was only caused by the Inter-tropical Converegence Zone.

In Cebu City, Rama lobbied for a P2.4 billion comprehensive drainage master plan to be made part of next year’s P13 billion budget proposal for Cebu City.

The RDC also passed a resolution asking the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to approve the international airport proposed in Panglao town in Bohol.

Once approved by NEDA, the P7.4 billion project will be funded from the JICA Special Term for Economic Partnership (STEP) loan funds. The airport project is targeted for completion in 2016./Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac

URBAN POOR LAW NEEDS AMENDMENTS

Former party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel called for the protection of the urban poor with the pending demolition orders in Cebu city and pending evictions in Barangay Luz.

Baraquel, who is running for senator again, said there’s a need to amend the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) or Republic Act 7279 “for the stronger protection for the urban poor.”

“Kung maayos ang city relocation sites, ths would decongest the city,” she said.

Baraquel was in Cebu since Thursday to consult with basic sectors, especially the urban poor.

City Councilor Nida Cabrera, who attended yesterday’s launching of the Urban Poor Mass Movement in line with support of former Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel said that she gave P10,000 cash aid to each household in sitio Nangka who voluntarily dismantle their house and clear the area./Correspondent Tweeny M. Malinao