ILOILO City – A legal dispute between the Iloilo City Government and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Iloilo City District Engineering Office (ICDEO) is brewing.
The ICDEO flatly rejected the cease-and-desist order (CDO) issued by Mayor Raisa Treñas on July 24, labeling it “legally invalid” and “ultra vires.”
In a strongly worded letter dated July 25, ICDEO head Engr. Roy Pacanan asserted that Mayor Treñas has no legal authority to suspend national infrastructure projects.
Citing Republic Act No. 8975, Pacanan said only the Supreme Court may stop or delay nationally funded public works, and not local government units.
“Under existing laws and jurisprudence, only the Supreme Court may issue a temporary restraining order or injunction against national government projects,” he stressed. “Clearly, the issuance of the cease-and-desist order is ultra vires.”
The city mayor had raised concerns over the lack of coordination between the DPWH and the local government, particularly in dredging and flood control works along Buntatala Creek, Dungon Creek, and the Iloilo River.
But Pacanan countered this, saying the ICDEO had regularly submitted monthly status reports to the city government since February 2024 and had made multiple efforts to hold dialogues.
“The city was duly informed, yet only acted after flooding had already occurred,” Pacanan said.
He also emphasized that the interventions were carried out at the request of barangay officials to address chronic flooding in their communities.
Pacanan further argued that even the city’s own Task Force Drainage had previously acknowledged the role of clogged and neglected waterways in worsening the floods and had recommended the continuation of dredging and widening activities.
Warning of legal escalation, he said, “We will not take this sitting down, we will pursue all available legal remedies, including invoking the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” should the city insist on implementing the CDO./PN
