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BY MERIANNE GRACE EREÑETA
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ILOILO City – Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said he will not allow new road and drainage projects of the Department of Public Work and Highway (DPWH) unless its ongoing ones are completed.
Unfinished infrastructure projects of the department, especially drainage, were being blamed for Friday’s flooding.
Under the Local Government Code, DPWH could not undertake projects without the approval of the local chief executive, said Mabilog.
He asked the City Engineer’s Office, Councilor Reyland Hervias – president of the Liga ng mga Barangay – and DPWH to hold discussions this week about ongoing drainage and road projects and identify those that caused Friday’s flooding.
“We will not let DPWH or the City District Engineering Office undertake new projects unless they complete their current projects,” Mabilog announced yesterday.
Friday’s flashfloods stranded thousands of commuters. Drivers of passenger jeepneys and even taxis stopped working. The president of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA) blamed the flashfloods.
“Nag-untat sila biyahe kay man dalom ang tubig,” Parcon told Panay News in a phone interview.
“Once maglapaw ang tubig sa royda sang salakyan, ma-problema gid ang break, amo na nga nag-untat sila,” he added.
Among the city streets with deep floodwaters were Mabini, Rizal, the streets around the Iloilo Terminal Market, and those in Jaro district.
“Grabe ang tubog sang salakyan,” said Parcon.
Mabilog told DPWH, too, to remind its project contractors to put early warning devises in their ongoing projects.
Two weeks ago, the mayor revealed that DPWH would be undertaking another drainage project that could solve the flooding downtown and in other City Proper villages.
The outfall of this drainage system is the Iloilo Strait via the coastal village of Rizal Pala-pala.
The project starts next month, said Mabilog and he appealed for greater public patience.
“The drainage project may take a year to complete. It will come with some inconvenience but we will try to ease the hassle,” said Mabilog.
The streets of Fuentes, Jalandoni, Delgado, Quezon, and Mabini won’t get flooded anymore once this new drainage system is completed, according to the mayor.
“Ang General Luna Street obrahon man na dira ang drainage. Dira maagi ang tubig pakadto sa outfall,” said Mabilog.
The city’s decrepit and clogged sewers are constantly being blamed for the flooding.
“Ang obrahanay indi ‘ni isa lang ka bulan kundi isa ka tuig. Dako-dako ini nga project,” Mabilog said.
Flooding in City Proper barangays like Hipodromo, San Agustin, Liberation, Flores, and Sampaguita will also be addressed, he added.
“Sa ma-apektuhan sang proyekto, dyutay lang nga pasensya ang aton ginapangayo,” said Mabilog./PN
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