Drainage works halted due to right-of-way issues

The road right-of-way problem (ROW) continues to be a pain in the neck for government projects throughout the country, and Cagayan de Oro’s drainage projects are no exemption.

Representative Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy of the first district said the national government only allocates an amount for the construction of these projects, but it did not include an amount to pay the ROW claimants.

“The relocation and the payment for these claimants are entrusted to the city government, so in the meantime, the project is temporarily stopped,” Uy said.

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Northern Mindanao spokesperson Vinah Maghinay said it has ongoing major drainage works in barangays Kauswagan, Carmen, and Lapasan. To date, the work in Carmen and Lapasan is halted due to ROW issues.

Representative Maxi Rodriguez of the city’s second district said negotiations with the Limketkai to pursue an underground canal is still ongoing. The underground tunnel was supposed to run beneath the Puregold building but the negotiations collapsed.

The project, called the Agora Subterranean Canal is a multi-million drainage project which aims to construct a 600-meter canal and runs from Bitan-ag Creek at Limketkai Center and runs underneath Puregold and Agora Road.

The DPWH the tunnel should prevent flooding at the CM Recto Avenue area.

“Ang atong gipananghid sa iyaha, ang tunnel musulod sa Limketkai property paingon didto sa part sa Bitan-ag creek (We are asking permission because the tunnel will enter the Limketkai property to connect to Bitan-ag creek), but it is still under negotiations,” Rodriguez said.

He said the target completion of the project is within the year.

Meanwhile, City Mayor Oscar Moreno admits that the city is finding it hard to address the problem immediately, citing budget concerns.

“Ang drainage, sayon ra kaayo mang basol, pero lisod kana kaayo himuon kay daghan kaayo magpapalit, magpabayad (It’s easy to blame anybody but completing the drainage is so difficult because a lot of the residents affected want to get paid). Sige nako makadawat sulat (I always receive letters) from the contractors telling me that they are going to suspend the project because of these issues,” he said.

But Moreno said they continue to be committed in addressing these kind of problems. He said they are expanding their resettlement projects to relocate the affected residents.

“It’s really important to have a strong collaboration, because we cannot do it alone. It’s not as if we have houses that are ready for relocation, it does not happen that way. But we have to do this because it also means we are respecting the laws, and we need to be credible so Cagayan de Oro will continue to be an attractive city for investors,” he said.