City creates task force to make sure it isn’t swamped
To ensure that all drainage systems are regularly maintained, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has approved the creation of a task force that will take charge of flooding concerns in the city.
Proposed by Councilor Jerry Guardo, the Menos Baha Task Force will be assigned to declog and desilt drainage systems, especially in flood-prone areas.
“Recurrence of flooding should be part of disaster preparedness,” Guardo said in a Facebook post dated April 7.
Aside from declogging, Menos Baha is also tasked go construct drainage systems in identified flood-prone areas; repair existing drainage lines and manholes; clean and deepen creeks; and spread and educational advocacy on proper waste disposal.
Guardo, deputy mayor for infrastructure, said the task force will be jointly supervised by the Department of Engineering and Public Works and the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.
Aside from the task force, the City Government will create around 40 rubbish or silt traps to prevent trash from clogging up the drainage lines, especially during rainy season.
In an interview last week, Guardo said Sitio Ascension in Barangay Sambag I was chosen as the pilot area for the rubbish trap.
“After the pilot project had been tested effective in trapping trash, I was directed by Mayor Tom (Osmeña) to build at least 20 to 40 more rubbish/silt traps in Cebu City, especially in the lowland and depressed areas in the barangay,” he said.
Guardo was directed by the mayor to identify the different flood-prone areas in the city and to establish a silt trap there.
But before that, Guardo said they have to clean up everything. Among the factors behind flooding during heavy rain in the city is that around 70 percent of the drainage lines have been clogged up by trash.
To fast-track the clean up drive, the City will purchase heavy equipment such as dump trucks and a backhoe.