DCPDO to provide info for Jica flood study

THE Davao City Planning and Development Office committed to give necessary information to the team from Japan International Cooperation Agency that will conduct a two-year study for the 30-year flood mitigation master plan for Davao River, Matina Pangi River and Talomo River.

CPDO head Ivan Cortez in a media interview yesterday said city planning shall provide data gathered within the city in the previous years as form of their counterpart in the feasibility study by the Jica team.

“The City Planning will facilitate the programs of Jica, we already have those basic data, maps, all the studies conducted ten years ago. We will provide all the date we can give so that they will not go back to zero,” Cortez said.

He said the study will be beneficial to the city as it will study the behavior of waters.

“This engagement with Jica will determine the behavior of the water, and where it will go if there is an overflow,” he said.

Cortez said after the specific study, proper infrastructure will be planned in the area.

He added that at present they follow the City Zoning Ordinance to mitigate flooding within the city, as the ordinance indicates flood prone areas where the building of houses or other infrastructures is not allowed.

Aside from infrastructure, Cortez said they will also seek to craft strategies to stop disasters caused by flooding.

The Jica team presented their proposal before the city government last Wednesday, before the representatives of city offices, National Economic Development Authority, and Department of Public Works and Highways.

Davao City Administrator Zuleika Lopez said the team from Jica will arrive in July 2017 to start their scoping mission.

Lopez said the project will be more of a preventive approach to deal with flood.

She said such undertaking is in line with the executive agenda of Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to conduct flood control drainage management programs, and the Jica’s intent to conduct studies in the city stemmed with the agreement with President Rodrigo R. Duterte and Japanese Prime minister Shinzo Abe. KVC