Illegal settlers, budget woes hinder metro master plan

The Central Visayas Regional Development Council has identified informal settlers and cost of right-ofway (ROW) as major issues in the implementation of the Metro Cebu Integrated Flood and Drainage Master Plan.

This prompted the RDC-7 to request the Department of Public Works and Highways to include the cost of ROW acquisition and relocation of informal settler families in the budget of projects identified in the comprehensive study of the master plan and the DPWH flood control projects funded under the 2016 and 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Glenn Soco, chair of the RDC Infrastructure Development Committee, said the study was formulated to address the worsening flood problem caused mainly by silted and clogged drainage, constricted river system and insufficient drainage outfall.

DPWH-7 had allocated P731 million under the GAA for the improvement of river systems in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue.

However, this budget did not include the cost of ROW acquisition and relocation of informal settler families.

Soco explained that it was imperative that the ROW acquisition and relocation of informal settlers be settled prior to the implementation of the projects to ensure timely completion of the project.

The concerned local government units lacked the budget for ROW acquisition and relocation of informal settlers, thus, delaying DPWH's planned civil works, he said.

DPWH-7 Director Ador Canlas explained that the P731 million under GAA 2016 earmarked for the improvement of river systems in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue was allocated before the study was conducted. This did not include the cost for ROW acquisition and relocation of informal settlers.

Under this fund, ROW acquisition and relocation of informal settlers were to be undertaken by the concerned LGUs and other agencies such as the National Housing Authority, he further said.

Under GAA 2017 of DPWH-7, Canlas said that P420 million was allocated for the improvement of river systems, which already included the cost of ROW acquisition.

However, he said the estimates were based on the old ROW law.

The new ROW law of RA 10752 uses the current market value as basis for the cost of ROW acquisition, which is four to five times higher than the previous zonal value.

Canlas asked to include in the RDC request the cost of ROW acquisition and relocation of informal settlers for the flood control projects of DPWH-7 under GAA 2016 and 2017.

Also passed was a separate RDC resolution requesting DPWH to establish a Local Project Management Office to solely oversee the implementation of projects in the Metro Cebu Integrated Flood and Drainage System Master Plan.—Gregg