Flooding problem: Who's to blame?

The flood that swept through Cebu City and neighboring areas following the heavy downpour Thursday night has once again revived the call for an immediate solution to the problem pestering Metro Cebu during the rainy season.

Yes, we all know that the metro lacks a modern drainage system. And yes, we all know that what was being done was just a band-aid approach because all the drainage rehab never really brought a significant impact in the effort to solve the flooding problem.

Cebu City Engineer Josefa Ylanan was right in saying that discipline plays a significant role in the effort to solve the problem. She said it would be useless even if the city government spends billions in drainage if the residents lack the discipline and still continue to throw garbage into the canals.

"The best solution is to avoid putting our garbage to our canals. It's useless to implement drainage projects if people continue to throw garbage anywhere. We deployed our job orders to clean up the canals and other waterways," The FREEMAN quoted her as saying.

Although Ylanan has a point, the problem on flooding that stemmed from clogged canals, however, is not entirely due to the lack of discipline.

Yes, it's useless to implement projects if people continue to throw their garbage into the canals. However, our local officials should know that discipline can be taught even to the most disobedient and rebellious. But to discipline them certainly requires a great effort on the part of the authorities.

The reason why people continue to throw their garbage into the canals is that the law banning such act has never been properly imposed. Had the barangays and the city government religiously implemented the law, it would have been a different story.

The problem is that the authorities have never been aggressive in going after against those who violate the law, which only makes them partly to blame for the worsening problem of flooding around the metro.