EDDIE BARRITA
Flooding in the city’s downtown area and the north reclamation area has become the new normal
Cebu City’s streets were again flooded during a heavy downpour yesterday. A local newspaper report said it takes only 20 minutes of heavy rain for floodwaters to reach knee-deep in downtown Cebu City. Flooding in the city’s downtown area and the north reclamation area has become the new normal. Anyway, it only floods when it rains. Barrita says that it’s probably the reason there were no serious efforts among city officials to solve the city’s flooding problem.
Cebu City’s streets were again flooded during a heavy downpour yesterday. A Cebu Daily News report said it takes only 20 minutes of heavy rain for floodwaters to reach knee-deep in downtown Cebu City. Flooding in the city’s downtown area and the north reclamation area has become the new normal. Anyway, it only floods when it rains.
It’s probably the reason there were no serious efforts among city officials to solve the city’s flooding problem.
What about the traffic gridlock caused by floods? There’s traffic gridlock in the city with or without floods.
Anyway, the floods will soon subside. Let the water find its way to the sea. Do floodwaters need some kind of help from the city government to find their way to the sea?
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña thinks so. But it’s as little help as the floods can get.
Under his proposed “realistic” P6.3-billion annual budget for next year, drainage and flood control program only got P3.5 million, with another P4 million for other supplies and material expenses. Then there’s P23.3 million for flood control projects in the barangays.
Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera slammed the mayor for allocating more for garbage than for solving the flooding in the city.
He said the mayor gave garbage collection and other related activities a whopping P381.9 million in the proposed budget for next year. So there’s money in garbage after all.
Joel Garganera, who styles himself as “Ang Panday,” should look at the bright side. The proposed budget simply means that when he wades in the flood next year, there would be no garbage in it.