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[av_heading heading=’NO MORE FLOODS BY 2018 – JED
‘Stretch your patience a little bit more’ ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MERIANNE GRACE EREÑETA
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ILOILO City – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is undertaking another drainage project that promises to solve the flooding downtown and in other City Proper villages.
Is this the drainage project that will finally end the perennial flooding in the City Proper?
The outfall of this drainage system is the Iloilo Strait via the coastal village of Rizal Pala-pala, said Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
The project starts next month. Mabilog appealed for greater public patience.
“The drainage project may take a year to complete. It will come with some inconvenience but we will try to ease the hassle,” he said.
The streets of Fuentes, Jalandoni, Delgado, Quezon, and Mabini won’t get flooded anymore once this new drainage system is completed, according to the mayor.
“Ang General Luna Street obrahon man na dira ang drainage. Dira maagi ang tubig pakadto sa outfall,” said Mabilog.
The city’s decrepit and clogged sewers are constantly being blamed for the flooding. Just this rainy Sept. 27 although this city was not under any storm signal, large swathes of the metropolis were flooded. Mabilog was forced to suspend classes in all levels – public and private elementary, high school and college.
“Ang obrahanay indi ‘ni isa lang ka bulan kundi isa ka tuig. Dako-dako ini nga project,” Mabilog said.
He, however, did not say how much will DPWH spend.
Flooding in City Proper barangays like Hipodromo, San Agustin, Liberation, Flores, and Sampaguita will also be addressed, he added.
“Sa ma-apektuhan sang proyekto, dyutay lang nga pasensya ang aton ginapangayo,” said Mabilog.
DPWH came under fire following the Sept. 27 flashflood.
“DPWH has to explain. It seems useless ang mga drainage,” said Councilor Ely Estante, chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s committee on engineering, construction and public works.
Estante recalled DPWH announcing at a recent multi-sectoral conference that the city’s sewers were already functional.
“I-explain ang rason nga-a dugay mag-subside ang tubig despite nga ang drainage operational na. Sa nakita nga baha, it seems useless ang mga bag-o nga drainage,” said Estante.
Parts of the districts of Jaro, Molo, La Paz, and City Proper were flooded.
Estante warned of more flooding, noting that the last quarter of each year is usually marked with more typhoons. He urged contractors of DPWH projects to speed up their work./PN
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