ILOILO City – The Western Visayas Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) is pushing for the phase-by-phase implementation of the Panay River Basin Development Project in Capiz as one of the long-term solutions to the flooding problem of the province.
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) information officer and spokesperson for RDRRMC Cindy Ferrer said the full council meeting on May 4 resulted to the approval of Resolution No. 9 re-endorsing Resolution No. 1 passed in 2018 calling for the fast-tracking of the P19.78-billion project proposed by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).
The new resolution is addressed to the Office of the President.
“It can address the perennial flooding in the area through the construction of a dam or reservoir, floodway, cut-off channels and improvement of major and secondary drains,” Ferrer said.
The project is expected to benefit about 11,460 hectares of land highly susceptible to flooding in the Panay basin.
Ferrer said the flooding experienced by Capiz due to Tropical Depression “Agaton” in April was the worst in recent years. Residents had to climb to their rooftops.
This did not happen when typhoons “Ursula” (2019), “Odette” (2021) and “Yolanda” (2013) struck, said Ferrer.
A total of 316 barangays in Capiz got flooded due to “Agaton”.
Capiz has 473 barangays.
Even the flooding in some parts of northern Iloilo when “Agaton” struck was partly attributed to the Panay River.
During the RDRRMC meeting, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) raised the need to secure a new Certification Precondition (CP) from the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) since the previous permit already expired.
In addition to the project re-endorsement, the council also passed Resolution No. 10 for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to review if the Omnibus Election Code allows the emergency procurement during the election period.
“Capiz has been placed under a state of calamity but it cannot make emergency procurement because the Commission on Audit questions if it is allowed due to the election public spending ban,” Ferrer said. (PNA)
