Cebu City braces for dry season

CEBU, Philippines - Although the weather bureau has not yet declared the onset of dry season, the Cebu City government has already laid out preemptive measures to mitigate the effects of the coming warm weather.

Nagiel Bañacia, head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the city has created a task force for its Tubig Project, which aims to provide sufficient water supply to the public in need.

“First week pa lang karon, nag-meeting ta sa DPS (Department of Public Services) para sa Tubig Project. Nagbuhat ta sa inventory sa mga equipment. Nasayod ta nga last year, naa’y mga water containers gipanghatag maong nag- inventory asa na ni karon,” he said.

Bañacia said the city’s two water tankers have already been readied to distribute water to areas that would experience water shortage.

The project’s lead agency, DPS, is now preparing and orienting its disaster team on how the city will distribute the water to different barangays, especially the upland areas.

Bañacia said the city government is planning to purchase a specialized gadget that would be installed in the water tanker that would allow people to directly get water from the tank.

It can be recalled that majority of the barangays in the city experienced water shortage last year after  two water surface sources of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District dried up due to the El Niño phenomenon.

This early, DPS assistant head John Paul Gelasque said the city is preparing its resources and manpower to prevent the recurrence of last year’s water crisis.

“Atong gipangan-daman ana just like last year in ana nga buwana grabe kaayo ang request sa tubig. Ang nahitabo ato sige mi coordinate sa BFP unya maikog mi kay kami naman nuon magbuot asa based sa na-receive nato sa offices sa councilors, upland nga lugar. Nahulog nga ni-intervene mi sa BFP,” he said.

Areas that usually experience low pressure or no water supply are Barangays Kamputhaw, Pasil, and Busay, among others.

The consumers are also advised to help save water by regularly checking their faucets, toilets, and pipes for leaks and have these repaired immediately.

“Last summer, even downtown area, naay problema sa tubig. Maong dapat magdaginot gyod sa tubig. Naa poy warning sa kaugalingon, nga kon mag-stock tag tubig, ampingan pod dapat limpyo kay naay dengue,” Bañacia said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration-Cebu earlier said that the country’s climate is already transitioning to "hot dry season," or what people fondly call as “summer,” following the cool weather last two months.

The Philippines only has two major seasons: the wet season, which is associated with more rainfall, and the dry season, when there is less rainfall.  (FREEMAN)