DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Officials of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Cotabato City and Sultan Kudarat are asking President Aquino to speed up the construction of the multi-billion-peso flood control projects that would help ease floods in areas surrounding the Mindanao River Basin (MRB).
The local officials asked the President to order the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to fast-track river dredging, construction of dikes, and widening of cut-off channels in identified areas of the MRB.
The MRB is the second largest river basin in the country that is beset by flooding particularly during the rainy season.
“The projects must be implemented soonest to mitigate recurring flooding that has been displacing thousands of residents and damaging livelihood and property in the area especially during torrential rains,†DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson said.
Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chair Luwalhati Antonino led governors Emmy Lou Taliño-Mendoza of North Cotabato, Esmael Mangudadatu of Maguindanao, Daisy Avance-Fuentes of South Cotabato, and Suharto Mangudadatu of Sultan Kudarat in a recent meeting with the President regarding the flooding problem in Central Mindanao.
MinDA endorsed to the DPWH the P6.9-billion flood control projects that include the dredging and widening of the cut-off channel to divert floods away from the Rio Grande de Mindanao in order to protect communities in Cotabato City and Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao.
“The dredging of Rio Grande de Mindanao and construction of a dike along the Tunggol cut-off channel in Pulangui River will also protect the Tunggol Bridge that connects the Davao-Cotabato National Highway and adjacent communities,†said Antonino.
She said a riverbank protection project in Ala River will also be constructed to prevent flooding in the town of Lambayong.
MinDA is also pursuing non-structural solutions to complement the DPWH’s infrastructure projects in MRB.
“Although we see the flood control projects as an immediate step to curb flooding around the MRB, MinDA, in partnership with key government agencies and local government units, is also adopting bio-engineering measures for erosion control and slope stabilization,†Antonino said.