EDITORIAL - From bad to worse

It was reported that Cebu City will have at least P8.2 billion worth of infrastructure projects set for implementation in the next few years. This was according to the Unified Project Management Office of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Now, Councilor Jerry Guardo wants the Regional Development Council and the Office of the Presidential Assistant of the Visayas to lobby for the amount to fund the city’s Integrated Drainage Masterplan.

“We also learned from DPWH-UPMO during the executive session that based on the masterplan, Cebu city alone will have an estimate budgetary requirement of P8.2 billion worth of projects which includes river improvements, diversion channel and the drainage mains improvements,” Guardo said in a privilege speech during the City Council session last Tuesday.

On top of the P8.2 billion, Guardo said there is also the P1.5 billion intended for flood control projects that the city government should utilize, as he welcomes the creation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Flooding (IATFF) in the city.

Considering the billions that are now set aside for the city’s drainage system, the local government should now start working for the immediate realization of the Integrated Drainage Masterplan.

How serious is the city’s flooding problem? It is very serious that it calls for an urgently massive overhaul of its outdated drainage system. In 1983, the city only had 18 flood-prone areas. But a drainage masterplan in 2006 showed the city already has around 127 flood-prone areas.

 It’s very unfortunate that since 1983 or 36 years since the city government started seriously assessing the drainage’s situation, little has been done to improve the infrastructure. Instead, the system’s condition has gone from bad to worse.

We don’t know when this problem on flooding around the city will end. But since there are already funds for it, the present administration should put premium on its speedy solution.