This prompted a Cebu City congressman to propose the formation of a coordinating body to monitor and track the completion of these flood-mitigation projects.
The issues surfaced in a forum on flood mitigation organized by the Infrastructure Development Committee (IDC) of the Regional Development Council (RDC) of Central Visayas at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel on Friday.
The forum was attended by representatives of local government units (LGUs) from the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, district representatives, DPWH in Central Visayas (DPWH 7) and the private sector, who discussed the actions to take to solve the problems in the implementation of the P44 billion Metro Cebu Integrated Flood and Drainage System Master Plan.
Five projects
IDC Secretariat Kareen Suarez said that as of September 2022, of the P44 billion total project cost of the master plan, only 4.6 percent or more than P2 billion had been funded and implemented which was allocated for five river improvement projects across portions of the waterways in Subangdaku, Guizo, Mantuyong and Tipolo in Mandaue City, and Lahug, Guadalupe, Kinalumsan, Tejero and Bulacao in Cebu City.
Of these five projects, only four have been completed.
The one in the Kinalumsan River, covering Barangays Duljo, Labangon and Mambaling in Cebu City, is still ongoing and delayed due to the presence of ISFs along the project alignment.
This project is only 50 percent complete, as negotiations with the ISFs are still ongoing.
In 2022, Suarez said the RDC filed another resolution requesting the DPWH Central Office to increase the funding of the master plan to be included in fiscal year 2023, including the unfinished projects of DPWH 7 in the region.
Despite their request, funding of the master plan was not prioritized, engineer Earl Paredes, project manager of the UPMO-FCMC, said at the forum.
He said the UPMO-FCMC requested P100 million for the Detailed Engineering Design (DED) for inclusion in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2023; however, only P5 million was approved.
In the GAA of 2022, he had requested the inclusion of P140 million for DED, but only P40 million was allocated.
The RDC first filed Resolution 57 in 2020 requesting the DPWH to increase the annual budget allocation for the projects in the master plan.
In the same year, RDC issued Resolution 5 requesting the DPWH to refund the DED budgets intended for 11 projects in the master plan, after it was reverted to the national government due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2022, the RDC reiterated its request for the DPWH through Resolution 14 to increase the budget of the projects in the master plan for its 2023 budget proposal.
Settlers
The presence of informal settler families (ISFs) and commercial and private establishments along the riverbanks further delayed the implementation of the master plan.
A representative of the Cebu City District Engineering Office said in the case of private lot owners along the riverbanks, the government has to negotiate the compensation for these owners before the clearing can be implemented.
Most of these owners have presented documents showing that they own the lot, so the DPWH has to allocate funding for the Rowa.
In the case of the ISFs, relocation sites have to be prioritized.
Recommendation
Cebu City South District Rep. Eduardo “Edu” Rama Jr. proposed the creation of the Flood-Control Coordinating Board that will meet regularly to discuss and monitor the status of these projects.
“From what I have observed for the past few years, there is no coordination between the local government, the district office, the regional office, and then the central office. Each office has its own plans,” Rama said.
Cebu City Councilor Phillip Zafra also shared that during his stint as barangay captain of Tisa, every time the Cebu City District Engineering Office of the DPWH had to implement a certain flood-control project, they were not consulted first and were only informed upon the start of the project.
Zafra said Rama’s proposed Coordination Board must convene all stakeholders involved in the implementation of the master plan starting from the central and regional offices of the DPWH 7, and the LGUs of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu down to their barangay levels including their district representatives, and the private sector.
Rama suggested that the RDC lead the committee, and IDC Chairperson Kenneth Cobonpue welcomed the recommendation.
“If there is no other body to coordinate, then it falls on us to create this body to meet regularly,” Cobonpue said.
Master plan
In 2017, DPWH 7 started the implementation of the Metro Cebu Integrated Flood and Drainage System Master Plan, which was divided into three clusters: The North, Central, and South Cluster.
To fast-track the implementation of the master plan, the projects were distributed to the Regional office, District Engineering Office, and UPMO-FCMC, covering Danao City to Carcar City, Paredes said.
These projects include river improvements, diversion channels, drainage mains, flow control systems, and housing units for ISFs.