OUTGOING Lapu-Lapu City Rep. Paz Radaza has acknowledged the absence of outfall in all her drainage projects in the city but she stressed that it is still better than having no project at all to address the long-standing problem of flooding in the city.Radaza made the statement after reelected Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan, whom she challenged in the mayoral race but lost, pointed out that the former’s drainage projects have no outfall, the place the drainage empties into a body of water—a sea, a river or a lake.The outgoing lawmaker noted how difficult it was to construct a comprehensive citywide drainage system that would totally solve flooding because it would take a long period of time to do so.“While there is no outfall yet, the drainage will serve as an artificial water catchment to collect the rainwater and to prevent flooding in residential areas. The point is, the flooding problem would not be solved if only the outfall is constructed. The problem would not be solved if there’s no project at all,” she said in a mix of Cebuano and English.Radaza said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) already knew about the problem about the outfall and it would not implement the drainage projects if these are not suitable.Radaza said it does not mean that when there is no outfall, they would stop the construction of the drainage project, which she said is slowly being implemented part by part.The City Government, she said, had implemented drainage projects without an outfall.Radaza said constructing an outfall is also a problem in other cities in the country as it takes a huge amount of budget.Unlike the City Government, Radaza said her office has no “power of expropriation” to acquire lots for the construction of an outfall.She said the problem can only be solved once they continue to construct drainage in different areas in the city and other facilities needed such as outfall.Radaza, however, asked the constituents for forgiveness amid the inconvenience brought about by the construction of drainage projects in the city.She said DPWH had given the contractors a long period of time to complete the construction of the drainage projects since this involved a lot of work.“In spite of our sufferings, we can expect the roads will be orderly and the flooding problem will be solved after the completion of the drainage projects,” she said in Cebuano.Radaza expressed her gratitude to the DPWH for the inclusion in their plans for a comprehensive drainage system in the city.