Cotcot river ocular check set on Feb 6

Members of the Provincial Board will conduct on Monday, February 6, an ocular inspection on the so-called developmental activities done at the vicinity of Cotcot River in between the municipalities of Liloan and Compostela.

PB member Agnes Magpale said that board member Victor Maambong, chairman of the committee on environment, will lead the ocular inspection along with engineers tasked to assess the condition of the Cotcot River and to determine possible solutions to the flooding problem in the area.

Magpale, a member of the committee, pointed out that the ocular inspection was agreed after officials of the affected towns presented their sides on the controversy in last Wednesday's public hearing called by Maambong.

A contractor was alleged to have caused inconvenience to residents in nearby barangays both in Liloan and Compostela towns when he constructed a causeway at the river for his hauling trucks to pass through. This contractor, whose name is being withheld pending comments from his side, is reportedly a supplier of dolomite and filling materials to Cebu City for the South Reclamation Project.

Another speculation was that of a German national who allegedly built an infrastructure for aging compatriots in Cebu at the vicinity of the river and has reportedly a Filipino for a business partner in this venture.

During the said public hearing, officials of the two municipalities agreed to come up with a "win-win solution" to floods brought about by heavy rains.

Compostela Mayor Antonio Dangoy and Mayor Maria Sevilla of Liloan said that residents of both towns living near Cotcot River, that shares boundaries with the two municipalities, get badly affected by floods during heavy rains. The residents reportedly pointed at the activities detrimental to the condition of the river to have triggered the flashfloods during downpours. - Jose P. Sollano