Council oks removal of houses on city creeks, relocation of residents

A total of 2653 houses or structures along the banks of creeks and rivers, and coastal areas, in the city should be removed immediately and residents relocated, said the city council yesterday as it approved a resolution for the purpose.

The council, in its regular session, approved en masse, the proposed resolution of councilor Hilario Davide III, after the endorsement of councilor Gerardo Carillo, action officer of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council.

"The city council's great concern...against proliferation and indiscriminate construction along city's creek and coastal area that clearly endanger the safety of the inhabitants," the approved Davide resolution stated.

Davide had asked the council to make a stand on the matter concerning the families living alongside creeks and coastal areas before another fatal flashflood similar to Simbulan in barangay Mabolo recently where six people died.

In recommending the approval of the resolution, Carillo reported that residents along the city's waterways should be relocated because the volume of water from upstream would increase significantly during heavy rains.

The Carillo report also recommended the removal of 960 houses along the waterways in the South District, and 1693 houses in the North District.

Before the removal of the structures, however, the council created a special committee to look first into the concerns over such action.

The committee would be composed of representatives from the city council, Office of the Building Officials, Association of Barangay Councils, Squatters Prevention and Elimination Division, Department of Public Works and Highways, and Department of Engineering and Public Works.

Meanwhile, another cause of flooding of waterways is the problem of the city's drainage system, in which the city government is currently trying to solve.

Engineer Mike Cale, city's consultant in drafting the comprehensive drainage master plan, said the first and second stages of implementation of the plan each needs at least P500 million. This is on top of the city's P13 million budget for the project feasibility study.

Engineer Kenneth Enriquez of the Department of Public Works, however, said the sizes of the existing drainage should be determined first before proceeding with the bidding of materials for the project.

All parties involved in the project are set to discuss the city's comprehensive drainage master plan by the end of this month.

Councilor Procopio Fernandez had proposed that all barangay officials should signify their approval of the master plan to avoid blaming one another later on. - Garry B. Lao/RAE