Tom scores city engineers for inaction on mini-dams

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña once again slammed the officials of the City Engineering Office for not preparing the program of works and estimates of his plan to build mini-dams to control flooding in the city.

The mayor said that until now, the city engineering has not shown him the program of works for the project, which he envisioned five years ago.

“I don’t know. The city engineering, who are supposed to be enjoying their wages, don’t even know where the POWE is,” Osmeña told reporters during a news conference.

He earlier announced that the city government will build mini-dams in 27 critical areas in the city, mostly in the mountain barangays, to minimize flooding in the lowland areas of the city.

Osmeña wants to build the first two in the north district, particularly in barangay Apas and Lahug.

The mayor said that at least three dams will be constructed in Lahug to minimize the flow of water to the low-lying areas.

He also wants the mini-dams in barangays Guadalupe and Apas to be built next to control flooding in areas like barangay Mabolo and Pardo.

Osmeña explained that the project will not eliminate flooding but reduce the impact of the water that goes down to the lower part of the city, which causes the flooding.

Admitting he can no longer rely on the city engineering, Osmeña said he might as well outsource the project to hasten the construction.

In fact, the city had already spent millions of pesos to identify the different catchment areas where the mini-dams will be built.

However, he said that people should not expect the project to materialize this year because it will have to go through the bureaucratic process.  The bidding alone is expected to take six months, he added.  — Wenna A. Berondo/BRP