Liloan town prepares integrated drainage plan

CEBU - Taking a lesson from the recent flooding that affected two of its barangays, the municipality of Liloan is now preparing an integrated drainage plan to help prevent similar incidents in the future.

Vice Mayor Thelma Jordan, the town council’s presiding officer, said flooding is a “very serious threat” to the town even with just the mild rains.

During its latest session, the town council adopted the municipal integrated drainage plan and tasked the municipal engineer to review the matter.

Jordan recognizes that the problem could not be addressed without the integrated drainage system and could become worse in the future if the town do not have a comprehensive drainage system.

“Exacerbating the problem is the presence of scores of residential subdivision of all types, whose drainage systems have nowhere to go except the small canals along the roads,” she explained.

Earlier, Mayor Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco has asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to make a masterplan for a drainage system that Consolacion, Liloan and Compostela could implement.

Moreover, Frasco asked the DPWH not to disregard local officials in the implementation of its projects.

The mayor has earlier said that there are projects that the DPWH implemented in his locality that are not consulted with them.

Frasco pointed out that there is need for a comprehensive answer to the flooding problem in the northern towns.

According to him, the problem transcends political boundaries as the towns are bounded by creeks or rivers that tend to overflow during heavy downpour.

Last year, the Barangays Yati and San Vicente were affected by flooding that forced many families to evacuate to higher grounds. —Garry B. Lao/WAB   (THE FREEMAN)