No need to form new body to solve floods

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has found no need for the creation of a new body to address pressing problems such as floods in Metro Cebu as the existing Metro Cebu Development Council can already do this.

Garcia said that creation of a body like the Metro Manila Development Authority will take years for Congress to act on while there is an urgent need to come up with doable measures in order to improve the situation.

“This is the best vehicle that we can have,” Garcia said during a press conference yesterday.

While each local government unit has its own mandate but Garcia said these mandates only need to be “harmonized”.

“MCDC offers to harmonize these mandates, offers the opportunity to address this pressing concerns,” Garcia said.

Garcia is set to convene the MCDC on February 9 to be attended by local chief executives and other members.

The MCDC, which was created by the Regional Development Council, covers the area from Danao City in the north to Carcar in the south. One of the issues raised by Garcia during the meeting was her suggestion for the Province of Cebu to implement the balik-probinsiya program to help solve the problem of squatters in urban areas.

Garcia said that the program entails participation among LGUs in the province if they are willing to accept and provide livelihood to these squatters who would go back to their hometowns.

She said that she wants to hear from the local chief executives on how the province can help.

Relocating these squatters is a different story, Garcia said as the LGU will put them in a community like what the province did in building 800 houses with Gawad Kalinga in Minglanilla.

Garcia said the MCDC will not just address squatter problems but also the traffic problems and infrastructures such as drainage and sewers.   (FREEMAN NEWS)