DPWH seeks funds to dredge Ormoc dam, rivers

ORMOC CITY, Philippines  – Residents here are worried that the 1991 tragedy where almost 8,000 people died in flashfloods, will be repeated if the Anilao and Malbasag rivers and Biliboy split dam are not immediately dredged.

Local officials of the Department of Public Works and Highway have called on President Aquino to release P28 million for the clearing of the waterways.

Assistant district engineer Irwin Antonio cited the need to remove the silt in the dam and two rivers to prevent massive flooding during heavy rainfall.

Antonio stressed this in his briefing for Japan Ambassador Toshinao Urabe here on Monday afternoon.

Urabe led other representatives of the Japanese embassy and members of the media in visiting Ormoc and Tacloban cities to check flood control projects funded by the Japanese government in 1995.

On Nov. 5, 1991, typhoon “Uring” induced a tremendous amount of rainfall, causing flashfloods that killed almost 8,000 people, swept away over 14,000 houses, and destroyed an estimated P620 million worth of properties.

With Japanese funding and technology, Antonio said they constructed the Biliboy Dam and widened the Anilao and Malbasag rivers, which were completed in 1998.

In 2003, Antonio said typhoon “Guilas,” which was as strong as “Uring,” hit the city, but floodwaters were contained in the dam and twin rivers, thus proving the project to be effective.

He said though the waterways should be dredged to prevent massive flooding in the city, adding that heavy rains and flooding occur almost every month here.

“Ormoc City remains exposed to the menace of disastrous flood with the same magnitude as that of typhoon ‘Uring,’” he said.