DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/22 June) – There is nothing more the city government of Davao can do about the drainage system with the onset of floods in this rainy season, except to clean it, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said over his public affairs program “Ato ni Bay” on Tuesday.
Duterte said while the government should not give excuses, the reality is that the amount of flood water is really excessive.
He said repairs on the sewerage system have been done, like the demolition of the Nograles Park in 2008, which was said to cause obstruction to the city’s waterways.
Duterte said the city could not add more sewers because it could not anymore help control the floods, citing the case of Metro Manila despite its elaborate drainage systems.
“Our prayer is that the big canal in Roxas and Dacudao (streets) would not give in,” he said.
He also cited some places along Roxas to be below sea level and thus prone to flooding.
Davaoeños, he said, should be grateful that the rains don’t last too long because the big rivers, like the one in Bankerohan, could overflow.
Meanwhile, he said that the city council, whose sessions he presides, will be stricter on the approval of subdivisions.
He said that the developers should not expect clearances if they are not able to comply with the requirements, among them the drainage systems. Duterte stressed that the sewers constructed should coincide with the plan the developers submitted to the city government.
Earlier, Councilor Bernie Al-ag, chair of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s subcommittee on housing and subdivision development, said that while there are standards on the drainage systems, some are not being entirely followed.
Al-ag said they will soon be conducting a review of the drainage systems in existing subdivisions, inspecting first those that are flood prone. (JB Tingzon / MindaNews)