Soco calls for unified flood control plan, tighter coordination

Local

FLOODS do not stop at city borders, and neither should the solutions.

Cebu Vice Governor Glenn Anthony Soco has pressed for a unified flood control plan and tighter coordination between the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and local governments, warning that piecemeal approaches have left major projects unfinished and communities still vulnerable.

Soco pointed to Ordinance 2023-05, amended by the Provincial Board, which requires national agencies to coordinate with the Capitol before implementing projects and programs.

The ordinance also imposes a P5,000 fine or jail time on violators.

He expressed frustration over repeated complaints from local executives and board members about DPWH-managed projects, including flood control works in Mandaue City, various town road concreting efforts, and the stalled Metro Cebu Expressway.

Because residents rarely distinguish between national, municipal, city, or barangay roads, Soco said elected officials end up taking the blame for delays.

“So makita nato if mokuyog ka sa ubang bahin sa probinsya nga wa pa matiwas, hinay kaayo, and the methodology of implementation naay gi hurot og una ang side, naay uban gi by portion, by portion,” he said on Tuesday, September 2.

The Provincial Board has summoned DPWH Region 7 officials, led by director Danilo Villa Jr., to its September 8 session.

The resolution, authored by Board Member Celestino “Tining” Martinez III, directs the agency to report on flood control, road concreting, and other major projects, as well as proposals for fiscal year 2026.

Soco recalled that DPWH had already crafted an Integrated Flood Control and Drainage Master Plan in 2016 during the term of then-Secretary and now Senator Mark Villar.

The blueprint included interventions from upland to coastal areas, such as the rehabilitation of the Lusaran and Mananga dams, the construction of gabion dams, widening of the Sapangdaku and Tipolo rivers, and enforcement of easements along the Butuanon River.

Initial allocations amounted to P700 million in 2018 and P1.2 billion in 2019, but Soco lamented that funding stopped in 2020.

“Katong planoha if nasunod lang to siya, it would have dramatically solve the flooding,” he said.

He noted there are now calls to draft a new plan but argued the 2016 master plan remains relevant.

“I heard that there are calls now to do another plan but if that plan is effective up to now you can pick up from that nga unsa namay status reports niatong atong flood control and drainage master plan,” he added.

Aside from flood control, Soco also criticized the ballooning cost and slow progress of the Metro Cebu Expressway, now estimated at P94.07 billion and possibly reaching P100 billion.

He said a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach would speed up completion, just as it did for the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway.

Soco said the expressway should be implemented through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), similar to how the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway was completed.

He argued that if DPWH were to handle the project again, it would only prolong delays.(MyTVCebu)