CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga- Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso said that residents of four barangays in Botolan town which have become the pathway of strong currents from the Bucao River towards the South China Sea, would have to be permanently relocated to safer grounds.
This, even as rampaging waters from the Bucao river, which first wrought havoc in Botolan during storm Kiko last August 6, continued during the weekend to prevent some 5,800 evacuees from returning to their homes in Barangays Carael, Paudpod, Batonlapoc, and lower San Juan.
A dike which broke loose from the Bucao River during storm Kiko collapsed anew during storm Ondoy last Sept. 23, as the river again flowed in the same direct path towards the South China Sea. An official of the Zambales provincial disaster coordinating council (PDCC) has admitted that the affected barangays used to be the natural channel of the Bucao River.
“It is high time for the victims of the calamity to seek safer grounds where to live permanently especially those from Barangays Carael, Batonlapoc, lower San Juan area and Paudpod,” Deloso said.
Earlier, Central Luzon police director Chief Superintendent Leon Nilo de la Cruz said that the government would permanently relocate families in the areas and allow the Bucao River to flow through their areas.
De la Cruz said this was decided by Public Works Sec. Hermogenes Ebdana in a recent meeting with the regional disaster coordinating council (RDCC). “The decision was to let the river seek its natural course,” he said, echoing reports that the Bucao river merely reclaimed its original channel.
Flooding since Ondoy last Sept. 26 has affected 10 out of 31 barangays in Botolan, but the four barangays cited by Deloso were the most severely affected as the strong currents from the Bucao River also brought rolling rocks and mud that destroyed at least 600 houses in the localities.
The provincial government, Deloso said, is in the process of developing the master plan for a 4,000-unit socialized housing project which will be put up in upper San Juan, in a 52-hectare land he himself donated. The piece of land is near the still-to-be completed Iba-Tarlac road.
Deloso could not readily estimate how much will each unit will cost but said that road construction alone will amount to around P61 million.
“We are trying to lessen the cost of the project so that the beneficiaries will not have a hard time paying for their units,” the governor said, but vowed to make the housing units “presentable”.
Deloso noted that “many whose houses were destroyed belong to the middle income earners and some have relatives abroad or came from abroad so we are giving them a chance to return to how they used to live before this tragedy struck.”
He said he plans to employ able-bodied evacuees in the construction of the relocation site either as minimum wage workers or through the food-for-work program of the social welfare office.
It is not clear whether Deloso has agreed with the plans of Ebdane to allow the Bucao River to flow through the four barangays, as he also appealed to the national government to repair the dike breached along the river.
“Improving the dike from the previous sand, soil and concrete component to a more solid, concreted steel type is pegged at around P200 million covering the whole 10 kilometer stretch,” the governor said.
He also renewed his offer to those who need sand for personal use to extract from the Bucao River bed for free and help dredge and desilt the area.
“Those who will be using it for commercial purposes will be allowed to extract sand at a discounted price. Proceeds from this operation will be used to lessen the cost of the dike reconstruction or for the socialized housing project,” Deloso added.
He said that the area is also rich with black sand, a mineral used for making steel, and invited interested businessmen to inquire at the governor’s office for the requirements in processing the permits.
Meanwhile, relief operations are continuously being undertaken in Botolan by the provincial government through the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC).
Some P21 million has been spent for relief operations and other assistance to Botolan folk, local social welfare officers said.
This week, donations from the Makati City government amounting to P500,000 and 25 sacks of rice from the Victory Liner, Inc. bus company arrived.
This, even as rampaging waters from the Bucao river, which first wrought havoc in Botolan during storm Kiko last August 6, continued during the weekend to prevent some 5,800 evacuees from returning to their homes in Barangays Carael, Paudpod, Batonlapoc, and lower San Juan.
A dike which broke loose from the Bucao River during storm Kiko collapsed anew during storm Ondoy last Sept. 23, as the river again flowed in the same direct path towards the South China Sea. An official of the Zambales provincial disaster coordinating council (PDCC) has admitted that the affected barangays used to be the natural channel of the Bucao River.
“It is high time for the victims of the calamity to seek safer grounds where to live permanently especially those from Barangays Carael, Batonlapoc, lower San Juan area and Paudpod,” Deloso said.
Earlier, Central Luzon police director Chief Superintendent Leon Nilo de la Cruz said that the government would permanently relocate families in the areas and allow the Bucao River to flow through their areas.
De la Cruz said this was decided by Public Works Sec. Hermogenes Ebdana in a recent meeting with the regional disaster coordinating council (RDCC). “The decision was to let the river seek its natural course,” he said, echoing reports that the Bucao river merely reclaimed its original channel.
Flooding since Ondoy last Sept. 26 has affected 10 out of 31 barangays in Botolan, but the four barangays cited by Deloso were the most severely affected as the strong currents from the Bucao River also brought rolling rocks and mud that destroyed at least 600 houses in the localities.
The provincial government, Deloso said, is in the process of developing the master plan for a 4,000-unit socialized housing project which will be put up in upper San Juan, in a 52-hectare land he himself donated. The piece of land is near the still-to-be completed Iba-Tarlac road.
Deloso could not readily estimate how much will each unit will cost but said that road construction alone will amount to around P61 million.
“We are trying to lessen the cost of the project so that the beneficiaries will not have a hard time paying for their units,” the governor said, but vowed to make the housing units “presentable”.
Deloso noted that “many whose houses were destroyed belong to the middle income earners and some have relatives abroad or came from abroad so we are giving them a chance to return to how they used to live before this tragedy struck.”
He said he plans to employ able-bodied evacuees in the construction of the relocation site either as minimum wage workers or through the food-for-work program of the social welfare office.
It is not clear whether Deloso has agreed with the plans of Ebdane to allow the Bucao River to flow through the four barangays, as he also appealed to the national government to repair the dike breached along the river.
“Improving the dike from the previous sand, soil and concrete component to a more solid, concreted steel type is pegged at around P200 million covering the whole 10 kilometer stretch,” the governor said.
He also renewed his offer to those who need sand for personal use to extract from the Bucao River bed for free and help dredge and desilt the area.
“Those who will be using it for commercial purposes will be allowed to extract sand at a discounted price. Proceeds from this operation will be used to lessen the cost of the dike reconstruction or for the socialized housing project,” Deloso added.
He said that the area is also rich with black sand, a mineral used for making steel, and invited interested businessmen to inquire at the governor’s office for the requirements in processing the permits.
Meanwhile, relief operations are continuously being undertaken in Botolan by the provincial government through the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC).
Some P21 million has been spent for relief operations and other assistance to Botolan folk, local social welfare officers said.
This week, donations from the Makati City government amounting to P500,000 and 25 sacks of rice from the Victory Liner, Inc. bus company arrived.
