ANGELES CITY – First District Rep. Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin yesterday urged the city government to use its calamity fund to save the premiere business village here from erosion caused by waters at the Balibago creek.
Lazatin said Mayor Francis “Blueboy” Nepomuceno should use the some P50 million calamity fund “now before it’s too late to save Balibago.”
“Why don’t they use it? Where is the calamity fund anyway?,” said Lazatin. “Sometimes they use it for other purposes not really critical. This is not a calamity but a disaster,” added the first-term solon and former three-term mayor.
City Administrator Mark Allen Sison, in a text message, said “although it’s a national flood control system, we have deployed our people, heavy equipment and sandbags for several weeks already as augmentation for the DPWH,” said Sison.
“The outfall along MacArthur Highway was a DPWH project and funded by SM Clark during the previous administration,” added Sison.
Sison stressed it’s the national government which should do the project.
Asked about the proposal of Lazatin to use the calamity fund, Sison said “the P50 million of the city is not enough and it will be useless.” He added that “if we will exhaust it in Balibago how could we attend to other criticical barangays like Sapang Bato and Anunas, Malabanias, Ninoy Aquino and Pulung Maragul?”
“We will need more than P300 million to armor the slope and prevent further erosion. If we will exhaust the P50 million it will be futile because it will only be destroyed. It should be rip-rap from the upper stream to the lower stream,” said Sison.
Lazatin, for his part said, “he was a mere mayor then and he could not contradict the plan of the national government for the floodway system in the area” He added that he had suggested “cross drainages to be built to limit the entry of water to the affected areas today.”
“The cross drainages could have limited the water,” said Lazatin.
He added then Congressman Nepomuceno “as a national leader then should have been asked why he had allowed the design of such project done by the government.”
Balibago Barangay Captain Rodelio “Tony” Mamac said Sison and the mayor “should stop blaming Lazatin or anyone else. He added that “what’s important now is that we act before it’s too late.”
Mamac assailed Nepomuceno and Sison for failing to act to save Balibago.
“If they are planning to spend P600 million for a questionable sports complex project, why can’t they do the same to save Balibago and nearby villages from imminent danger.”
Lazatin said Mayor Francis “Blueboy” Nepomuceno should use the some P50 million calamity fund “now before it’s too late to save Balibago.”
“Why don’t they use it? Where is the calamity fund anyway?,” said Lazatin. “Sometimes they use it for other purposes not really critical. This is not a calamity but a disaster,” added the first-term solon and former three-term mayor.
City Administrator Mark Allen Sison, in a text message, said “although it’s a national flood control system, we have deployed our people, heavy equipment and sandbags for several weeks already as augmentation for the DPWH,” said Sison.
“The outfall along MacArthur Highway was a DPWH project and funded by SM Clark during the previous administration,” added Sison.
Sison stressed it’s the national government which should do the project.
Asked about the proposal of Lazatin to use the calamity fund, Sison said “the P50 million of the city is not enough and it will be useless.” He added that “if we will exhaust it in Balibago how could we attend to other criticical barangays like Sapang Bato and Anunas, Malabanias, Ninoy Aquino and Pulung Maragul?”
“We will need more than P300 million to armor the slope and prevent further erosion. If we will exhaust the P50 million it will be futile because it will only be destroyed. It should be rip-rap from the upper stream to the lower stream,” said Sison.
Lazatin, for his part said, “he was a mere mayor then and he could not contradict the plan of the national government for the floodway system in the area” He added that he had suggested “cross drainages to be built to limit the entry of water to the affected areas today.”
“The cross drainages could have limited the water,” said Lazatin.
He added then Congressman Nepomuceno “as a national leader then should have been asked why he had allowed the design of such project done by the government.”
Balibago Barangay Captain Rodelio “Tony” Mamac said Sison and the mayor “should stop blaming Lazatin or anyone else. He added that “what’s important now is that we act before it’s too late.”
Mamac assailed Nepomuceno and Sison for failing to act to save Balibago.
“If they are planning to spend P600 million for a questionable sports complex project, why can’t they do the same to save Balibago and nearby villages from imminent danger.”
