ANGELES CITY – “Please help us save our properties before it’s too late.”
Thus said owners of posh residential and business establishments here threatened anew by erosion at the Balibago creek as rainy season started last month.
Henrick Degler, owner of the 22-room Marble Inn at Diamond Subd. in Barangay Balibago, disclosed that they had not allowed customers to occupy their 16 rooms as water coming from the Clark Freeport and huge malls destroyed the hotel’s foundation nearest to the creek.
The Swedish national said they had noticed that the water level at the creek dropped by some 5 meters, indicating that water had zipped into the foundations of their hotel and nearby establishments, including the Systems Plus College Foundation (SPCF), also in Balibago.
Degler said he and other businessmen had repeatedly urged the local government and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to divert the huge volume of water to Abacan River when erosion began to destroy and threatened some P1-billion worth of properties in the area last year.
“We were vindicated and we were right,” added Degler, referring to some P50-million sheet-filing and slope protection project of the DPWH, which began to collapse due to heavy rains and huge volume of water passing along the creek.
The DPWH started the project late last year to save the area but it has yet to be completed, Degler said.
He added that the P50-million budget used for the DPWH project could have instead built “a permanent solution” by constructing pipes allowing water to come out in both Abacan river and Balibago creek.
A pipe system was earlier constructed allowing water to come out directly to the creek which dramatically increased its size after the completion of the project.
Degler said Balibago creek is less than 3 kilometers away from Abacan.
In interviews with Diamond subdivision residents, they said the local and national government then failed to properly address the problem despite having ample time beginning last year.
Residents said they are now hoping that Mayor Edgardo “Ed” Pamintuan would do something to address the problem.
Pamintuan defeated former Mayor Francis “Blueboy” Nepomuceno in the elections last May 10.
Residents and Degler said Nepomuceno was only spotted in the threatened area once when former president and now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inspected it with Pamintuan last year.
Degler said it was Balibago Village Chief Rodelio “Tony” Mamac who consistently assisted them to save their hotel which they began to operate 16 years ago.
Belinda Degler, wife of Henrick Degler, said residents of nearby Sta. Maria Subdivision also expressed fear over the destruction wrought by erosion at the creek. She said water had eroded walls of some houses near the creek at Sta. Maria and Diamond.
ONLY 12%
In a statement issued by the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) at the height of the erosion at the Balibago creek last year, the state-owned firm said a private engineering consulting firm clarified that water volume from the freeport zone’s storm drainage system that runs-off towards a creek in Balibago, Angeles City is only approximately 12 percent.
The clarification stemmed after some local government officials and residents blamed water run-off from a drainage system at Clark and the newly built Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) aggravated the large volume of water, forcing the creek to overflow, erode the banks and damaged existing structures.
“The development in the highly urbanized commercial and subdivision areas area in Barangays Balibago and Malabanias may have contributed to the large volume of water that eroded and scoured the creek leading to the Abacan River in Angeles City,” said the Urban Integrated Consultant, Inc. (UICI).
The UICI, expert on hydrological engineering, studied the topography of Metro Clark area since August last year to address the flooding and erosion problems in Clark, including Bayanihan Park for the next 5, 10, 15, and 25 years.
In the study, according to the Engineering Construction and Maintenance Department (ECMD) of CDC, the surface water runoff area during heavy downpour coming from near the Omni Aviation area in Clark to the Bayanihan Park in Balibago to the Santol-Balibago Creek is only 30 percent of the total catchment area for the creek.
Of the 30 percent rain water catchments area, Engr. Teresito Tiotuyco, ECMD manager of CDC, said that with the vast open land area between Omni and Bayanihan Park, the water that drains toward the Santol-Balibago creek is only 12 percent because of the area is generally grassy. This was based on scientific computation.
He also said that the SCTEx highway contribution on the runoff water to the creek in Balibago is not significant because other surface water runoff during downpour drain to other water tributaries.
He also said that water volume from other areas in Clark during heavy rains drain to other creeks in around Metro Clark areas because of the natural topography.
The DPWH has yet to issue statements. But last year, its officials blamed some business establishments, including the SPC and Garden Dine restaurant, for encroaching the creek reducing the passageway for water.
Thus said owners of posh residential and business establishments here threatened anew by erosion at the Balibago creek as rainy season started last month.
Henrick Degler, owner of the 22-room Marble Inn at Diamond Subd. in Barangay Balibago, disclosed that they had not allowed customers to occupy their 16 rooms as water coming from the Clark Freeport and huge malls destroyed the hotel’s foundation nearest to the creek.
The Swedish national said they had noticed that the water level at the creek dropped by some 5 meters, indicating that water had zipped into the foundations of their hotel and nearby establishments, including the Systems Plus College Foundation (SPCF), also in Balibago.
Degler said he and other businessmen had repeatedly urged the local government and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to divert the huge volume of water to Abacan River when erosion began to destroy and threatened some P1-billion worth of properties in the area last year.
“We were vindicated and we were right,” added Degler, referring to some P50-million sheet-filing and slope protection project of the DPWH, which began to collapse due to heavy rains and huge volume of water passing along the creek.
The DPWH started the project late last year to save the area but it has yet to be completed, Degler said.
He added that the P50-million budget used for the DPWH project could have instead built “a permanent solution” by constructing pipes allowing water to come out in both Abacan river and Balibago creek.
A pipe system was earlier constructed allowing water to come out directly to the creek which dramatically increased its size after the completion of the project.
Degler said Balibago creek is less than 3 kilometers away from Abacan.
In interviews with Diamond subdivision residents, they said the local and national government then failed to properly address the problem despite having ample time beginning last year.
Residents said they are now hoping that Mayor Edgardo “Ed” Pamintuan would do something to address the problem.
Pamintuan defeated former Mayor Francis “Blueboy” Nepomuceno in the elections last May 10.
Residents and Degler said Nepomuceno was only spotted in the threatened area once when former president and now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inspected it with Pamintuan last year.
Degler said it was Balibago Village Chief Rodelio “Tony” Mamac who consistently assisted them to save their hotel which they began to operate 16 years ago.
Belinda Degler, wife of Henrick Degler, said residents of nearby Sta. Maria Subdivision also expressed fear over the destruction wrought by erosion at the creek. She said water had eroded walls of some houses near the creek at Sta. Maria and Diamond.
ONLY 12%
In a statement issued by the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) at the height of the erosion at the Balibago creek last year, the state-owned firm said a private engineering consulting firm clarified that water volume from the freeport zone’s storm drainage system that runs-off towards a creek in Balibago, Angeles City is only approximately 12 percent.
The clarification stemmed after some local government officials and residents blamed water run-off from a drainage system at Clark and the newly built Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) aggravated the large volume of water, forcing the creek to overflow, erode the banks and damaged existing structures.
“The development in the highly urbanized commercial and subdivision areas area in Barangays Balibago and Malabanias may have contributed to the large volume of water that eroded and scoured the creek leading to the Abacan River in Angeles City,” said the Urban Integrated Consultant, Inc. (UICI).
The UICI, expert on hydrological engineering, studied the topography of Metro Clark area since August last year to address the flooding and erosion problems in Clark, including Bayanihan Park for the next 5, 10, 15, and 25 years.
In the study, according to the Engineering Construction and Maintenance Department (ECMD) of CDC, the surface water runoff area during heavy downpour coming from near the Omni Aviation area in Clark to the Bayanihan Park in Balibago to the Santol-Balibago Creek is only 30 percent of the total catchment area for the creek.
Of the 30 percent rain water catchments area, Engr. Teresito Tiotuyco, ECMD manager of CDC, said that with the vast open land area between Omni and Bayanihan Park, the water that drains toward the Santol-Balibago creek is only 12 percent because of the area is generally grassy. This was based on scientific computation.
He also said that the SCTEx highway contribution on the runoff water to the creek in Balibago is not significant because other surface water runoff during downpour drain to other water tributaries.
He also said that water volume from other areas in Clark during heavy rains drain to other creeks in around Metro Clark areas because of the natural topography.
The DPWH has yet to issue statements. But last year, its officials blamed some business establishments, including the SPC and Garden Dine restaurant, for encroaching the creek reducing the passageway for water.
