Pampanga provincial engineers led by Rene Gutierrez show to Gov. Lilia Pineda (3rd from left) the damaged portion of the Dalan Betis dike at the boundary of Sta. Rita and Guagua towns yesterday. With them are Board Members Laus and Tolentino. Photo by Ric Gonzales
STA. Rita, Pampanga – Gov. Lilia “Baby” Pineda yesterday disclosed that the province is set to present to the national government a consolidated report about the causes of perennial flooding in Pampanga.
The report also includes possible solutions largely focused on the clearing of major and minor river channels.
Pineda said the report will be presented first next week to the members of the provincial board (PB) led by Vice Gov. Joseller “Yeng” Guaio.
She added that the report was aided by at least three aerial inspections of Pampanga river channels courtesy of pilot and businessman Darius Hizon of Bacolor town.
“We have our own funds but they are not enough to really protect Pampanga from floods on a long-term basis. Immediate solutions can be handled by our budget,” said Pineda in a statement released by the Provincial Information Office (PIO).
“We want to make a detailed report so as not to waste or not effectively use the government’s financial support to augment our own funds,” she added. “Whatever the amount is, we shall accept wholeheartedly.”
Pineda said the floods spawned by recent typhoons Egay and Falcon had affected a total of 487, 904 people in 18 towns and the City of San Fernando.
First District Board Member Cris Garbo, chairman of the committee on appropriations, said Pineda has asked the provincial board to appropriate funds for the purchase of heavy equipment such as backhoe loader.
The amount will come from the disaster relief fund amounting to P70 million, added Garbo. He said the provincial government will do “their thing” with their funds.
“Let the government through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) use their own budget for the rehabilitation of dikes and clearing works at creeks and channels connecting to the Pampanga Bay,” he added.
“The governor is not interested with being directly given the funds but she is requesting the national government to appropriate funds to the DPWH for the agency’s proposed project for Pampanga’s flood mitigation system,” said Garbo.
Fourth District Board Member Nestor Tolentino, a civil engineer, said Pineda’s report had been consolidated with the study of the DPWH, provincial engineers led by Engr. Rene Gutierrez and Engr. Hilton Hernando, senior weather specialist of the Pampanga River Flood Forecasting and Warning Center.
Tolentino said the clearing of the clogged Third River in Minalin town should be prioritized by the provincial and national government. He pointed out that it was “and can be another cause of the new floods” spawned by continuous rains in days to come. The Third River connects to Pasak River and then to Pampanga Bay, he said.
Tolentino and Board Members Trina Dizon and Monina Laus yesterday accompanied Pineda in an inspection of the damaged dike at the boundary of this town and Guagua.
At least 705 families or 3,527 individuals had been affected by the breaching of the Dalan Betis creek, Guagua at the height of the typhoons, according to Engr. Lulu Alingcastre, head of the Pampanga Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council. She added that some 300 meters of dike stretching from this town up to Guagua had been damaged.
Engr. Gutierrez said Pineda had instructed the provincial engineer office to immediately rehabilitate the damaged dike to prevent it from overflowing.
He added that some properties, including the Diosdado Macapagal Memorial Hospital, are located near the damaged dike and its safety are prioritized by Pineda. They initially reinforced it with sand bags.
