CLARK FREEPORT – The revival of the Pampanga River Control System (PRCS) can well provide the “most definitive solution” to the flooding problem in the province as well as in nearby Bulacan.
So said Apalit Mayor Oscar Tetangco Jr.as he enjoined the Pampanga Mayors League and the provincial government to come up with the necessary resolutions asking President Aquino to revive the PRCS.
This came in the wake of the local governments’ quest for a “definitive solution” to the flooding problem in the province.
On Monday at the Governor’s Staff House here, Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo presented before the Pampanga Mayors League and Gov. Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda situationers currently obtaining in the Pampanga River and proposed measures to check flooding in the area.
Before the assembled local executives, Pelayo moved for a stop of all infra projects “for a thorough review, and to channel resources on flood mitigation priorities.”
Pelayo’s motion was subsequently amended to specify “stop to the bidding of projects” rather than a stoppage of all projects as this could derail those already under implementation which could result to wastage, “as well as court cases coming from the affected contractors.”
It was at that juncture that Tetangco presented his own motion for the revival of the PRCS.
The PRCS was an “autonomous” office of the Department of Public Works and Highways with its office located mid-stream the Pampanga River in Barangay Sulipan, Apalit
A DPWH insider who asked for anonymity as he had no authority to talk on the matter told Punto! that among the PRCS’ responsibilities were the maintenance of the Arnedo Dike, the dredging of heavily silted portions of the river, prevention of encroachments and the maintenance of checkgates in Masantol. .
The PRCS “faded into irrelevance” according to the DPWH source, in “the post-Pinatubo period of lahar rampages, the priorities shifting to the rivers in western Pampanga, notably Pasig-Potrero, Porac-Gumain, Abacan, Gugu, Pasac, and Dalan Bapor.”
“With the PRCS revived and in full operation, we will not be here thinking of how to solve the flooding emanating from the Pampanga River,” Tetangco said. “The PRCS will be on top of the situation.
Gonzales
A similar call for the PRCS revival was made in July this year by Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr.
Gonzales said the PRCS could undertake to “rehabilitate the tributary systems and address the flooding situation” in his district.
He identified the tributaries as the Mapalad River in the City of San Fernando, Inuman Baka river system in Sta. Ana and Mexico towns, and the Betis River in Bacolor-Guagua.
“After the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991, the concentration of water shifted to the major channels which gave rise to the Mt. Pinatubo Mitigation projects. However, after most of the projects were completed, there is a need now to focus our attention to the spillways which will absorb the flood waters from the major channels,” Gonzales said.
While the DPWH agreed to the proposal of Gonzales, no action has yet been taken on the revival of the PRCS.
“The good congressman’s concern for his district as being addressed to by the PRCS should be consolidated in my call for the office’s revival,” Tetangco said. “Thereby, we can come up with a holistic solution to our flooding problems.”
