The flood problem

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

In response to the worsening flooding problem, the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod acted swiftly on the Mayor's request to declare as nuisance all structures along the rivers and creeks in Bacolod City . It is an act that, according to the City Legal Officer, should allow the city to address the flooding problem by giving it the power to automatically demolish without any Court action the illegal structures that have been restricting the flow of Bacolod 's waterways.

These illegal structures that have been built not just on the banks or our rivers and creeks, but in most cases also extend all the way out into the middle of the waterway, are considered as the primary cause of the unnatural flooding that has been becoming more and more rampant and destructive every time heavy rains hit the city. They cause flooding because the numerous makeshift supports of these ubiquitous structures trap garbage and clog up the waterways, as well as advance the process of siltation, all of which combine to hamper the free discharge of floodwaters into the sea. Everyone knows that the removal of these structures and clearing the city's waterways of silt and garbage will be a critical step if any flood control program is going to be effective. Only time will tell if the current set of government officials have the political will and the resources to take this step.

While the buck is continuously being passed between the local and national government agencies, the situation has deteriorated such that floodwaters threaten to inundate significant areas of the city every time there is a torrential downpour. Our government officials have to stop the finger pointing, roll their sleeves and pants up, put aside their differences and start working together to put into action a comprehensive and long-term flood control program that will not be put aside and forgotten every time the sun starts shining again.*