Children of the victims of the recent floods in Valencia, Negros Oriental, have been employed by the local government in line with the summer job program for students.

Mayor Enrique Gonzales said that, instead of being deployed to the government offices to do errands, the sons of flood victims have expressed willingness to do manual labor, help in the construction of “gabions” at the banks of the Okoy River, particularly in Palinpinon, that were damaged by rampaging floodwaters from tropical storm “Sendong”.

He added that 36 male students want their summer jobs to be productive, and to help in the rehabilitation efforts of the government in flood-affected barangays of the town.

Gonzales, meanwhile, also said he had coordinated with Gov. Roel Degamo on the proposal to re-channel the whole stretch of Okoy River, in cooperation with the Energy Development Corporation, while waiting for funds from the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council.

He said the EDC has deployed four backhoes, three bulldozers, and other heavy equipment, in Palinpinon, while the provincial government also assigned some of its brand-new heavy equipment.

The proposal to rechannel the river, from the top down to the lowlands, was presented to the NDRRMC in a recent consultation in Dumaguete City.*JG

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