(Photo from the Philippine Information Agency)
In contrast to Bulacan where most of the government’s flood control control and management initiatives were either substandard or ghost projects, Cavite’s infrastructure development efforts have recorded critical advancements in addressing the problem of flooding in the province.
According to Eloisa Rozul, department head of the Office of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (OPDRRMO), the success can be credited to the provincial government’s cooperative endeavor to work with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in building infrastructure projects that help resolve flooding in several key areas.
Rozul confirmed that the Cavite Industrial Area Flood Risk Management project has helped greatly in reducing severe flooding in urbanized and industrial parts of the province.
“Cavite has experienced rapid urbanization over the past decades, resulting in increased paved surfaces, reduced natural drainage and higher flood runoff during heavy rainfall,” she pointed out.
Based on the NDRRMC’s monitoring operations, the project is benefiting residents in low-lying areas, particularly in the cities of Bacoor and Imus as well as the municipalities of Kawit, Noveleta, Rosario and Tanza which experience regular experience flooding due to the overflow of the San Juan River, Imus River and Ylang-Ylang River during heavy rains.
But more than the JICA-assisted infra initiatives, Rozul noted that the provincial government has also been pushing local government units (LGUs) to pass local legislature creating infrastructure audit teams even as school safety officers likewise help in ensuring the integrity and safety of public infrastructure.
Recommended legislative measures include ordinances for the creation of an infrastructure audit team, the designation of safety offices in elementary and secondary schools and the passage on first reading of an ordinance on safety waters that would eventually lead to the crafting of internal rules and regulations.
Rozul added that the Cavite Industrial Area Flood Risk Management project includes major engineering interventions, such as the construction of a flood retarding basin designed to retain excess floodwater temporarily during heavy rainfall and gradually release it after the storm, thereby reducing downstream flooding.
There will also be (auxiliary) improvements on riverbeds, floodways and diversion channels, drainage systems and bridge networks which are also underway to help reduce flooding by redirecting excess floodwater towards Manila Bay.
To date, Cavite is focusing on investments in flood mitigation infrastructure but officials have mentioned that needed here is public support in order to strengthen disaster preparedness and recovery efforts.
