Stiffer penalties for obstructions

In the wake of the flooding on General Maxilom in Cebu City, Mayor Edgardo Labella now wants stiffer penalties to owners of buildings and structures obstructing waterways like creeks and rivers.

Labella, in a virtual presser, said that while there are penalties for violators under a city ordinance, they are not stiff enough.

“Under the Local Government Code, ang pinakadako man @ gud nga penalty under a violation of

T a city ordinance is imprisonment that does not exceed to one year and a fine of not exceeding to P5,000,” he said.

Labella said they will look into the existing ordinance of city that penalizes obstruction of waterways as he asked the City Council to increase the penalties.

“So a tong tanawn ang ordinansa, at onghangyu on ang Sang gun iang Pan glungsodngagipanguluhan ni Vice Mayor Michael Rama nga atong patas- an ug padak-an for as long as it is within the limits provided under t he LGC, atong buhaton,” said Labella.

Before that, however, Labella said he had already instructed Ramil Ayuman, t he recently appointed officer-in-charge of the administration section of the City’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, to conduct a walkthrough of the creeks and identify buildings near these waterways with obstructions. He said this will be done in coordination with the Office of Building Official (OBO).

Owners and managers of buildings found obstructing waterways will be called to a meeting with Labella, along with the Department of Public Works and Highways, in a bid to find ways to prevent another flooding incident similar to that on Maxilom Avenue and other areas.

“At ongip at a wag dinhi sa atong buhatan, together with the DPWH, tungod kay angay natong mahibaw- an pinasubay sa balaod ug regulasyon kining pag- put up diha sa mga creeks and rivers. ( We have to coordinate with) DPWH kay ila man ni nga katungdanan,” said Labella.

Labella also said he is going to meet with water bottle manufacturers to discuss ways to keep empty bottles away from t he creeks and canals.

“Sa atong pagsuroysuroy (during the flooding incident), atong nasinati, together with DPS, BFP ug sa uban sa atong mga barangay volunteers, nga usa sa mga hinungdan daghan kaayong basura nga galutaw-lutaw sa atong mga creeks ug sa atong mga tributaries, sa atong mga rivers kani kasagaran ra ba gyud, mga plastic ug mga bottled water,” he said.

CRACKS

City Council or Jerry Guardo, chairman of t he committee on infrastructure, said he has been inspecting creeks as well as those illegal structures and obstructions that cause flooding in different parts of the city.

Guard os aid he is also encouraging all the Cebuanos to actively help them identify problems.

Ayuman, for his part, has also asked the help of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-7 to check on the cracks in affected mountain barangays.

“I already submitted a letter to Mi rec tor (Armando) M alic se to check those cracks in affected bar an gays like Bonbon, Malubog, Kalunasan, Sapangdaku, Quiot. We need updates from geologists of MGB kay ila manning expertise ,” said Ayuman.

Data from MGB will also be needed to check whether the possible relocation sites for illegal settlers are also safe.

Families that are affected by landslide have already been relocated or evacuated, and unsound structures in the mountain barangays have already been cordoned off.

WARNING

Earlier, the MGB-7 sent a warning to public officials and residents of Central Visayas as La Niña may bring more rains in the country.

M alic se urged local government unit ( LGU) officials to initiate preparedness measures for potential flood and landslide in areas determined to have moderate, high, and very high risks of these incidences.

M alic se also encouraged the relocation of residents near riverbanks, coastlines, and foot of steep slopes as a preemptive measure to avoid casualties.

“In the last few weeks, we saw incessant rains in Cebu and other province in the region. We can expect more rains towards the end of the year, so we have to be ready,” Malicse said. —