“AS soon as possible.”
This was the assurance of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Charles Calima after he himself met with Deputy Speaker Yevgeny Vincente Emano’s chief of staff Matthew Valleser and inspected the Tagoloan river in Misamis Oriental August 27.
It can be recalled that Emano was lobbying for a flood control project in the 20-kilometer long Tagoloan river after it is deemed a flood risk to the health, industrial and residential structures along its banks.
During his visit last August 20, Secretary Vivencio Dizon himself assured to the second district congressman that he will authorize the dredging of the river’s mouth which is now heavily silted after years of erosion.
Dizon made good on his promise and a week later sent his undersecretary to talk with Emano’s staff and iron out the undertaking.
Calima was welcomed in Tagoloan by Vice Mayor Rolando Seno and Councilor Armando Pomar who also took part in the meeting and gave their respective insights to the project.
Calima hinted that it is also the social responsibility of locators along the river shores to take part in the desilting, specifically as dumping site of the silted materials.
Before Dizon’s meeting with Emano, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had already calendared waterways in the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Valencia to be dredged this year.
And with this development, Calima said that some dredging equipment may be redirected to Tagoloan river “since it is within the area of these three cities” in Northern Mindanao.
“This is a multi-agency and whole of nation approach so I highly encourage the private sector – especially those who will be affected by possible flooding – to share,” he said.
In their plan, the DPWH is expected to dredge a total of 472,329 cubic meters of material.
