ILOILO CITY, July 18 — With the onset of the rainy season, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Western Visayas has intensified the cleaning of drainage canals to prevent clogging and flooding.
DPWH-6 maintenance division chief Oliver Zamora, in an interview on Tuesday, said that all district engineering offices in the region have been directed to implement immediate and appropriate maintenance work to declog drainage systems.
They were specifically told to do manual clean-up, remove obstruction and debris along canals and repair and replace drainage structures.
Also, they were instructed to clean river water-wastes to avoid the overflow of water in bridges whenever there will be heavy rains.
For ongoing or recently completed infrastructure projects, Zamora said that they were instructed to remove the debris or spills.
Areas near the major river basins like in the province of Capiz, where the Panay River Basin is located, are prone to flooding, Zamora said.
Also, Zamora said that district offices were directed to cut or trim the branches of trees, particularly along national roads, to prevent road obstruction of falling trees that might happen due to strong winds and heavy rains.
Each district engineering office is required to submit a weekly report to make sure that they are doing their tasks, Zamora said.
The region has 10 engineering district offices – four in Iloilo province; two in Capiz and one in each of Iloilo City, Aklan, Antique and Guimaras.
While DPWH is busy cleaning drainage canals and rivers, Zamora advised the public to avoid throwing their garbage into the rivers, especially the non-biodegradable like plastics.
Zamora said they mostly would gather plastics after they declogging operations in canals and rivers.
He also asked the public to clean small canals near their households to avoid floodings during heavy rains. (Cindy B. Ferrer/PNA)
