PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Mayor Lucilo Bayron on Monday directed the City Engineering Office here to remove waste and debris from all drainage systems in flood-prone areas due to the onset of the rainy season.
Bayron said that although the city is still waiting to establish an across-the-board sewage system, it does not mean that nothing can be done to abate flooding.
“I instructed the engineering office to keep an eye on flood-prone areas now that it’s rainy season,” he said. “This is not a hundred percent solution to the problem, but it will at least help ease the situation. If there’s flooding, they should act on it fast so it will not last for a week.”
The mayor said he gave the order during a meeting with the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council last week, after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration announced the start of the rainy season.
Flooding is seasonal, if not a recurrent problem, affecting the city.
Last year, the urgency to solve the problem emerged after heavy rains triggered flooding in Puerto Princesa’s low-lying areas.
“We can’t have the drainage system for now because it’s a system that can’t be done in just a year or two. It will take years to complete,” he said. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
