FLOOD WOES. A flooded street in Dumaguete City. The Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry is pushing for a drainage/flood control master plan to address the perennial flooding problem in the capital, its president Edward Du said Tuesday (Aug. 23, 2022). (PNA file photo by Judy Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) is pushing for a long-term drainage and flood control master plan for this provincial capital as a congressman has pledged PHP100 million for its initial planning.
“We are looking forward to this plan coming to fruition by next year, considering that the recent flooding that inundated the city has become a cause for concern not only for the business sector but for everyone else,” NOCCI president Edward Du said in an interview on Tuesday.
Du said during a recent NOCCI-initiated event to discuss the water and electricity woes of the city with the concerned utility firms, the flooding problems in the city became a “side issue”.
He noted that Rep. Manuel T. Sagarbarria of the 2nd District of Negros Oriental, whose coverage includes this city, said during the event that he would seek a “budget insertion” for 2023 for a feasibility study and the initial stage of the master plan.
On August 7, torrential rains inundated many parts of the city, including the Freedom Park and the national highway in front of the Capitol.
Many residents complained that their homes were flooded, while motorists had to drive through roads that were submerged in water.
The business group is seeking to have the drainage system in the city upgraded, given the increase in population and the number of vehicles plying the streets, and the resumption of face-to-face classes, Du said.
The congressman’s budget allocation should be enough to cover Freedom Park and its vicinity for starters, as the city government, headed by Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, has already set aside some budget to address another perennial flooding problem in the outskirt barangays of Mangnao and Banilad, he said.
The businessmen are hoping that Governor Pryde Henry Teves, Sagarbarria, and Remollo could collectively come up with a long-term solution to solve the city’s flooding problems. (PNA)
