Iloilo city: Unfinished projects are considered among the causes for the recent flooding in Jaro District. On Thursday, Mayor Raisa Tre±as led the inspection of flood mitigation projects in the district, including the box culvert project at the radial road in Barangay Camalig and the access road (bike lane) in Barangay Tagbak.
According to Philippines News Agency, the inspection revealed that a portion of the box culvert being implemented by the Iloilo City District Engineering Office (ICDEO) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) stopped around 145 meters away from the irrigation canal of the National Irrigation Administration. Had the box culvert reached the irrigation canal, it could have prevented the flooding in barangays Balantang, Camalig, Tagbak, and Buntatala. The box culvert would connect the irrigation canal to the floodway.
The mayor stated that the city government would determine if it has the capacity to complete the remaining portion and also review if the Office of Iloilo City Lone District Rep. Julienne Baronda was able to secure funds from the national government. About PHP20 million to PHP25 million is needed to complete the project. ‘When this is addressed, we can also solve the flooding in Balantang and Camalig,’ she said in an interview. She lamented that the project was implemented without consultation with officials of the concerned barangays.
Additionally, the inspection of the ongoing access road (bike lane) in Barangay Tagbak showed a possible encroachment at the body of water, which is yet to be determined whether it is a creek or an irrigation canal of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA). Based on the design, the project, also implemented by the ICDEO, was supposed to be 4.7 meters only, but it spans seven meters when measured during the inspection. Based on the project billboard, the project started on Feb. 26, 2024, and is supposed to be completed in September of the same year.
In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, the city mayor called on Baronda and the regional office of the DPWH to release a complete list of all projects implemented in Iloilo City from 2019 up to the present. ‘It must be emphasized that it is the congressional representative who requests, identifies, and sponsors projects for the lone district of Iloilo City. Even the President himself has already noted that the projects here are either excessively ‘delayed’ or ‘palpak.’ Therefore, it is the responsibility of the congresswoman to account for and identify all these projects, since every single one implemented by the Iloilo City District Engineering Office originates from the request and sponsorship of the district’s representative,’ she said.
Baronda, in a statement, suggested that DPWH release any and all records about the infrastructure projects in the Lone District of Iloilo City, as she is an advocate of the principles of transparency and accountability. She also demanded that Tre±as ‘release all the records of all projects (goods and infrastructure), including all the mayors permit, during the time of her father (Jerry Tre±as) as congressman (June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2019) and mayor of Iloilo City [April 1992 – June 30, 1992; June 30, 2001 – June 30, 2010; June 30, 2019 – June 30, 2025].’ ‘He has spent a quarter of a century in power yet miserably failed in solving the flooding problems of the city,’ she said.
