Treñas to talk to GMA on flood control project

By Jeehan V. Fernandez

Worried by the non-completion of Iloilo Flood Control Project, Mayor Jerry P. Treñas is set to discuss with President Gloria Macapagal -Arroyo regarding the cancellation of the P3.6 billion project.

“It is a very important project for the city,” Treñas stressed as he still have no clear explanation on what component of the project is suspended.

He said, he had written the Department of Public Woks and Highways (DPWH) asking for clarification on the matter.

Treñas cited the city is now on the process of utilizing the National Housing Authority (NHA)'s Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) amounting to about P63 million for the development of relocation site for families affected by the project.    

With regards to the construction, Treñas pointed out that land acquisition will go on while the civil works would be delayed. The mayor hopes there would be available fund to finance the project soon.

Treñas is also optimistic that the project would only be postponed while the resettlement area is already in place. “It should not stop there,” he said adding that other plans are the construction of main floodway and rehabilitation of Iloilo river and creeks.

To note, Arroyo agreed with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to cancel the IFCP, among other projects in the country, due to lack of counterpart funding from the national government.