Dredging of Dungon Creek starts
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 6 Regional Director Rolando Asis said the dredging of Dungon Creek started recently at Bolilao, Mandurriao.
After several delays in the implementation, the dredging finally kicked off at Barangay Bolilao. The inclement weather condition and the presence of informal settlers along the creek prompted the delay in the execution of the dredging works.
The dredging of the Dungon Creek which covered 13 barangays is a government’s flood mitigating measure. The funding for the dredging work is sourced out from the 2009 calamity fund of the DPWH.
The dredging of Dungon Creek is one of the priority projects in Panay included in the P481 million allotted by the national government after the Senate has yet to approve the bill which will become the source of the Paglaum Fund.
Asis believes the dredging works will continue in spite of the presence of informal settlers along the covered area. He said all the problems regarding the occupants would be settled.
A backhoe began to dredge small portion of the creek. Additional equipment is expected to operate in the area as soon as enough portions are cleared of illegal structures, said Asis.
The dredging of the Dungon Creek will be implemented in different phases as what has been agreed by the public works department and the city government. It will affect some 100 families.
In Bolilao, the excavation of the creek will be implemented in different sites, namely, Sitio Dike 1, Sitio Dike 2 and Sitio Sooc.
With the implementation of the dredging at the Bolilao area, residents complained on the terms dangled to them by the city government regarding their transfer to the San Isidro, Jaro relocation site.
The residents were offered a relocation site in San Isidro and free hauling of their material possessions from Bolilao to the relocation site. Yet, there is still resistance from the informal settlers as they are waiting for financial assistance from the project implementers. Affected families said they do not have money to start the construction of their houses at the relocation site.
In earlier interview, Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office (ICUPAO) head Roy Firmeza said the P50 million funding is only for the dredging works. There is no acquisition and disturbance fee for the affected families.
The ICUPAO head also assured affected families could be accommodated in transit houses since the free housing housings provided by Gawad Kalinga and other non-government organizations are yet to be finished.
The San Isidro relocation site is 16 hectares and could accommodate 2,000 housing units.