DPWH orders contractor to stop dredging works
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) regional director Rolando Asis said he has ordered the contractor of the P50 million dredging works on Dungon Creek to stop the clearing operations along the riverbanks of Sitio Sooc, Bolilao, Mandurriao.
Asis’s order was in response to the request of the Department of Environment (DENR) and the Bolilao Empowerment Neighborhood Association (BOENA) on the destruction made by the International Builders Corporation (IBC) on the mangrove strip along the riverbanks.
The contractor uprooted four species of mangroves to include 11 pagatpat, bungalon, 9; bakhawon 5 and 38 nipa along the riverbanks of Sitio Sooc in its clearing operation. A backhoe is currently stationed in the site. Residents said the contractor is not dredging the area but clearing it.
In Bolilao, the excavation of the creek will be implemented on different sites, namely, Sitio Dike 1, Sitio Dike 2 and Sitio Sooc.
Asis said they have already asked the project engineers to cease from their operation and coordinate with the DENR. The DPWH is still looking for solution to protect the mangroves without affecting the dredging works.
He said they are coordinating with the environmental department on how to save the remaining mangrove areas without delaying the dredging works. It was not yet clear on whether they will transfer the mangroves to another area.
Asis admitted the complaint on the mangrove destruction has caused the delay on the project since the contractor stopped their work last week. It caused further delay on the implementation aside from the inclement weather disturbance and the presence of informal settlers along the covered project area.
The dredging of the Dungon Creek which covered 13 barangays in Lapaz and Jaro is a government’s flood mitigating measure. It will be implemented in different phases as what has been agreed upon by the public works department and the city government.
Dredging the creek by phases was a compromised solution between the implementing agency and the city government after the latter failed to transfer the affected families to the San Isidro relocation site.