P250M dike in flood-prone Oriental Mindoro town damaged after only 7 months

GMA Network

2 days ago

A dike worth P250 million that was supposed to mitigate the flooding woes in Baco, Oriental Mindoro was damaged only after seven months since it was constructed in April last year.
According to Maki Pulido's report in '24 Oras' on Tuesday, nearly half of the 220-meter dike collapsed in December amid heavy rains and floods.
The town's engineering department claimed that there was no coordination with the municipal government with regards to the dike project.
Just last July, a month wherein no floods are usually expected, residents were surprised with the floodwaters that damaged their crops.
'Sabi sa amin hindi na babahain, libre na kami sa baha. Mas malaking baha ang mangyayari sa amin, pati ang aming taniman, nalulubog,' said Marcelo Almanon, a resident of Barangay Santa Cruz.
(They told us it wouldn't flood anymore, that we'd be free from floods. But a bigger flood came upon us, even our crops were submerged.)
The dike that was supposed to prevent the flooding was overwhelmed by the water coming from the river, according to the report.
'Ang proposal dapat dito ay dahil sabi nga ng mga taga rito ay matataas ang baha, dapat mas matataas yung design ng flood control,' said of Raymar Lonto of Baco's engineering department.
(The proposal here should have been, since the locals say the floods are high, the flood control design should be higher.)
It's been two weeks since the contractor started the repair on the damaged dike. GMA Integrated News is trying to reach out to the contractor to speak on the matter.
'Kung same ang design siguro baka po maging ganun ulit, baka bumagsak ulit,' said Lonto.
(If the design is the same, perhaps it might happen again, it might collapse again.)
Meanwhile, Governor Bonz Dolor flagged the substandard dike projects in the municipality of Naujan, which is not even considered flood-prone.
'Bakit nasabi kong substandard? Of course, 561,000 per linear meter tapos ganyan ang result,' he said.
(If the design is the same, perhaps it might happen again, it might collapse again.)
GMA Integrated News reached out to Sunwest, Inc., the contractor behind the dike projects in Naujan. It was earlier named among the 15 contractors identified by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that handled flood-control projects in the country.
Meanwhile, two of the flood control projects in Barangay Metolza in Naujan amounting to P578 million were effective in protecting two towns in barangays from flooding.
'Siyempre magtataka ka rin, bakit? Gaano kalaking pondo ito. Pero nung nakita ko naman po na ganun kaganda yung ginawa sa barangay namin,' said Brgy. Captain Salatiel Ramirez.
(Of course, you would wonder why? How much was its funding? But then I saw how well it was done in our barangay.)
Oriental Mindoro is one of the provinces that received a huge share in flood control projects nationwide with projects amounting to P11.1 billion. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News