SP places Dagupan under state of calamity
ALL or nothing!
This was what the Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) asserted when it declared the entire city under a state of calamity, setting aside the recommendation of the city mayor that only six of the 31 barangays should be covered by such a declaration.
Councilor Luis Samson Jr. said it is “unthinkable” that the mayor only wanted a state of calamity in just six barangays.”
Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin Lim earlier submitted to the council a recommendation for the declaration of state of calamity in only six barangays – Malued, Pogo Grande, Lasip Grande, Lasip Chico, Bacayao Sur and Bacayao Norte.
The recommendation, dated October 4, 2011 sent to Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez was discussed by the city council on the same day.
Samson described how the entire city, including the city hall, was severely affected by days of flooding caused by the two typhoons “Pedring” and “Quiel”.
“It should be the entire city of Dagupan that we should declare under the state of calamity or we should not declare at all,” said Samson, noting that his own Barangay Pogo Chico was not among those recommended by Mayor Benjamin Lim in spite of the fact that many in his community had to be evacuated for days last week.
The mayor’s cited the report of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) as the basis for his recommendation.
Three barangay chairmen rushed to the SP office as soon as they learned that their villages were not among those recommended for coverage in the recommended declaration.
Barangay Chairmen Lilia Yasar of Pantal, Evangelita De la Cruz of Calmay and Saysi Samson of Pogo Chico said their villages were as equally severely affected as the six sought to be placed by the mayor under a state of calamity.
Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, SP presiding officer, said a limited coverage of a declaration of a state of calamity would have angered the 25 other barangays.
Other councilors who signed the resolution placing the entire Dagupan under a state of calamity were Karlos Reyna, Alvin Coquia, Librada Reyna and Jeslito Seen.
LIMITED RESOURCES?
Noting the CDRRMC’s report that the mayor used as basis, Fernandez said its report cannot be deemed accurate and conclusive.
The vice mayor revealed that the members of the CDRRMC technical committee had told her that they based their numbers on the assessment made by the Water Search and Rescue (WADSAR) team that went around the barangays.
The CDRRMC, however, admitted that it was aware that the WASAR teams did not have enough personnel to reach all barangays for a more accurate assessment of damages in the city.
Fernandez pointed out that the CDRRMC should have consulted barangay leaders about their conditions for a better perspective of the situation of the impact of the calamity.
City Administrator Vlad Mata, meanwhile, explained that only six were recommended by the mayor given the limited resources of the city government.
Yasar, however, countered that her barangay has its own calamity fund but this could not be released without a declaration of state of calamity.
Fernandez also lamented the delayed reaction and recommendation of the mayor for a declaration of state of calamity.
“We were waiting for the mayor to submit a recommendation for a state of calamity since September 27, Tuesday at the height of Typhoon Pedring but it never came and when it finally came, it was already three days after Typhoon Quiel,” said the vice mayor.
It was the first time since Lim came back to power to ask the SP to declare a state of calamity.
Last year, the city hall used its calamity funds without a declaration from the city council and distributed to only a few barangays.
He invoked a provision in the law that states a local government unit can withdraw 30 per cent of the calamity fund to be used for quick response operations without a declaration of a state of calamity based on Republic Act 10121.
Councilor Alfie Fernandez, chairman on laws and ordinances of the SP, a lawyer, however, said a declaration of a state of calamity was still needed under that situation.
Fernandez and his colleagues, however, declined to comment when asked if they are filing a complaint against the city executive for withdrawing from the calamity fund last year without a declaration of a state of calamity.
BACKFILLING IN LUCAO
Meanwhile, the mayor said in a radio interview that the flooding in the city has worsened over the years due to man-made activities such as the construction of the Dawel-Lucao road and backfilling of fishponds in barangay Lucao.
Lim said the Jose de Venecia Highway Extension from Dawel to Lucao practically serves as a dike preventing water from flowing into the Pantal and Calmay Rivers.
Dagupan sits on a low elevation and is at high risk of flooding.
Lim said elevating the roads, like what the city government did on Arellano Street in 2009, and the residential and business areas might solve the flooding problem.
However, he acknowledged that such a plan would require a huge budget. (with report from CIO, PIA-Pangasinan)
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