AFTER concluding the committee hearings, the seven-man majority in the Dagupan  Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) passed a resolution during the August 29 SP regular session, asking Mayor Belen Fernandez to stop the ongoing elevation and construction of drainage canals in Dagupan City.

The measure was, however, strongly opposed by the five-man minority who reminded the majority bloc that the projects are not of the city government, but of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), a national government agency, that deemed it necessary to address the perennial flooding problem in Dagupan City.

The resolution, authored by Councilor Alvin Coquia, committee chairman of public works and infrastructures, summed up the sentiments and opinion expressed particularly by  businessmen whose establishments are affected by the ongoing construction that resulted in untold inconvenience to the public due to the traffic bottlenecks, and economic dislocation of property owners.

Councilor and Minority Floor Leader Michael Fernandez said the projects are being done in national highways under the jurisdiction of the DPWH and the construction is based on a study conducted by the agency that considered the level and reach of flooding during the rainy season and high tide.

Notwithstanding, the SP majority voted as one in passing the measure, resulting in 7-5 vote during a nominal voting.

Councilor Coquia said there will be more losses for the local economy if the project is continued than losing the budget allocated for these projects if the projects are discontinued.

He added that stakeholders expressed fear that the city will virtually become a ‘ghost city’ as the businesses affected may eventually relocate to other places.

Fernandez’ colleagues in the minority, namely Jeslito Seen, Dennis Canto, Marcelino Fernandez and Joshua Bugayong supported his assertion that the elevation projects will be a big boon to Dagupan but need a supreme sacrifice from the city in order to save Dagupan from recurrent floods.

Councilor Redford Erfe-Mejia countered with his argument that the elevation of the roads will cost many establishments a lot of expenses for renovation after effectively losing the ground floor of buildings, adding that DPWH admitted that elevation alone will not solve the flooding in the city.

He slammed the Fernandez administration for failing to impress upon the DPWH  the importance of the ordinance passed by the past SP when the DPWH discussed the project with the city government.

Erfe-Mejia also went on record to deny it was Mayor Brian Lim who requested for the projects after the DPWH’s legal counsel revealed during a public hearing on August 22 that the project was requested sometime in 2021 or during the past Lim administration, and challenged Minority Floor Leader Fernandez to present a document proving it.

Councilor Celia Lim later remarked that the SP can call and hear her son, former Mayor Lim, that he did not make such request to the DPWH. No one from the majority made a motion to support the suggestion. (Leonardo Micua)

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