Photo courtesy of Sunstar Cebu
I was delighted to read that part of the Estero Parian (or Parian river, canal, or creek) will be dredged beginning this Wednesday. Cebu's City government is doing this to partially address the severe flooding in the downtown area. The estero, which has not been cleaned in 20 years, has silted up to 2 meters deep. Further, people have built structures along the river, and they have been dumping garbage and human waste into the waterway.
Photo by Cecilia Brainard
Sunstar's October 15, 2014 article mentions that 46 firms and 86 houses have built on the three-meter easement of the Estero Parian. Some owners of the illegal structures claim that the Department of Public Works waived the three-meter easement rule. (And why this happened -- if it did -- is another question that needs to be investigated by City Officials!)
Regarding the City's vision of the river cleanup, I quote from the 2014 article:
"Daluz (from the Cebu City River Management Council) said the City wants to recover at least eight meters of the river.
"He described the river now to have a width of less than a meter to over a meter.
"This means that the City will have to clear around five to six meters on each side of the river to give way to the river-recovery project and the three-meter easement clearance.
"Daluz said the City will deepen the river.
"The river used to have a depth of five to six meters, but is currently just around a meter deep because of siltation.
“'Imagine if this river is deepened and widened, it would eradicate flooding,” Daluz also said."
Photo by Cecilia Brainard
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I have been talking about the necessity to clean up Cebu's rivers. Read my February 2009 blog, "Clean Up Rivers Creeks, Canals in Old Cebu." Read also my December 2014 blog "Cleaning Up Rivers Can Be Done." And I have more blog entries about the suibject matter - search "Clean Up Rivers" in my search box.
Antique photo showing one of Parian's creeks, photo courtesy of Cebuano Studies Center
In March 2014, an advocacy group, Movevment for a Liveable Cebu, launched "Siyagit Sapa", a call to clean up clogged waterways. Officers of the advocacy group recalled how the waterways used to be navigable by boat but now has been reduced to a "dirty, clogged and smell canal." Rudy Alix said, "We have to clean this river to make the area liveable again."
While past officials of Cebu have ignored the matter, Cebu Mayor Mike Rama has taken steps to address this problem. What I understand is that past officials did not want to offend the squatters and others who have encroached on the waterways -- in other words, they did now want to lose the people's votes. This was a very shortsighted (not to mention self-serving) view because the well-being of those very residents and others were/are compromised by the clogging and filth in the waterways.
Now, thankfully, there is an attempt to address this problem.
However, cleaning up a part of this estero will not solve the problem. The cleanup has to be more extensive and comprehensive. At the same time, people must be educated of the basic need to clean rivers and creeks.The City must not tolerate the dumping of garbage and human waste into our waterways - this is toxic and affects all. Houses along the river should be removed for the safety of the residents - when there is flooding, these can be swept away and people can drown.
However, cleaning up a part of this estero will not solve the problem. The cleanup has to be more extensive and comprehensive. At the same time, people must be educated of the basic need to clean rivers and creeks.The City must not tolerate the dumping of garbage and human waste into our waterways - this is toxic and affects all. Houses along the river should be removed for the safety of the residents - when there is flooding, these can be swept away and people can drown.
Cebu's estero cleanup comes at a time when Pope Francis released his Environment Encyclical, calling on people to take care of creation and pointing out how the environment affects the poor.
May the cleanup of Cebu's waterways continue! Thank you Cebu City Officials and River Advocates!
Tags: rivers, creeks, cleanup, waterways, canals, Cebu, Philippines, Sugbo, Parian, downtown Cebu, flooding
This is all for now,
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