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Flooding, pollution of city bay; nobody owns up responsibility!
FINGER POINTING?

“Kon naay kuarta, ihatag na, pero dili ang siyudad magpakalimos (if there is money, give it but the city won’t beg).”

City Mayor Dan Lim threw the challenge to Gov. Erico Aumentado and First District Congressman Edgar Chatto yesterday on the issue of completing the drainage outfall that is being constructed in San Jose Street, pouring down through Graham Avenue and into the Tagbilaran Bay.

“Butange ug apelyido nang inyong P15-million ug anus-a na ug hain ang kuarta, kay apelyidohan ko sad ning ako (make clear that funding and I will make mine also clear),” Mayor Lim added.

He was pointing to the clamor of constructing a water treatment facility that would ensure that the water flowing into the outfall from the city drainage are free from toxic and polluted contaminants before it flows to the sea.

The city mayor said the amount involved is “not peanuts” but the city is ready to put up such facility but the San Jose works must be completed first.


PUBLIC OUTCRY
Flooding in the city, aggravated by murky waters and foul odor coming out from the drainage canals that overflowed with the continuous rains experienced in the past two weeks, stirred public outcry.

Last Friday, Gov. Erico Aumentado reiterated his full support to the flooding problem encountered by the city, resulting from the still unfinished outfall from the new city drainage constructed along CPG Avenue.

Aumentado, however, made clear that these problems are responsibility of the city and the city mayor is fully responsible for these as the chief local executive of the city.

The new drainage canals along the CPG Avenue, a major thoroughfare of the city, was constructed alongside the concreting of the national road that is part of the P2.7-million Bohol Circumferential Road Improvement Project (BCRIP-2), a pet project of Gov. Aumentado.



NOT ME!
As the pollution and health concerns came into the open, authorities were noted skirting the issue while groping for solutions.

City health officer Antonio Porticos said the drainage problem is just the tip of the problem.

“There are other sources of pollutants that directly go into the sea, and we are almost helpless to prevent these,” Porticos said.

The mushrooming squatter shanties along the coast were seen as another problem.

He cited as example the flooding, drainage problem, pollution also encountered by the big metropolis of Manila.

“Waste water, including solid wastes are found in Pasig River and flowing to Manila Bay; and these problems are still there even with the many efforts done by government,” Porticos said.

“What is needed is the strict implementation of existing national laws; like sanitation code, highway, building and environmental laws that explicitly provides measures against pollution,” the health officer said.

Department of Public Works and Highway first district engineer Celestino Adlaon said the city road concreting project did not initially included the drainage. It was requested by City Mayor Dan Lim and was granted. Cutting those illegally connected sewerage lines into the drainage canals are city concerns and they should be the one (city) to cut these illegal connections,” Adlaon said.

City Engineer Pianicita Castolo also found excuse saying: “they cannot act on these connections since the project is still under DPWH and is not yet turned-over to the city.”

City Health Officer Porticos said though the drainage is related to sanitation and health, construction of drainage canals are engineering matters.

The city engineer and city health officer are supposedly tasked to lead implementation of a city ordinance (Ordinance No. C-205) prohibiting connections of sewerage lines from houses and business establishments in the city into the drainage canals, but until now the approved city ordinance remained dormant.

Environmental Management Bureau (EMB-7) provincial chief Nestor Canda said that his office will not allow waste water to flow into the San Jose outfall if the water treatment facility is not constructed.



DYING CITY BAY!
What is the condition of the Tagbilaran Bay with all these pollutants now seen pouring into the sea?

City sanitary inspectors Hospicio Almenia, Jr. and Edwin Mandin said based on their water sampling taken from the city bay, Mansasa is no longer safe for bathing.

The popular bathing area of Cainggit Beach is still safe, also the seas of Ubujan and Manga.

Dr. Porticos also said he personally inspected the reported illegal connections of funeral homes like Holy Name and Coop Funeral Homes and he had found that the reports are not true.

“Pathological waste from funeral homes, and also biological waste from hospitals are deposited in specially designed septic tanks and these are requirement provided before they were issued building permits,” Dr. Porticos clarified.

What was alarming, however, is the revelations of sanitary inspectors Almenia and Mandin that they only conduct seawater sampling during rainy seasons, and the regular frequency of sampling is at least quarterly (only once in every four months).

The last time the city sanitary inspectors conducted seawater sampling of Tagbilaran City Bay was in October 2007.

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