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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Deep in floods, Bulakeños want engineers fired

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Malolos City—Bulacan residents who suffer through flooding with every heavy downpour turned to social media to call on Public Works Secretary Mark Villar to fire all his department’s engineers in the province for the “unexplained stupidity” in the construction of the entire draining system along McArthur Highway, from Meycauayan City to Calumpit, Bulacan.

Deep in floods, Bulakeños want engineers fired
Electric posts stand right along the passageway of drainage canals along McArthur Highway in Bulacan, including those that are still under construction in Marilao town. This has partly led to floods in several villages in low-lying towns such as Bocaue, residents say. Orlan Mauricio

Bulakeños also urged Villar to summon all city and municipal engineers with jurisdictions along McArthur Highway to explain why they accepted and allowed the construction of drainage canals without requiring the Manila Electric Co. to remove all its electrical posts that block the flow of floodwaters into the drains.

Manuel Mendoza of Marilao, in his social media post, said Department of Public Works and Highways engineers were practicing the “Science of Stupid””•also the title of a popular cable TV show”•for allowing the construction of drainage canals where Meralco posts are right smack in its passageway.

Troy dela Cruz of Malolos also called on Villar to investigate why the multi-story STI Building in the city was allowed to be built in spite of violating the set-back regulations under the Building Code.

The façade of the STI building has also encroached on the sidewalk of McArthur Highway in Brgy. Dakila, Malolos, Dela Cruz noted.

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Mar Batungbakal of Calumpit also asked Villar on Facebook to investigate why a shopping mall was allowed to be constructed right under two bridges near the Calumpit Institute.

“While the Department of Interior and Local Government is serious in its all-out war against all kinds of obstruction along national roads to meet its Sept. 19 deadline, DPWH should also have the same resolve to clear main thoroughfares of illegal construction and the pestering presence of Meralco posts in the middle of drainage canals,” he said.

The call was made amid heavy rains experienced all over the province on Saturday, causing several low-lying-areas along McArthur Highway in Meycauayan, Marilao, Bocaue, Balagtas, Calumpit and near the coastal areas to be inundated by more than two feet of floodwaters.

The rains also made the river system in the City of San Jose del Monte swell, the waters raging down toward the waterways of Santa Maria, Bocaue, Marilao, Obando, Hagonoy, and Paombong.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office reported at least four barangays in Meycauayan were under two feet of floodwater.

But residents told Manila Standard that barangays Bangcal, Longos, Poblacion, Saluysoy, Zamora, Bayugo and Banga were in knee-deep waters since early Saturday, as the rainwater was aggravated by the high tide.

In Marilao town, submerged in up to four feet of floodwater were barangays Poblacion I, II, Saog, Lias, Ibayo, Tabing-Ilog, and Abangan Sur. In Bocaue, houses in Igulot, Poblacion, Tambubong, Bunlo and Bambang were likewise inundated.

Lias Road and portions of McArthur Highway fronting a big mall in Marilao were stil unpassable to light vehicles as of noontime Sunday.

The PDRRMO also reported that as of noon Sunday, the water level of Angat Dam had risen to 187.03 meters, still 24.97 meters below its spilling level of 212 meters. 

Ipo Dam was at 101.23 meters, above its spilling level of 101.00 meters, while Bustos Dam was at 17.62 meters, slight above its spilling level of 17.50 meters.

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