San Fernando— The mayors of San Fernando City and Sto. Tomas town in Pampanga have reportedly agreed to desilt the Federosa River using their respective backhoes to prevent further flooding of their respective localities at a meeting held at the Heroes Hall recently.
The meeting called by Vice Gov. Dennis Pineda was attended by San Fernando Mayor Edwin Santiago, Sto. Tomas Mayor John Sambo and Minalin Mayor Edgar Flores.
As Pampanga remains underwater as stated in the Office of the Civil Defense Bulletin No. 10, the mayors of the capital city and Sto Tomas are blaming each other for causing the flood in their respective areas.
Santiago said the floodwater in the 14 southern barangays including the business district came from the municipalities of Sto. Tomas and Minalin.
The San Fernando mayor who is an engineer by profession said the heavily silted Federosa River prevented the flood waters from flowing into the Manila Bay and they instead flowed back to the city.
Santiago bragged at a previous meeting of the Cabalen Sunday Sports Club here that the city will no longer experience flooding in the coming rainy season because all the necessary engineering intervention including clearing the drainage and dredging rivers were done.
However, last Monday he got the surprise of his life when monsoon rains or habagat turned his city into an ocean four to five feet deep. The rains flooded the city hall, the police headquarters and 19 out of the 35 barangays of the city.
On the other hand, first termer Sambo claimed that flood water from the city sunk this municipality of seven barangays. Sto.Tomas, which is the youngest and smallest town of Pampanga, was formerly part of the city until it was ceded in 1905 and became a town in 1951.
“The major industries of majority of our people, namely coffin making and pottery were severely affected by the floods,” Sambo said.
However, some place the blame on former President Benigno Aquino III who stopped the desilting, deepening and widening of all rivers of the province due to lack funds.
The past administration has come under fire for alleged underspending, especially on infrastructure development.
Earlier, Director Renato Solidum Jr. of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned that the danger from the last Mt. Pinatubo eruption was not yet over because of lahar and other sediments that may still flow down into rivers during heavy rains and cause floods in the area.
Illegal fishponds constructed along the rivers also obstruct and impede the free flow of water to Manila Bay
The illegal fishponds owned by rich and powerful but absentee owners have been demolished since 1972 by constabulary and public works officials but they kept coming back.
These illegal fishponds are mostly in the coastal towns of Pampanga namely Lubao, Guagua, Sto. Tomas, Minalin, Masantol, Macabebe, Apalit and others.