CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan — Governor Daniel R. Fernando with Vice Governor Alex Castro asked for urgent support from the House of Representatives to ratify the House Bills to have a permanent solution to the decade-long problem of flood in the province.
Fernando said during an interview with the local media on Thursday, “he only wanted to escalate to the national government the flooding concerns in the province.
The governor added that there are pending House Bills that he wants to be ratified by Congress to alleviate the suffering of Bulakenyos every time they experience severe flooding.
This includes House Bill No. 492 by Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo; House Bill No. 3148 by Rep. Ambrosio “Boy” C. Cruz, Jr.; House Bill No. 6559 authored by Rep. Florida “Rida” P. Robes; and House Resolution No. 614 by Representatives Danny A. Domingo, Augustina Dominique C. Pancho, and Lorna C. Silverio.
Because of this widespread flooding in the province, Fernando pledged to seek a comprehensive solution to avert flooding and end further damages in Bulacan.
“Hindi po tayo titigil hanggang hindi natitiyak ang mga maliwanag at kongkretong hakbang upang mabilisan at permanenteng masolusyunan ang problemang ito. Gusto kong makatiyak na ang lalawigan Bulacan sa ating panahon ay makalaya na sa suliraning ito at ang ating mga gawain ay nakatutugon sa mahigpit na pamantayan ng kaligtasan,” the governor said.
In the efforts of the provincial government of Bulacan to address these concerns, Fernando also mandated the creation of a technical working group through the Provincial Development Council that will develop the master plan for flood control projects for the province since the Department of Public Works and Highways do not have one yet.
In addition to that, the Provincial Engineer’s Office through the directive of Fernando initiated to draft the flood control plan for Bulacan, and currently, PEO has completed the plans for the City of Malolos and Municipalities of Calumpit and Hagonoy.
However, the DPWH has the existing Sustainable Flood Management Plan for Metro Manila and Surrounding Areas which only includes the City of Meycauayan.
Fernando is also overseeing the rehabilitation of Bustos Dam to make sure that its rubber gates are being repaired by the contractors.
Further, with the inter-agency cooperation with the DPWH, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Mines and Geosciences Bureau, dredging operations are ongoing to augment flood control mitigations in the province. (UnliNews Online)
