Probe Sought Versus DPWH-Davao Officials

 An investigation is being sought against officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Davao City in connection with the severe flooding that struck a riverside community over the weekend.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon wants personnel of the Davao City district engineering office (DEO) investigated for negligence after a wall of the Talomo River collapsed and caused massive flooding that submerged the villages of Los Amigos, Talomo Proper, Bangkal and Matina.

Heavy rainfall caused the river to overflow, which resulted in the collapse of the river wall and flooding in Central Park Subdivision where the ancestral home of former president Rodrigo Duterte is located.

Aside from investigation, Dizon ordered the DEO to repair the gaps and cracks in the dike.

During an inspection along the Talomo River on Wednesday, July 29, Dizon was furious to discover that a gabion flood-control wall was left unrepaired for seven years after it was damaged by floodwaters in 2019.

Dizon estimated that the repair would have cost less than P100 million.

“Billions of pesos were poured into the DPWH office here, and yet this simple, inexpensive project was ignored,” Dizon said, noting that residents had to climb to the ceiling to escape the rising floodwaters.

Dizon blamed the previous leaderships of the national and local DPWH offices for the calamity.

He ordered the immediate dredging of the Talomo River after learning that the waterway had not been desilted in the past 10 years.

Dizon said heavy siltation could have caused the river to swell.

He questioned the recurrence of flooding, saying both the DPWH and the local government should have implemented long-term measures that could have prevented a repeat of the 2019 flooding.

Dizon said all major rivers in the country must be dredged every year.

Records from the DPWH showed the Talomo River has been the site of numerous flood control and riverbank protection projects since 2018.

Data showed more than P690 million worth of flood-mitigation projects were implemented in the area. – With Diana Lhyd Suelto