COUNCILOR Alberto Ungab said the damaged portion of a flood control dike in Matina Gravahan is normal after being hit by a large log.
Ungab responded to the controversy of the dike that remains unrepaired after it was destroyed by floodwaters in February 2024.
“It’s possible for flood dikes to be destroyed, remember, Davao City is a former logging area. There are whole logs that are still under the ground,” he said during the Pulong pulong sa Dabawenyos on Tuesday.
“As long as it is only a portion, hindi lahat nasira. There will be a problem if all of the dike is destroyed, but it is only a portion, that’s normal,” Ungab added.
The councilor said DPWH should find a way to be able to repair those particular portions.
He proposed to have an inter-agency task force to be initiated by the city government that should address flooding and flood control projects.
“I am going to suggest we are going to have an inter-agency task force that should address flooding, because flooding now is totally different from five years ago,” he said.
“So that we would not be pointing fingers anytime,” Ungab added.
The councilor cited that the Davao River is from San Fernando, Bukidnon, hence if all the dikes are in place in Bukidnon, water will overflow to Davao.
“We should be talking with them, that’s why we need a task force,” he said, noting the city does not have control of the waterways and the tributaries coming from other provinces, hence the need for a task force.
The task force will identify the particular causes of flooding in a particular place.
He said there is not much devastation from localized flooding, but from waste, siltation, which can be managed, compared to the river overflow.
The councilor said the task force is still in the drawing stages, but was already presented to the city council for appropriate action.
