Northern Mindanao || X Emano lawyer says 3 departments need to answer for Sendong
Emano lawyer says 3 departments need to answer for Sendong
Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:00
MAYOR Vicente Emano's lawyer said at least three national government agencies should be held responsible, too, for the Typhoon Sendong disaster in the city last December. In answering the administrative complaint filed against Emano before the Office of the President, lawyer Francis Ku said protecting city residents from floods is not the sole responsibility of city hall. Ku said it is a "shared responsibility" of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Depar tment of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Environmental Management Bureau (EMB). Ku said the law states that flood protection falls under the duties of the DPWH and the DOTC. He said a provision in the Water Code empowers the two national government departments to declare areas for flood-control.
He said the departments were also tasked to make guidelines for flood plain management plans in these areas. Ku also said PD 1586 mandates the EMB to develop protection measures in flood prone areas and environmentally critical areas. The EMB is under the environment department. He said RA 9729 provides the roles of various government agencies in disaster-risk reduction. Ku claimed that the national government agencies failed to undertake flood-management projects in the river islets and the dangerous places.
He said a 2006 city ordinance asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to declare the river islets as city property so the local government could develop them. Ku said it took the DENR three years to decide on the city government's request. So until 2009, Ku argued, the city government did not have any oversight to the residential settlements at Isla de Oro and the other strips because they were still national governmentowned properties. City hall, according to Ku, has done its part by starting the construction of the "Golden Mile" project that included river protection work near city hall. The "Golden Mile" was an initiative of Emano's predecessor, the then Mayor Constantino Jaraula. In an earlier interview, Jaraula said the project was stopped for reasons unknown to him.
Ku said, "During the floods, these river protection works did not fully protect the riverbank communities and parts of city hall because the fury and volume of the waters far surpassed the height and strength of the dikes." In another development, critics of the Emano administration recently released the fourth edition of the podcast "Radyo CDO." In the latest podcast, councilors and a broadcaster perceived to be Emano's allies were lampooned. One councilor was called "President Elise" and another was referred to as "Konting Pabor." A broadcaster was called "Manny Impostero," apparently in reference to Manny Agustero of Magnum Radio.
In the Radyo CDO, "Manny Impostero" is heard discussing news headlines of the day with the Agustero's signature "patay" remark at the end (e.g. "Tulo ka tawo... patay!"). There were references to the now unusual color of the Macanhan flyover, "Nightmare Café" in "Dysmenorrhea." The podcaster, through a comedic dialogue, criticized the reemergence of the Night Café and suggested that it would be a haven for pickpockets who easily blend in the crowd. The Radyo CDO page has been widely distributed on Facebook. In his answer to an administrative complaint against his client, Ku said Emano's critics were limiting their audience on the Internet that could not be reached by the "poor and the marginalized."
| ||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Fire Fox or 
Google Chrome.`