After flooding woes, ICDEO seeks talks with City Hall

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Department of Public Works and Highways–Iloilo City District Engineering Office (DPWH-ICDEO) has requested a coordination meeting with the Iloilo City government amid ongoing controversies over flood control projects.

In a letter dated Aug. 26, ICDEO officer-in-charge Roy Pacanan asked Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu to send representatives from the City Engineer’s Office to attend the meeting.

Pacanan said the meeting should take place at the “soonest possible time,” stressing that the ICDEO looks forward to “working hand-in-hand” with the city government.

“[This is] to ensure the successful delivery of infrastructure projects that would provide equitable benefit to the people of Iloilo City,” he said.

Pacanan said the meeting will focus on aligning the ICDEO’s and city’s projects to “avoid overlapping, ensure proper implementation, [and] secure alignment of undertakings for the betterment of Iloilo City.”

“This initiative likewise seeks to strengthen collaboration between our offices for a well-coordinated, faster, and smoother execution of programs and projects,” he added.

The agenda also includes drainage declogging requests, with Pacanan noting that the ICDEO has been conducting dredging and other drainage-related activities raised by various barangays.

He said concerns that fall within the jurisdiction of the local government have already been endorsed to the City Engineer’s Office.

The call for a meeting follows accusations from the city government that the ICDEO’s lack of coordination on flood control projects worsened flooding in some areas.

Treñas-Chu earlier flagged multiple flood control projects that suffered delays, non-functionality, or remained invisible—despite being funded with millions in public funds.

During a visit to Iloilo City on Aug. 13, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. criticized the delayed and poorly executed flood mitigation projects.

He said the projects worsened the flooding situation and ordered immediate corrective measures.

Pacanan rejected the city’s accusations of non-coordination, saying the ICDEO had repeatedly reached out to the city government but received no response.

He has also consistently declined to appear before the city council’s quad committee hearings investigating the flood control issues.