Iloilo City launches La Paz waterway cleanup vs flooding

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Garbage-clogged waterways in La Paz district are the focus of a government-led cleanup campaign aimed at preventing flooding and identifying sources of waste through river waste traps.

On Tuesday, May 19, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Region 6 and the Department of Public Works and Highways–Iloilo City District Engineering Office (DPWH-ICDEO) launched “Oplan Kontra Baha,” a waterway rehabilitation initiative covering areas from Hinactacan and Ticud in La Paz to Tabuc Suba in Jaro.

The initiative mobilized 70 beneficiaries under the DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program from seven barangays in La Paz.

The beneficiaries will render 31 days of service at a daily wage of PHP 550, or PHP 17,050 each.

The workers come from Barangays Banuyao, Baldoza, Caingin, Hinactacan, Tabuc Suba, Ingore, and Ticud.

General Services Office head Neil G. Ravena said the city government will provide trucks to haul garbage collected during the cleanup.

Ravena said the clearing of the Jaro River is the first phase of the city government’s broader flood mitigation strategy, which includes the installation of 12 waste traps along upstream and downstream sections of the river in six barangays on the boundary of La Paz district.

“We identified that the Jaro River, especially in the La Paz district, is an area heavily accumulated with waste,” he said.

“Sometimes barangays point fingers at one another regarding where the garbage is coming from. Through the waste traps, we will be able to identify the sources of the waste,” he added.

Ravena said previous “Oplan Kontra Baha” activities in other waterways appeared to be only a “palliative solution.”

“The reason why we connected with DOLE-TUPAD and DOLE-6 is to strategize correctly how we can solve the problem of throwing waste in our waterways,” he said.

Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu said the city government has identified additional waterways in the Molo and Jaro districts for future cleanup drives following the La Paz operations.

Treñas-Chu said maintaining clean waterways is critical to improving water flow during heavy rains and high tide, reducing the risk of flooding in low-lying communities.

“This is in preparation for flooding, and in times that we are now experiencing a severe El Niño. We are preparing that if there is a severe El Niño, the typhoons that will hit us are much stronger, and in a matter of minutes, the volume of water increases, but if waterways are clear, flooding can be minimized,” she said.

The mayor also urged residents to dispose of garbage properly, noting that plastic bottles remain among the most common waste materials recovered from rivers and waterways in the city.