‘WATER WAY TO GO’: Iloilo City halts DPWH projects over flooding woes

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu on Thursday, July 24, issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO) against the Department of Public Works and Highways–Iloilo City District Engineering Office (DPWH-ICDEO), stopping several ongoing infrastructure projects along the city’s waterways.

The order, addressed to DPWH-ICDEO Officer-in-Charge Roy Pacanan, covers slope protection, bike lane, and access road works along Buntatala Creek, Dungon Creek, Calubihan and Desamparados Creeks, and the mouth of the Iloilo River near Barangay Mohon, Arevalo.

Treñas-Chu asserted that these projects “in reality and in fact, amount to reclamation,” and accused the district office of proceeding without consultation – allegedly violating DPWH Department Order No. 110, Series of 2015.

The directive requires DPWH to consult and coordinate with local government units (LGUs) and stakeholders before implementing infrastructure projects within their jurisdictions.

“Converting our waterways into bike lanes – narrowing their width and reducing their capacity to function as drainage for rain and floodwater toward the Iloilo River and the sea –is not only criminally irresponsible but has caused grave, irreparable damage to property and claimed two lives in the past seven days,” the mayor said in her order.

The city government has consistently maintained that DPWH-initiated works have worsened flooding in multiple barangays, particularly in the Jaro district, based on internal assessments.

Treñas-Chu also echoed the concerns of Oton Mayor Sofronio Fusin, who reported severe flooding in Oton allegedly linked to the esplanade project at Barangay Mohon, near the Iloilo-Oton boundary.

In a separate statement Thursday afternoon, Treñas-Chu said she had spoken with DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, who reportedly ordered the suspension of the projects in question and instructed regional officials to ensure compliance.

“[Bonoan] said he would issue a directive to [DPWH Region 6 Director] Joel Limapengco and all district engineers under DPWH-6 to suspend projects that did not undergo proper LGU coordination,” the mayor said.

She added that Bonoan committed to turning over all project plans and documentation to an independent team of experts for a “scientific, objective, and comprehensive study” on the environmental and public safety impacts.

“This step is crucial in guiding our decision-making with accurate, science-based information,” she said.

The CDO followed a July 18 letter Treñas-Chu sent to Secretary Bonoan requesting intervention, and a July 22 follow-up from Acting City Legal Officer Joseph Edward Areño reinforcing the city’s concerns.

In a July 18 memorandum to Director Limapengco, Pacanan denied the city’s allegations.

He cited natural factors – such as vegetation overgrowth, garbage accumulation, and siltation – as the primary causes of flooding, not DPWH infrastructure projects.

He also claimed that water flow and overflow had been observed even in the absence of rainfall.

The CDO will remain in effect until the independent study is completed, which the city insists must account for environmental and public safety impacts.