City Ancillary unit intensifies drainage cleanup amid flooding

29 September 2022

To mitigate the flooding problems in Davao City, the Ancillary Services Unit (ASU) has doubled its efforts in cleaning up the city’s drainage system after the severe flooding experienced on Wednesday night.

ASU Head Paul Bermejo, during the I-Speak media forum on Thursday, said they have added more manpower to their clean-up operations of the city’s drainage system.

He said two teams were deployed to work day and night in critical areas in the Poblacion District and other flood-prone areas to remove any obstruction in the city’s storm drains.

“Ang priority nato, before pa ang kagabii na ulan, kay kadtong previous na mga frequently flooded areas, such as kining naa diri sa GSIS. So, gitirahan nato ang San Antonio Village kay dili ma-drain ang tubig diha gikan sa GSIS so mubaha diha sa McArthur Highway (Our priority, even before last night’s rain, are the previously flooded areas such as the area surrounding GSIS. So we prioritized San Antonio Village because the flooding in MacArthur Highway is caused by water coming from the area are not drained),” Bermejo said.

Drainage clean-ups are also regularly conducted in flood-prone areas (such as Jade Valley, Laverna, etc.), Bermejo said.

However, Wednedsday night’s flooding took the ASU off-guard as new areas that were not usually flooded were submerged. Bermejo said teams were already deployed to clear the drainage system in these areas.

“Nadugay lang atong mga tao tungod kay aside sa mano-mano, kinhanglan nila pas-anon ang pila ka sako na mga gihabwa nila na materyales para ikarga sa atong truck tungod kay maski wheel barrow dili makasulod didto (Our personnel were delayed because aside from the job being done manually, they also have to carry sacks of retrieved materials to be loaded unto trucks because not even wheelbarrows can pass through these areas),” Bermejo said.

The ASU head added that their unit has also stepped up its road clearing operations with teams operating 24/7 to remove any obstruction in city roads to prevent flooding and traffic congestion.

He said the ASU is currently formulating ways to maximize the efficiency of the city’s road clearing schematics by establishing “Barangay Ancillary Services Team” in the densely populated areas in the city. This is to make communities in the barangays have the means to maintain the cleanliness of their roads and waterways.

“After manghinlo mi, gina-turn over namo sa ilaha pati ang streets na ma-clear namo kay dapat sila na mu-maintain. So, dapat naa sila’y team pud, na counterpart sa ASU, na mutabang pud sa pagpanghinlo sa barangay (After we clean up, we turnover the streets we cleared because the barangays are supposed to maintain them. So they must have their own team, a counterpart of the ASU, that will help clean up the barangay),” Bermejo said. CIO