On Wednesday, February 21, the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Legazpi City launched and unveiled the marker for the Lapu-Lapu Flood Control/Mitigation Project, boosting the city’s flood control efficacy, in Barangay Lapu-Lapu, Legazpi City.
According to City Engineer Clemente A. Ibo, said project was established to mend the city’s perennial flooding problem, and is designed to mitigate the impacts of heavy rains by serving as an outfall, effectively redirecting and managing water flow to prevent inundation in the surrounding areas.
“We all know that Legazpi City has a perennial flooding problem. It is by 2020 that I’ve discussed with Governor-elect Noel Rosal and Mayor Carmen Geraldine Rosal that the problem was the outfall itself—that we kept on making drainages without really considering where the water flows afterwards,” Ibo stated.
Ibo then elaborated that the initial allocated Php 14,987,889.86 worth of funds were used in dredging the Lapu-Lapu River, from Dinagaan to Rizal, and in building a slope protection structure.
After a year of planning, it was in 2022 that they were again given Php 20,986,691.81 to continue and further expand said project.
In that same year, the City of Legazpi was awarded the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) by the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG).
Along with said award was an incentive fund worth Php 7,000,000 that was channeled to the same project, which was then used in establishing the state-of-the-art Lapu-Lapu flood control platform.
Lapu-Lapu Barangay Captain Ma. Karren Canon-Valdez, during the program, reflected on the area’s history of flooding and how it instilled fear among residents.
“Once a swamp, this area used to induce fear among residents due to recurrent flooding. Today, as we unveil this flood mitigating structure, we affirm our commitment to safeguarding the welfare of our community,” Valdez claimed. I Kian Kirby Florano