LEGAZPI CITY – The City Government of Legazpi has officially handed over the management and operation of its flood-control pumping station to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region V.
Legazpi City Mayor Hisham Ismail and DPWH Regional Director Virgilio C. Eduarte led the ceremonial signing of the Deed of Transfer, a move aimed at improving the city’s ability to manage flooding, especially in low-lying areas.
“Sa pagtutulungan ng lokal na pamahalaan at ng pambansang ahensya, naniniwala tayong mas magiging ligtas, maayos, at handa sa sakuna ang Lungsod ng Legazpi,” Mayor Ismail said in a statement posted on his official Facebook page.
However, Albay Governor Noel Rosal, who served as Legazpi mayor during the project’s early stages, expressed doubts about the facility’s readiness and the legality of the transfer. “Sabi ko, hindi ako puwedeng magpirma d’yan. In the first place, under the MOA, iba ang turnover of operation. Hindi naman dapat ang provincial government ang pumirma,” he said.
Rosal also questioned the practicality of maintaining a facility that, in his view, isn’t yet functional. “There’s nothing to maintain. Kasi ang minemaintain dapat working. Paano mo ima-maintain kung hindi naman gumagana?” he added.
He further argued that the project was never accepted during his term because it wasn’t operational. “You cannot return what you don’t have. Paano mo ibabalik ang bagay na hindi naman sa’yo?”
Rosal noted that key components of the project, including the detaining pond, remain incomplete. “May kulang pa ’yan,” he said, recalling Secretary Singson’s remarks during the 2016 inauguration.
He estimated that more than P500 million is still needed to fully repair and make the pumping station operational.
“Marami pang dapat ayusin. Yung sa San Roque, sira na lahat ’yon. Kaya dapat ayusin talaga.”
