“Sa Lungsod ng Biñan, lahat kasama, walang maiiwan.”
In today’s world when weather has become increasingly volatile and unpredictable, the challenge for local government units (LGUs) is to be on top of the situation and provide immediate assistance to victims of natural calamities.
This is where the city government of Biñan under the leadership of Mayor Gel Alonte has once again proved itself as heavy monsoon rains once again pounded Laguna province this August.
Once again, the local government has proved itself to perform “above and beyond” as it provided immediate and timely assistance to Biñanenses affected by the recent monsoon rains.
Prepared
One factor that enabled the city government to adequately prepare itself for “habagat” isn’t just the years of experience and lessons learned from past calamities.
Today, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) is now better equipped to monitor and respond to emergencies, as well as give residents adequate and timely warnings.
According to CDRRMO head Ron Roscain, the city’s Command Center is not only linked with real-time data coming from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), but also with real-time data from the city’s various monitoring equipment such as “smart CCTV” cameras.
“Ito pong mga CCTV cameras natin, nagagamit natin hindi lamang tuwing baha kundi pati na rin sa iba pang mga sakuna, gaya ng vehicular accidents, gayundin sa mga krimen,” Roscain shared in an interview with OpinYon Laguna.
For instance, the CDRRMO can now broadcast live the situation of the Biñan River, the city’s main waterway, on its social media pages.
This enables residents living near the river to prepare for the possibility of pre-emptive evacuation, saving time and effort for the CDRRMO when the time comes to evacuate.
"Bukod dito ay pro-active po ang ating mga barangay, lalo na po kung kinontact namin sila para magbigay ng babala,” Roscain added.
“Not only that, minabuti rin po natin na i-train natin ang ating mga barangay tanod pagdating sa disaster response, upang pagdating ng panahon ay sila na mismo ang makakapagbigay ng assistance sa ating mga kababayan.”
The CDRRMO head credits this, as well as the coordination between national and local government agencies, for the zero casualties reported in Biñan City during past calamities.
Immediate assistance
Aside from this, Mayor Alonte also ensured that those affected by the disaster will immediately receive much-needed assistance from the local and national government.
From August 11 to 16, the LGU immediately dispatched Family Food Packs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to residents of Barangays Dela Paz, Tubigan, San Jose, Malaban and Casile.
The city government was able to distribute over 8,200 food packs from the DSWD in Barangay Dela Paz alone.
This does not include the 7,500 food packs distributed in Barangay Malaban, 500 food packs in Barangay Tubigan, 1,000 in Barangay San Jose, and 1,500 in Sitio Pag-asa (Camcam) in Barangay Canlalay, as reported by Mayor Alonte.
Meanwhile, Unilab and Amherst Laboratories, Inc., two major pharmaceutical companies in Biñan Cit, have also pledged to provide drinking water for affected residents.
And as in the case last year, the city government once again put up temporary steel walkways for residents of Barangays Malaban and Dela Paz.
Long-term plans
The question, however, that most Biñanenses – particularly those living in flood-prone areas – have in mind now is: what is the city government doing, or planning to do, to alleviate the issue of flooding not only in Barangays Malaban and Dela Paz but in other barangays in the city as well?
With its proximity to Laguna de Bay and the fact that the Biñan River serves as a catchbasin for rainwater coming from Cavite province, CDRRMO head Roscain emphasized the need for long-lasting solutions to the issue of recurrent flooding at Biñan’s coastal communities – something that he said is now being worked on by the Alonte administration.
“Ipinag-utos na po ni Mayor Gel na gawan na po ng drainage plan hindi lamang sa mga barangay ng Malaban at Dela Paz kundi pati na rin po sa mga ibang barangay na apektado ng pagbaha,” he said.
Aside from this, Biñan City Representative Arman Dimaguila recently bared plans to put up additional temporary pumps in Barangay Malaban to direct floodwaters to Laguna de Bay.
The measure aims to replicate the successful installment of mobile pumps along the Mariano River in Barangay Dela Paz last year, which contributed to the immediate reduction of flooding in that barangay.
In the meantime, Roscain said that Alonte has ordered the installation of floodgates along the Biñan River to control the flow of water and prevent flooding from reaching as far as Barangay Poblacion.
“May nakita na po kaming areas na pwede naming paglagyan ng up to 15 floodgates sa mga barangay ng San Jose, San Antonio at San Vicente, going down to Malaban and Dela Paz,” he added.
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