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Ordinance protecting dikes approved

February 16, 2011

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Village chiefs from the second, third and fourth districts, as well as Public Works officials recently approved an ordinance prohibiting heavy vehicles and equipment from passing through several dikes in the city.
Ordinance 488, otherwise known as “An ordinance prohibiting heavy trucks, heavy equipments and other heavy vehicles from passing through the megadike access roads, the tail dike, Arayat-Apalit-Masantol setback levee and Pampanga delta dikes, installing overhead concrete barriers and providing penalities therefor,” was authored by Provincial Board Committee on Environment and Natural Resources chairman Nestor Tolentino.
Committee on Infrastructure chairman Ricardo Yabut is supporting it.

During the public hearing on Tuesday, stakeholders identified truckers and haulers as culprits in the loss of protective barriers and the actual degradation of dike access roads at areas in the three districts.
“If we do not put a stop to this abusive use of these access roads which are not meant for heavy vehicles, we would soon see the destruction of our dikes and put the lives of thousands of our constituents living near these areas,” Tolentino said.
He said the ordinance would put “teeth and muscle” in efforts to protect infrastructure all over the province.
He said the ordinance emanated from the recent visit of Japan International Cooperation Agency officials, who inspected the megadike and discovered several damaged portions inflicted by heavy trucks.
“Our Governor [Lilia Pineda] is fully supporting our initiatives. She was prompted to inspect all dikes and see to their protection and repair. Immediately, steel and concrete barriers must be installed in these access roads and our barangay officials deputized to apprehend and report violators,” he said.
Yabut, for his part, has called on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to conduct an inventory of all barriers, many of them stolen, installed and needed in dike roads.
The lawmaker will lead an inspection of dikes in the third and fourth districts Wednesday, February 16.
“We need to know the condition of our dikes particularly those traversing inner barangays. The second biggest problem, apart from the short inventory and standard design of barriers, is the damaged approaches to dikes where many accidents have happened and are happening,” Yabut said, as he urged for the quality control and maintenance of all dike roads.
DPWH-MPRP officer in charge Juanito Regunyal, meanwhile, said all concerns of the stakeholders will be incorporated into one program after the Yabut-led joint inspection.
“Our biggest problem here would be funding. One barrier costs about P35,000. But we are agreeable to the ordinance and we will come up immediately with solutions and programs to address the urgency of the need to protect dike roads and install the necessary barriers,” Regunyal said. (Jovi T. De Leon)

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/ordinance-protecting-dikes-approved

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