CITY OF SAN FERNANDO —Vice Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda asked the Pampanga mayors to excavate and desilt all silted rivers, creeks and tributaries in their respective municipalities and cities now until before the next rainy season.
The vice governor said the local government units in the province should act now to do something about the siltation of rivers and waterways to avoid problems on perennial flooding, water-borne diseases and inconveniences of the affected families during calamities.
The vice governor said with the free flowing of water in the river channels and waterways, the farmers would benefit from it as they could utilize it for the irrigation of their farmlands.
“Let us bring back the old glory of our rivers that can be enjoyed by the small fishermen and the residents who want to use it as means of transportation through the use of boats,” the vice governor said, adding that the provincial government is very much willing to lend its newly purchased backhoes and other desilting equipment to the local government units (LGUs) on a “first-come, first-served” basis.
“Submit your request to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office [PDRRMO] to immediately schedule the use of our equipment,” he told the mayors and barangay officials who attended the briefing and updates on Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change for Barangay Officials recently as part of the 443rd Aldo Ning Kapampangan.
Recently Santo Tomas Mayor Lito Naguit entered into a partnership with the Capitol on the desilting operations done along the Federosa River in his town.
“The Federosa River, which is part of the third river, has been silted for so many years, but with our partnership with the Capitol, the water here is now free flowing and as it was also cleared with hyacinth,” Naguit said.
The mayor said the Capitol has provided backhoe equipment, while the municipal government provided the fuel as counterpart.
He said the sharing agreement between the Capitol and LGU Santo Tomas is a big help for the municipality. “Now, with less flooding, Santo Tomas will become more investment-friendly. Businessmen are now ventilating their interest to invest and try the town for their business,” Naguit said.
Minalin Mayor Edgardo Flores, whose town is perennially visited by floods, said the Minaleños are thankful to the governor and the vice governor for their generosity in providing equipment for the desilting of the river and waterways in the municipality as many of their villages now are flood-free.
Guagua Mayor Dante Torres disclosed that for more than 20 years, the San Jose creek in Barangay Natividad going to Betis remained silted resulting to the perennial floods in various communities.
“But now, we see the openhandedness of our provincial government led by Governor Pineda and Vice Governor Delta and Angie Blanco of the PDRRMO, we will no longer experience what we had experienced from the past years especially during rainy season,” Torres said.