City Mayor Lucilo Bayron has given relevant city government offices a one-week deadline to demolish a typhoon-damaged structure in Barangay Bahile that he claims is endangering the safety of local children and residents.
Mayor Bayron took up the issue during Monday’s flag ceremony, expressing dismay that the damaged structure—the concrete posts of the barangay’s covered court—had not been torn down a year after Typhoon Odette had passed.
“Kahapon pumunta ako sa Sabang, nadaanan ko yong covered court ng Bahile—11 months ago, tinamaan ng bagyo—hanggang ngayon hindi man lang tayo gumalaw, di man lang naasikaso,” Bayron said during Monday’s regular flag raising ceremony at the City Hall.
(I went to Sabang yesterday, and I saw the Bahile covered court—11 months ago, it was hit by a typhoon—until now, we didn’t do anything, and we didn’t mind it.)
“Kailangan pa ba nating paabutin ng isang taon ito? Sa concerned office, bigyan ko na lang kayo ng one week. Next flag raising ceremony, gusto ko ianunsyo na natumba na yong nakatagilid na covered court na yan,” he added, citing it would cause danger to the lives of residents of Bahile.
(Do we need to wait a whole year? I’m giving the concerned office one week. At the next flag-raising ceremony, I want to announce that the leaning-covered court has already been taken down.)
He stated that he is especially concerned for the kids who will play on the covered court without realizing it could fall on them.
“Palagay ko kargo ng konsensya ninyo kapag mangyari yan (If something bad happens, it will be on your conscience),” he said.
According to city information officer Richard Ligad, the offices Bayron is referring to are the City Engineering Office (CEO) and “possibly” the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), both of which are supposed to be on top of the situation since Typhoon Odette’s devastation on December 17, 2021.
“Yong City Engineering Office, at saka siguro yong CDRRMO, kasi sila dapat ang nakakaalam niyan. Pero pupuntahan na nila kasi binigyan lang sila ng ilang araw,” Ligad told Palawan News in a call.
(That’s the City Engineering Office, and possibly the CDRRMO, because they’re supposed to be aware of the situation. But they’re going because they were only told how many days they had.)
Bayron directed that backhoes be brought to Bahile to remove the concrete posts, as they could no longer be used to rebuild the entire structure.
He reiterated that this should have been done a long time ago in Bahile, an outlying city barangay, since it was destroyed.
“Kailangan pa ba nating paabutin ng isang taon ito? (Do we have to wait another year?),” he asked.
