Representatives from the district engineering office of the public works and highways department, as well as the engineering office of El Nido, have been summoned to appear before Provincial Board to explain the frequent flooding in the town, including the recent aftermath of the southwest monsoon exacerbated by Tropical Depression Dodong.
This comes after some barangays in the tourism destination, particularly Barangay Corong-Corong, got inundated with flood waters and triggered evacuations.
The 1st District Engineering Office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the El Nido Municipal Engineering Office was invited to appear before the Committee on Public Works, Transportation, and Communications of the Provincial Board through a privilege speech delivered by Board Member Juan Antonio Alvarez on Tuesday, July 18.
Alvarez suggested inviting relevant officials to examine the causes of the municipality’s recurring flooding and the solutions that have been taken or need to be taken.
“I would like to request the presence of the representatives from the DPWH and the Municipal Engineering Office of El Nido to update us on the current situation regarding the inadequate drainage system whenever it rains, resulting in flooding in the town,” Alvarez stated.
Alvarez asked why even a slight heavy rain immediately causes flooding in El Nido, which leads to the suffering of the residents.
This suggests that there might be issues with the finished projects and different establishments in the area, impeding the smooth water flow and resulting in floods.
“We have observed that every time heavy rain occurs in El Nido, regardless of the presence of a typhoon, as long as the rain persists, flooding takes place. In the past, prior to the construction of numerous buildings and the expansion of the highway, there were no instances of flooding.,” he said.
“But now, sometimes even with light rainfall, water levels rise quickly. This suggests that there are issues with the projects and buildings that need to be examined to determine why the water is accumulating and not flowing through the natural drainage system of the highway,” added Alvarez.
On the night of July 13 until the early morning hours of the next day, personnel of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of El Nido, the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police, other emergency responders, and volunteers evacuated 19 families from Brgy. Corong-Corong and 15 families from Brgy. Manlag.
Hope Fabrigas, from the disaster risk reduction office in the municipality, stated that the floodwaters had reached waist-deep due to continuous rainfall since July 12.
“Walang tigil kasi ang ulan simula pa kahapon,” he said during evacuation night on July 13.
Most of the families stayed with their relatives, a report shared by Jerry Alili, the chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office stated.
Residents in El Nido posted on their social media that the flooding was not limited to Corong-Corong and Manlag.
Families in Cabigseng were also flooded, purportedly because the waterway’s gate, which was supposed to allow regulated water passage, was not opened.
The gate in the areas was allegedly installed to prevent garbage from entering the sea. However, during heavy rains, if the gate remains closed, it leads to the entire area of Cabigseng getting flooded.
Flooding had reportedly occurred once before, and unfortunately, has happened again, a resident of Cabigseng said. He said it appears that there is a lack of foresight and consideration in addressing the recurring problem.
This was allegedly a project of the municipal government.
“Two nights ago, in Cabigseng, they didn’t open the gate of the canal, causing the entire barangay to be flooded,” a disgruntled source informed Palawan News on Saturday, July 15.
“We believe that a significant portion of the drainage system is not functioning properly and remains incomplete,” another individual conveyed through private messaging.
In the center of the town, streets were also flooded, such as R. Magsaysay St. and Osmeña Street.
Despite circulating images of a resort called Bayview Hotel by the Trinidad family being impacted by erosion, the PDRRMO stated that no landslides occurred.
However, residents are concerned that the location where it was undergoing construction, atop a hill beside the national road, could be prone to landslides.
“There’s a new potential landslide starting along the national highway, near the backside of the hill from the previous erosion,” warned a netizen in a post, urging motorists to exercise caution when passing through the area.
Alili, who went to El Nido for an inspection, indicated that building of a slope protection and another structure down below that would also function as such is underway, but that the wet season has already slowed things down.
“Yung sa northwest side naman ng property (slope along the highway) is an ongoing construction of slope protection through slope benching with DENR permit and MGB EGAR (environmental geo hazard assessment report). Yung mga activities is in accordance with the recommended mitigating measures stated in the EGAR. Medyo late lang ang compliance at inabutan ng mga pag-ulan,” he said.
In relation to other at-risk elements, excluding their property, Alili said no other potential risks have been identified based on what they saw.
The highway, on the other hand, may experience minimal disruption.
He said continuous monitoring and maintenance efforts will be advantageous in ensuring the preservation of the area.
