CEBU CITY, Philippines - About 62 people were evacuated on Monday after floodwaters rose to about eight feet high in Sitio (district) Dakit, Barangay (village) Guadalupe in Cebu City.The water level in the sitio rose because of overnight rains brought about by tropical depression Ambo. Guadalupe barangay Councilor Dino Faelnar said the flood waters rose around 4 a.m. affecting at least 10 families whose houses were built between the fences of several subdivisions and at the foot of the mountainside barangay. Faelnar said the rainwater from the top of the hills accumulated and flooded the houses below. “Abnormal man sab gyud to nga uwan, so natural ang tubig gikan sa bukid nakamugna gyud og baha sa ubos (It was an abnormal rain occurrence, and so the water came from the mountains),” Faelnar said. One of the affected residents, Ricardo Sabay Sr., said the flooding started at about 2 a.m. He said he woke up his family when heavy rains hit at around 1 a.m. “We often prepare because floods often happen in our barangay,” Sabay said in Cebuano. But he said that this was the first time that the floodwaters were mixed with mud and the first time that the water level reached 8 feet high. Sabay said the accumulated mud blocked the drainage causing the water to reach that high. Faelnar said a hole was made in one of the fences of one of the subdivisions in the area to drain the floodwater from the affected area. Faelnar said the houses were not actually destroyed, and the affected residents opted to clean up their houses so they could return home last night. Social workers from the city’s Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) arrived to serve foods to the victims. The Philippine Red Cross personnel also extended assistance. Barangay Captain Eugenio “Jingjing” Faelnar said LandCo Pacific Corp., the contractor and developer of the proposed 120 hectare Monterrazas Subdivision, gave each affected family P3,000 as financial assistance.
Some affected residents in a TV report blamed a developer in the area for the flooding. But Faelnar said the developer had started building detention ponds to hold the water from the hilly part of the proposed subdivision projects. He said unfortunately it was not yet finished when the rains hit. “The contractor timed the building of the detention pond this summer and it was expected that it would rain during this time of year,” Faelnar said in Cebuano. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that the heavy downpour was caused by tropical depression Ambo, which hit Visayas area on Sunday.
But as of 5 p.m. Monday, Cebu was already spared from Ambo, which has maximum winds of 45 kilometers per hour. Ambo is expected to be at 400 kilometers West Northwest of Puerto Princesa City on Tuesday afternoon. Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo, action officer of the City Disaster Coordinating Council, said the Landco Pacific Corp. project caused the flooding. He said that since the affected residents are squatters of the lots, the city could not give them a long-term solution. Carillo said the city government could not construct a drainage system in the area because these are private lots owned by former Cebu governor Emilio “Lito” Osmeña. “Mabahaan gyud nang dapita kay wa may drainage diha. Karon lang na nga dunay sagol lapok (It is a flood-prone area because there is no drainage. But it’s the first time that the floodwaters were mixed with mud),” Carillo said. Carillo outlined two options for the city to develop the area – the residents will buy the lots or the affected residents will leave the area and the city could help them find a relocation site. Landco Pacific Corp. in an official statement said because of the construction of four detention ponds, no other incidents of flooding were reported. Late February of this year, the company inaugurated the four detention ponds, which are parts of the on-site storm-water detention infrastructure of the property. Each pond is designed to hold 2,000 to 3,000 cubic meters of rainwater. In an official statement sent to Cebu Daily News on Monday night, Landco said sitio Dakit, at the foothill of the 220-hectare property, is located in a “natural waterway with no drainage system.” “This area has always been identified by the local government as danger zone where temporary settlements are prohibited,” the company said. Landco said the company, together with the barangay, has provided assistance to the affected families. Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña said he has anticipated something would happen to the development of the Monterraza’s that’s why he had halted the development eight months ago until they will be able to construct the detention pond.
He said he did not expect the flooding to happen so soon but 20 years later. He said the developers built four detention ponds, which is a city requirement to prevent landslides. The mayor, however, believed that the developers made substantial efforts to prevent landslides when they listened to his order to build the ponds. /Correspondents Jhunnex Napallacan and Chris A. Ligan with a report from Reporter Cris Evert Lato and Correspondent Marian Z. Codilla | 
