The Department of Public Works and Highways is sending dredgers to Victorias City this week to help clear waterways and mitigate flooding.
Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Negros Occidental 3rd District) said he is meeting with DPWH officials on Thursday, January 7, to discuss the flooding problem in his district.
Floods hit Talisay, Silay and Victorias cities, and EB Magalona town on January 1 affecting thousands of residents and destroying and damaging hundreds of houses.
“We have requested for dredging from the DPWH since last year,” Benitez said.
“The rivers and the deltas have already been identified, but more details should emerge from the meeting with the DPWH on Thursday,” he said.
He said the mayors of the third district are all meeting with their respective disaster response teams and planning interventions this week. “It looks like they have things well in hand,” he added.
They are also asking the Department of Social Welfare and Development to aid those who lost their homes, he said.
Benitez and his brother, former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, have been visiting the flood-hit residents and looking into what caused the floods.
Many rivers and waterways are blocked by silt and garbage, the former congressman said.
“We are proposing a cleanup drive and continuous maintenance of the rivers,” he said, adding that the DPWH has promised to send dredgers to Victorias on Wednesday or Thursday.*