Cebu City Upland Barangays Now Under State of Calamity

All upland barangays in Cebu City have been declared under a state of calamity by the City Council due to the shortage of water in these areas because of El Niño.

Meanwhile, the Cebu Provincial Board is also expected make a similar declaration during its regular session next week because there are several barangays of the province that also experienced drought.

The Cebu City Council declared the city’s upland barangays under a state of calamity based on the recommendation of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The purpose of declaring the city’s upland barangays under a state of calamity so that the disaster fund can be used to address the water shortage in the affected barangays.

Councilor Gerardo Carillo has recommended that the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council will submit within one week an action plan and utilization report of the calamity funds.

Carillo said the DRRMC should map out an action plan to further mitigate the ill effects of the mild El Niño now experienced by the farmers and other residents of the city’s mountain barangays.

Pagasa-Mactan Chief weather forecaster Oscar Tabada had earlier forecasted that the weather phenomenon would last until the later part of the year.

The Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council chaired by Councilor Dave Tumulak had recommended to the City Council the declaration of a state of calamity of the 31 mountain barangays that are already suffering from water shortage due to the hot weather.

He identified the affected barangays as Adlaon, Agsungot, Bacayan, Binaliw, Budlaan, Busay, Cambinocot, Guba, Lusaran, Mabini, Malubog, Paril, Pit-os, Pulangbato, Talamban, Taptap, Sirao, Kalunasan, Buhisan, Sapangdaku, Bonbon, Babag, Sudlon 1, Sudlon 2, Toong, Sinsin, Tabunan, Pung-ol Sibugay, Buot, Tagbao, and Pamutan.

But City Councilor Lea Japson recommended that some lowland barangays of the city that are also suffering from water shortage should be included in the declaration of a state of calamity.