Zambales gov calls for urgent repair of infra damaged by Habagat floods

Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. on Monday called on the Marcos administration to prioritize the repair of damaged infrastructure in their province amid massive flooding due to heavy rains caused by the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat).

Ebdane made the appeal as at least 10,000 of his constituents remain stranded in evacuation centers due to flooding in many parts of the province, especially in the towns of San Marcelino (including Barangay Sta. Fe), San Antonio, and Cabangan (including Barangay Mabanglit).

“We have 3,800 families or 10,442 individuals (who evacuated) as of yesterday. We have provided hot meals and food packs here. Pero itong pagkasira ng mga infrastructure natin, kung hindi titigil itong ulan na ito, mauulit pa ito," Ebdane said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

(But the damage to our infrastructure will get worse if the rains do not stop.)

"Kaya nu'ng nagpunta nga si Pangulong [Bongbong] Marcos sa San Fernando (Pampanga) na kung saan ako ang nag-briefing dahil ako ang chairman ng Regional Development Council, sinabi ko na kung puwede, i-priority lang muna ‘yung repair ng [existing] infrastructure [project] instead na bagong project para makatipid tayo,” he said.

(That is why when President Marcos went to San Fernando where I conducted a briefing as chairman of the Regional Development Council, I asked that if possible, the repair of infrastructure be prioritized instead of having new projects so we can save money.)

Ebdane said that for one, Barangay Sta. Fe is now 35 meters below surface due to lahar downpour triggered by the Southwest Monsoon.

“Those affected by the floods made a bridge going to the artificial island, and I really told them – prepare to lose that. Ayala Corporation also built a bridge en route to their solar power [project], but I said it wasn’t viable. Sooner, you will be constructing bridges year in and year out,” he said.

“We have a long-term solution to put the bridge along the north side of the river, so it would not have to cross [waters] as that would be impractical,” Ebdane added.

In the meantime, Ebdane said that the provincial government has been able to buy 700 sheet piles to repair the damaged Bucao River dike in Barangay San Juan, Botolan, Zambales. —KG, GMA News