Group 13 (Survey 2) Concepcion, John Juniel B.

  Concepcion, John Juniel B.                                                                                                             BAJ-2B

                                                                                                            Community and Citizen Journalism

Taking a look at Barangay Tabing-Ilog residence: An interview with a local official regarding Tabing-Ilog’s flood problems

The first interview was a success in identifying the main concerns of the residents. The next step is to take the concerns to the officials. We couldn't gain contact with or meet with the barangay captain, and the officer in charge of the barangay's DRRM, Mr. Maymar Abel Dela Cruz, was also busy with outside-the-hall work, but we managed to talk to them through Messenger. 

He only provided insights from the DRRM office. He could not provide documents as he said it was not allowed by the Captain. We tried coming back several times but the barangay hall was just too busy especially with their upcoming fiesta. 

Questions that was asked to the DRRM officer: (In order and as it is)

1. Una po sa lahat, kumusta po ang DRRM preparedness ng Barangay Tabing-Ilog? 

(I would like to ask about the preparedness of the DRMM in Barangay Tabing-ilog?)

• Sakli mang magkasakuna ay handa ang ating baranggay at mga rescuer... pati n rin ang mga evacuation area.

2. Gaano po ka lala sa inyong palagay ang pagbaha sa Tabing-Ilog?

(How severe in your own perspective are the floods in the barangay?)

• Matagal na ang problema nmin dito na baha.. matgal na rin ako nakatira dito at malapit din ang bahay ko sa ilog

3. Napansin ko po na may bagong gawa lamang na dike sa ilog ng Tabing-Ilog. Maayos naman po ba ito sa inyong palagay at kumusta po ito sa pag pigil ng baha? Nakita ko po na ito'y parang hindi nilinis ng ayos ng mga gumawa dahil ang kabilang side po ay may naka-stuck na tubig na walang ibang pupuntahan at pati na rin ang dami ng basura dito.

(Do you think that the newly built dike will suffice in mitigating the damage caused by the flood? I saw that the workers in charge of the dike didn't clean the area after they have finished working on it for excess water and trash were stuck in the area)

• Para sakin ayos nman siya at salamat sa ating hon. Linabelle Villarica sa pagpondo nito.. nilapit na rin smin ang tubig na nasa likod ng dike at aaksyunan na namin ito pra maayos na

4. Nag-conduct po kami ng survey sa mga residente ng tabing-ilog. Nagtanong tanong po kami kung ano ang mga issue na kanilang napansin at ang majority po na sagot ay pagbaha, may mga aksyon o hakbang po ba kayo para ang baha ay kung hindi maiwasan ay mas maging minimal ang epekto? (We conducted a survey with the residents of tabing ilog. We ask them what issues are prominent in the barangay and majority of them answer that flood is the common issue that they are dealing with. in light of this do you have a plan of action to mitigate the damage caused by the flood in barangay tabing ilog)

• Naging dhilan ang pagtayo ng mga building at pag ayos ng kalsada sa barangay pra maging malambot at d pantay ang lupa at kalsada... pati yang ginagawang riles ay nkaapekto sa paglala ng baha sa barangay... bumabara yung mga basura sa ginagawa nla kaya lumala ang baha khit wala bagyo..

5. Maari po ba kaming makahingi ng mga report sa mga nakaraang mga bagyo/baha? Kasama na po sana yung sa rescue operations at mga relief efforts ng barangay?

(Is it possible for us to acquire reports regarding the flood incidents in the barangay especially those reports containing information about the rescue operations and relief efforts)

• Ay naku.. hindi ko mabibigay sau basta basta yan kailangan kay kap catorce ka lumapit..

The gathered information was very little, but it provided another perspective on the issue, which was from an official. A lot of factors have affected the intensity of the floods in the area, and one of the biggest causes to it is the construction of the NSCR project, as the construction of the railway goes through the Marilao River, where the support beams gather garbage from a lot of neighborhoods that the Marilao River runs through. The reconstruction of roads made parts of the barangay uneven, which causes unpredictable and sometimes even more destructive floods even when there isn't any heavy rain or an actual typhoon. The construction of the dike was not tested yet as there haven't been any heavy rains or typhoons that had struck the residence but the construction of the dike left a gap between the road and the actual river which stocked water from the river and garbage that has nowhere to go.