BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera Administrative Region office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-CAR) ordered all its district offices to conduct a massive clean-up of all canals, drainage systems, and other waterways in preparation for the huge volume of water that is expected to flow on them during the upcoming rainy season to prevent the occurrence of perennial flooding in low-lying areas as well as soil erosions.

The timely order was made after weathermen reported the prevailing El Niño phenomenon in most parts of the country weakened and the La Niña phenomenon is expected to follow by the middle part of this year.

Engineer Alexander Castañeda, DPWH-CAR assistant regional director, said all the agency’s field personnel were already mobilized to clear the numerous waterways from debris and garbage that will impede the smooth flow of water so that flooding and landslides will not cause inconvenience to the general public, especially when rains start to prevail.

For the past two weeks, most parts of the region have been experiencing moderate to strong rains every other day despite the prevalence of a very warm afternoon which is an indication that the rainy season is just around the corner. The region has ten district offices with two each in Apayao, Benguet, and Ifugao, while this city, Abra, Mountain Province, and Kalinga have one each.

According to Castañeda, the massive cleanup operation is part of their regular activities during the summer season to remove the debris that have clogged the waterways for the safety of the public, especially in areas that frequently experience flooding and landslides that pose a threat to life and limb.

Aside from cleaning the waterways, Castañeda claimed damaged drainage canals and flood control projects must also be restored so that they could efficiently and effectively perform their respective purposes for the benefit of mitigating the effects of the expected too much volume of water that will be brought by the upcoming La Nina phenomenon.