The Regional Development Council (RDC) VIII-Infrastructure and Utilities Development Committee (IUDC) endorsed the Binahaan River Flood Study during its 2nd Quarter 2017 Meeting on 15 June 2017 at the Felipina Hall, NEDA Government Center, Palo, Leyte.

The meeting was presided over by RDC VIII-IUDC Co-Chair and Private Sector Representative (PSR) for Business Groups, Oliver Cam, on behalf of IUDC Chair and DPWH VIII Regional Director Edgar B. Tabacon.

The meeting focused on the presentation of the results of the Binahaan River Flood Study by the Alliance for Safe, Sustainable, and Resilient Environment (ASSURE) Inc., covering five (5) municipalities in Leyte: Palo, Tanauan, Dagami, Pastrana and Tabontabon. The Committee recognized the significance of the study that will mitigate flooding in these areas. As part of the endorsement, interventions by the implementing agencies such as DENR, DPWH and NIA, as well as the five LGUs and the Province of Leyte are sought. In particular, these key players are requested to include in their budgets the programs, projects and activities recommended in the study to mitigate flooding in said areas.

The objectives of said study are to: (i) determine the impacts of disasters, particularly flooding, to the households of the five LGUs, and (ii) develop a baseline data on the knowledge and practices of the households before and after a typhoon or flooding, as well household profiles. Based on the results of the study, the NEDA VIII commented on the need to come up with estimates on damages caused by flooding in the areas, of which ASSURE Inc. agreed considering that it is also part of the Terms of Reference (TOR) of said study.

Part of the program was the turn-over ceremony of the study led by Nathaniel Von Einsiedel, the ASSURE President, and his team. They handed over the printed study results, including the maps and CDs to Mayor Alvin T. Opiniano of Pastrana and representatives of the other concerned municipalities.

Also included in the agenda of the meeting were: (i) Proposed Projects in Eastern Samar under PAMANA Program for 2018 of the OPAPP; (ii) Request of Biliran Cong. Rogelio Espina for the Proposed Fund for the Maripipi Port to be Transferred and Utilized for the Extension of Naval Port Wharf; (iii) Request of Calbiga, Samar Mayor Luzviminda Nacario for Inclusion of the Evacuation Center in the DPWH VIII’s Future Infrastructure Plans; (iv) Circumferential Road and Bridges Projects of the Province of Samar; (v) Eastern Visayas RDP-RM 2017-2022; (vi) ICT Programs and Projects for Region VIII; (vii) Long-Term ad Medium-Term Water Supply Projects for Tacloban North; (viii) Updates on the Drainage System in St. Genevieve Village in Guiuan, Eastern Samar; and (ix) the Siltation of the Mangon-Bangon River in Tacloban City.

The meeting had 81 participants, including Governor Sharee Ann Tan-de los Santos of Samar; Mayor Alvin T. Opiniano of Pastrana, Leyte; Mayor Luzviminda L. Nacario of Calbiga, Samar; Nathaniel Von Einsiedel President of ASSURE; NTC VIII RD Samuel A. Young; representatives of regional line agencies, local government units, guests and resource persons, and the private sector representatives.

Julie Zanne Sevilla, On-the-Job Trainee-PMED, NEDA VIII