The dispute between Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso and Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua continues — this time over the handling of flood control projects.
Moreno argued that the national government should no longer be involved in flood control initiatives and should instead allow local governments to manage them.
“Kapag kasi sa lokal, may pananagutan ang taumbayan. Kapag pumalpak ang alkalde, sigurado ‘yun, sisipain ng taumbayan ‘yun,” Moreno said in an interview on TrueFM 101.9’s program hosted by Ted Failon and DJ ChaCha.
Chua, speaking on the same program, countered that such an arrangement would not work, citing the interconnected nature of the national government’s flood control projects with various cities.
“Kapag hindi national government ang nag-iimplement nyan, magkakaroon din tayo ng problema,” Chua stated, warning that decentralizing the projects could lead to problems stemming from fragmented efforts among local government units (LGUs).
Manila is among the areas that suffered severe flooding last week due to Typhoons Crising, Dante, and Emong, compounded by the intensified Southwest Monsoon or Habagat.