Mandaue eyes long-term solution to Guizo school flooding

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – The Mandaue City Government will implement both immediate and long-term measures to address the recurring flooding at Mayor A.S. Fortuna Memorial Elementary School.

Mayor Thadeo “Jonkie” Ouano, together with personnel from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), the City Planning and Development Office, and the City Engineering Office, inspected the school following a series of flooding incidents caused by heavy rains over the past several days.

Ouano said the flooding has persisted for decades due to the school’s low elevation and its proximity to Tipolo Creek, where heavy siltation and high tide cause water to backflow into the area.

He said the city had already been informed of the problem months ago by the school’s former principal and had prepared a P2.7-million drainage project.

However, the original design was revised, with the drainage line rerouted outside the school instead of passing through its grounds.

According to Ouano, one of the major obstacles is the narrowing of Tipolo Creek due to structures built along its banks.

He said a section of the creek, which originally measured around five to six meters wide, has been reduced to as little as half a meter in some areas, restricting the natural flow of water. The city plans to restore the creek to its original width to improve drainage and reduce flooding.

The mayor said the city will also conduct dredging operations along Tipolo Creek and may seek assistance from the national government to carry out the project.

In the meantime, the city has deployed a water pump to help remove floodwaters from the school.

However, Ouano acknowledged that the pumps have limited effectiveness during high tide because floodwaters cannot freely drain into the creek.

He appealed for the cooperation of residents, barangay officials, and the national government, saying flood mitigation is a shared responsibility that requires both immediate interventions and long-term infrastructure projects.

“Supposedly sa kilid unta sa school moagi ang mga long arm equipment pero kita mo puno og balay gihaligihan gani og semento dili siya madali. Mao na mohangyo mo sa ato kaigsuunan nagpuyo ug ni Kap tinabangay lang ta tanan nga continous ang declogging while ang city nagpadayun sad,” said Ouano.

(The long-arm equipment was supposed to pass through the side of the school, but houses have already been built there, and some even have concrete pillars, so the work cannot be done easily. That is why I am appealing to our fellow residents, together with the barangay captain, to cooperate with us. Let us all work together to ensure continuous declogging while the city also continues its efforts.)

Ouano also admitted that parts of the city’s drainage system have become outdated due to rapid urbanization and are no longer sufficient to handle the volume of runoff during heavy rains. He said the city is identifying flood-prone chokepoints where drainage improvements are most urgently needed.

In addition, he said the city is implementing flood mitigation projects in other flood-prone areas, including A.S. Fortuna Street in Barangay Banilad and Lopez Jaena Street in Barangay Tipolo, where major drainage projects are nearing completion.

The mayor acknowledged the frustrations of residents but assured them that the city government remains committed to implementing both short-term and long-term measures to mitigate flooding.

However, he urged the public to manage their expectations, stressing that flooding cannot be eliminated overnight, especially during periods of heavy rainfall.

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