Hizon prepares for rainy season

Hizon prepares for rainy season

BY: JOEL P. MAPILES









BACOLOR, Pamp. --- Newly elected Mayor Jose Maria Hizon yesterday assured his constituents that his administration will work double time to mitigate flooding here, which would possibly come from Gugu River in the event of heavy downpours this rainy season.

Asked if he would put additional check gates along the Gugu Dike, Mayor Hizon said he would implement the construction of additional check gates if the situation necessitates, depending upon the availability of municipal funds.

Hizon said he would make his line open for coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and other higher officials for proper disposition, planning and funding intended for the mitigation and flood prevention in this town.

He said with the support of his constituents and fellow local officials, they could work hand-in-hand for the protection of the lives and properties of the people in this town.

“There is no substitute for better cooperation and effective preparation in times of calamity,” Hizon said.

One of his priorities, he said, is the status of families of the farmers who depend mostly on agriculture.

It can be recalled that Mayor Hizon has actively been working for his proposal to armor the Gugu Ring Dike which covers barangays Cabalantian, Mesalipit, Talba and Tinajero since the time he was president of the Liga ng mga Barangay in this town.

Hizon believes that if the Gugu Dike would be protected, it will be most beneficial to farmer-residents here, saying that floodwaters which have devastated the said barangays in the past can now be used to irrigate some 1,500 hectares of farm lands.

Hizon claimed that the 1,500 hectares of land can produce 75,000 cavans of palay in one harvest, while in a year, farmers can harvest as much as three times, yielding 225,000 cavans a year.
“Maragul yang saup ini kareng ortelanu kareng barangay a reni, with more than 200,000 cavans harvested in a year,” he said.

The mayor said if they could work for the protection of the Gugu Dike, this would help the food security program of the government and will provide livelihood to the people here.

It can also be surmised that when the mayor was a first-term barangay chairman, he was personally funded a water gate in Cabalantian, costing only P80,000 then.