LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte (PIA) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed to rebuild the damaged dike in Barangay Gabu in this city, which was wrecked during the onslaught of Super Typhoon Julian in the province.
The President led a site inspection of the collapsed dike on October 4 to assess the extent of the damage and to plan an urgent response to restore the critical flood protection infrastructure.
He assured that together with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the dike will be reconstructed and redesigned to be stronger in times of calamities.
“I gave instructions to Secretary Manny Bonoan regarding the dike. Our current design can no longer handle it, so we need to replace it. We are thinking of a road dike. Instead of just slope protection, we will add a road, because what happened here was that water from the inside pushed the dike outward, causing it to sink into the river. That’s why it was damaged. So we will change the design,” the president said.
During the inspection, President Marcos Jr. was accompanied by Ilocos Norte First District Congressman Sandro Marcos, Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, DPWH Undersecretary for Regional Operations Eugenio Pipo Jr., and DPWH Ilocos Regional Director Ronnel Tan for their input on the structure.
According to Brgy. Gabu-Norte’s Punong Barangay, Glenda Raquino, the damaged dike was one of the causes of the excessive flooding in the barangay during the typhoon.
“The damage to the dike really scared us, so what I did was mobilize barangay watchmen and officials to tell people to evacuate their homes, especially those close to the dike. We managed to evacuate some to barangay centers and schools, while others went to relatives who weren’t as affected,” she said.
The punong barangay also expressed her elation and gratitude to the national government for their swift response.
“We are reassured and grateful to hear that President Marcos has a plan to improve the dike to make it stronger,” she added.
The damaged dike was under DPWH project 24AA0129, or the construction/rehabilitation of flood mitigation facilities within major river basins and principal rivers and construction of flood mitigation structures along Laoag River Basin in Brgy. Gabu-Norte with a project cost of P47,029,948.09.
Based on the latest available data from the Laoag City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) on October 1, the city incurred damages worth P48,763,292 in agriculture and P142,700,000 in infrastructure.
The CDRRMO reported one fatality, an evacuee who suffered a fatal heart attack.
Affected families in the city reached 8,578. (AMB/EJFG, PIA Ilocos Norte)
