Cebu residents in flood-prone areas warned to stay

vigilant against landslides, flooding, DENR-7 says

by Fayette C. Riñen

‘as Tropical depression Mina lingers in PHL’

CEBU CITY, August 23 (PIA) – Residents in landslide-prone areas in Cebu are warned to stay vigilant as the province expects rainy days ahead due to Tropical Depression Mina that continues to hang slowly in the country.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here has already issued a warning to residents in landslide-prone areas to be on alert against initial signs of any landslides or soil movement such as unusual or uneven ground protrusions. 

Local executives are also told to be guided by the geohazard map supplied by the DENR-7 to adopt the necessary measures to reduce if not prevent the impact of landslides and flooding, this is reported.

DENR-7 Regional Director Maximo O. Dichoso urged local government units to have relocation sites readied for displaced residents in case of any eventuality of landslides or flooding.

The move by the DENR-7 was based on the warning made by PAGASA-Mactan that Cebu will experience scattered rain showers and thunderstorms this week enough to cause landslides and flooding.

The other day, a heavy downpour placed major thoroughfares in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue and elsewhere creating deep flooding in main streets which was brought about by an intertropical Convergence Zone.

In Cebu City, 19 barangays have been identified as landslide-prone areas and another five areas as flood-prone, the DENR-7 stated.

State weather bureau PAGASA however, said that TD Mina will not hit land but will cause scattered to widespread rain showers and thunderstorms in Southern Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and Central Luzon while the rest of the country will experience cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms. (PIA 7-Cebu)

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PWH Cebu takes action to preserve national roads, lessen road accidents     By: Amor Saludar CEBU CITY, August 22 (PIA) – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Cebu launched an operation to regulate overloading vehicles passing national roads. The move is aimed to prohibit trailers and trucks hauling more than the limit weight of 13, 500 kilogram that will cross national roads, highways and bridges in order to preserve the durability of the infrastructure and minimize road accidents as well. Such an operation kicked off with an information caravan today from Talisay City to Carcar City in the first district of southern Cebu which was participated by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) - 7 and the Philippine National Police (PNP) -7. During the caravan, personnel of said agencies gave out leaflets and handouts to the public that contain laws and penalties of violations. Daisy Toledo of the DPWH-Cebu 2nd Engineering District n a radio interview said the caravan covered the southern municipalities and cities under the first district or those accessible to Tunghaan Bridge in Minglanilla, one of the oldest bridges in Cebu, in which all types of vehicles passed. Every municipality and city in the first district is manned by two PNP personnel who are directed to check every loading truck or trailer that pass in the area for possible overloading. Toledo said those caught hauling more than 50 percent of the maximum weight will be issued a Temporary Operation Permit (TOP).   Though the caravan initially covered only the first district, the operation would eventually be done throughout the entire province of Cebu because this is a nationwide reinforcement in which all provinces should comply, Toledo stressed. She added that if this is fully implemented, this will really help preserve the national roads, highways and bridges longer and will also lessen road accidents. Toledo on the other hand, appealed to truck operators to follow the capacity load of their trailer design because through this, the DPWH can determine whether or not a certain infrastructure needs a new or another design. (FCR/AS/PIA 7-Cebu)

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Wound treatment using soya extract wins in 2011 RICE in C. Visayas By: Juju Manubag-Empuerto CEBU CITY, August 22 (PIA) --The Pacificare wound treatment using soya extract and lactobacillus, a new innovative way to moist wound healing technology by Engr Grecilda Sanchez-Zaballero won the recently concluded 2011 Regional Invention Contest and Exhibit (RICE) in Ayala Center, Cebu City. According to Zaballero, it is the newest medical breakthrough in wound treatment, the first and only soya and lactobacillus based wound wash in the country today. The wound wash comes from live and good bacteria that promote faster healing on skin tissues and it removes odor from wounds dramatically. Sanchez-Zaballero is the daughter of the late Cebu Vice-Governor Greg Sancez and is a licensed chemical engineer. Zaballero won the creative research category in the 2011 RICE in Central Visayas announced last Friday August 19 and was awarded with a cash prize of P10, 000.  Another entry that qualified for the national invention contest in Manila on July 2012 is that of Ralph Cabrera which is the ‘Plastic Double Cavity Stanchion (a major component in offshore circular fish cage design) that awarded him P15,000  in the industrial design category. According to Cabrera, the plastic double cavity stanchion is a vital component in the assembly of mariculture circular fish cages. The unique industrial design of the double cavity stanchion allows the product to be mass produced by plastic rotational molding so it can be easily made available to fish cage assemblers, this is learned. Cabrera added that his entry is in line with the government’s objective of converting the traditional practice of fish hunting to fish farming using sustainable fish production methods. Other runner-ups include Vito Selma’s arata lounge chair and Engr. Noro Camomot’s multiple fired steam boilers for the creative research category. There were six RICE categories: invention, utility model, industrial design, creative research, student creative research for high school and student creative research for college.  The winning entries were selected based on the usefulness, market potential, presentation and demonstration, originality and creativity, among other criteria. The three-day regional invention contest and exhibit was held at the Ayala Activity Center organized by Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-7 and the Technology Application and Promotion Institute (Tapi), in line with the Investors and Invention Incentives Act of the Philippines or Republic Act 7459. This year’s theme is Imbensyon at Inobasyon:Kabalikat sa Pag-unlad and the board of judges were Dr. Danny Jarque, Hydronet consultant, Dr Eric Padin of the Intellectual Property Rights Office and Dr. Evangeline Evangeline, Dean of the College of Engineering of the Cebu Institute of Technology (FCR/JSME/PIA 7-Cebu)