Arjo Atayde IMAGE: Instagram
MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City 1st District Rep. Juan Carlos Atayde has vowed to push for the city’s flood control project should he be elected to a second term in the House of Representatives.
Atayde, in an interview after he filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) on Tuesday afternoon, said that there is a flood control project initiated by the local government unit headed by Mayor Joy Belmonte, which started with a research project when he was just about to run for Congress.
Atayde said he will pursue this project as it is part of his campaign promise.
“To tell you honestly, I do not want to preempt Mayor Joy Belmonte, but definitely there is a plan that we’re very proud about and that’s one thing I’ve been working on. And definitely the city has been working on it, of course, under the leadership of Quezon City’s mother, Mayor Joy,” he said.
READ: QC Mayor Belmonte, Sotto, Reps Atayde, Vargas file COC in reelection bid
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“There was a study two years ago when I was running , when we were starting, that is just the start and that is a research about the flood problem of the entire Quezon City. And definitely it is not alienated to people in our city that the first district is the most-affected by floods, and definitely moving forward we will pursue that project and that promise during the campaign. And definitely as years go by it is for us to show them that our promises are meant to be,” he added.
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Last September 8, Atayde said that Belmonte handed over a new flood control proposal for Quezon City from the University of the Philippines, to avoid a repeat of the floods experienced during the onslaught of Typhoon Enteng and the southwest monsoon.
“This is a new proposal based on the Quezon City Drainage Master Plan done by the University of the Philippines and funded by the Quezon City Government, which we hope to obtain funding for,” Atayde said.
“We cannot simply accept this (floods). This should not go on forever, we need to take action on this. My constituents, and the residents of Quezon City, are resilient people. But it is no longer justifiable that we had to endure this hardship every year. That’s why we need to resolve this problem,” he added.
According to Atayde, parts of the flood control program include the following segments:
- Detention Basin under Araneta Avenue
- Talayan Flood Interceptor Project, including flood interceptors in N. S. Amoranto Village, from Araneta Ave. to San Francisco River
Funding for the detention basin project can reach between P4 to P24 billion, as the proposed basin can be as long as 2.2 kilometers long and hold as much as 282,000 cubic meters of water.
The Talayan Flood Interceptor Project meanwhile seeks to accommodate 10,000 cubic meters of water, possibly costing P1.2 to P2 billion.
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Atayde was accompanied by her mother, actress Sylvia Sanchez; fellow lawmaker, Quezon City 5th District Rep. PM Vargas; Belmonte; and Vice Mayor Gian Sotto in filing his COC at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) headquarters in Greenhills, San Juan.
