Wednesday, October 15, 2008 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
By Grace L. Plata
THE Davao City Council Committee on Housing recommended a third party study on the much-opposed subdivision developments in Shrine Hills to ascertain that feared landslides would not occur.
This was contained in the report submitted by the committee during Tuesday's session to put an end to the arguments between the developers and the residents in Ma-a.
The residents at the foot of the hill in Ma-a are not confident of the studies and the assurances made by the developers, saying what they (developers) are doing on the flanks of the hills will not cause the land to tumble down on them.
"The committee is convinced that engineering interventions could avoid landslide but would like to lean on the comfort of a third study to totally ensure that such a tragedy will not occur. The committee looks at the development and widening of Luho Creek as an inadequate solution to the flooding problem and [that] a new main drain towards the Davao River must be identified and developed to absorb outfall from Shrine Hills," the report said.
The recommendation was anchored on the committee's view that it is at a position where it could not decide at a committee level on the application of the developers for a Preliminary Approval and Location Clearance (PALC), considering that the issues involve risks to life and property. Thus, the matter was elevated to the discussion of the City Council as a committee of the whole.
Trinidad Homeowners President and officer of the Ma-a Homeowners Federation Norma Javellana, who was also present Tuesday, said they have no objection to the third party study.
Councilor Pilar Braga, in a letter to the City Council, also endorsed Sanda Geronimo Catane, associate professor of the National Institute of Geological Sciences in the University of the Philippines, Diliman, should the body need the services of an independent geologist.
