The newly acquired vacuum jetting truck or vactor truck of the City Government of Davao, which is managed by the Ancillary Services Unit (ASU), has made its maiden operation on Thursday.
ASU Engineer Franz Japeth Caballero told Madayaw on Friday that they started the operations along Padre Faura Street on Thursday and continued it Friday.
“So diri sa Padre Faura, this is our second day of operation first day of operation palang natanggal na nato ang bara. Ang ginabuhat nalang nato is finishing touches nalang, ginapababa nalang gyud namo ang tubig ang gamay na lapok na wala namo nakuha gahapon, gipakuha na namo karon (This is our second day of operation here in Padro Faura. During our first day we already removed the cause of the clogging. What we are doing now are just finishing touches, we reduce the retained water and silt which we were not able to remove yesterday),” she said.
Caballero said that they intend to use the truck daily to de-clog drainage in downtown streets.
“Gipaningkamutan namo nga tibuok downtown ang coverage ani. As of the moment downtown usa and in the near future tibuok Davao gyud ang maserbisyohan na po. (We endeavor to
cover the whole downtown. As of the moment we [will cater only to] downtown, and in the future the whole Davao City),” he said.
He said that specific target downtown areas, which were identified with the help of the City Engineer’s Office, are San Pedro, Magallanes, Bolton and Ilustre.
Caballero added that having the newly acquired truck is a huge advantage.
“May nalang naa mi vactor karon nga dako kaayog tabang sa atong manpower. Last year, a few years back wala pa ning vactor namo manpower lang ang amoa naglisud gyud ang atong tao kay wala mi equipment maayo nalang gyud karon nga gitagaan nami og unit (it is a good thing that we have a vactor now, which is a huge help to our manpower. Last year, and a few years back, we do not have these vactor we only have manpower who faced challenges in declogging),” he added.
With the vacuum truck, Caballero said their operation is now more sanitary since less people are required to go down the canals as only the hose collects the silt and other things that clog drainage.
“Mas kusog ang iyang pressure so mas dako ang iyang capacity na makakuha sa silt, not just silt and water but also sebo sa ilalom..Kaning jetting equipment namo mao na ang mutanggal and magpahumok sa barado nga yuta, graba ug unsa pa nga nakabara sa drainage system (It has strong pressure that gives it high capacity to remove the silt, water, and also hardened grease, fait, or oil inside the canals. The jetting equipment softens the soil and other blockage in the drainage system),” he said.
Caballero urged Dabawenyos to jointly care for the canals by not throwing their trash on them and preventing clogs that worsen flood occurrences.
Meanwhile, Barangay 32-D Kagawad Allen Bantayan also told Madayaw that he is thankful for the equipment that helped declog their drainage system.
“Dako kaayo ko ug pasalamat sa City Government of Davao sa paspas na pagresponde sa ingon ani nga problema sa pagbaha kay barado na ang mga drainage. Pasalamat pud ko aning vactor kay since gahapon sayo kaayo sila nag adto diri and hangtod karon naa gihapon, daghan salamat sa kasulbaran sa among drainage system nga na barado (I am very thankful to the City Government of Davao for the quick response to this kind of flooding problem caused by clogged drainage. I am also grateful to the vactor team because they came here very early yesterday and are still here until now. Many thanks for resolving the blockage in our drainage system),” he said.
Bantayan said that they also conduct house to house campaigns to inform their constituents about proper waste disposal to maintain the canals. CIO Written by: K.Cañedo Edited by: A. Nawal
