DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The dike lasted only two months.
It was in February 2024, when the flood-control dike constructed along the community of Matina Gravahan partially collapsed when logs brought by floodwaters rammed into it.
The dike, completed in December 2023 at a cost of ?84 million, was supposed to shield hundreds of residents from rising waters, but residents saw how it crumpled from that incident.
What was more frustrating, aside from frequent floods that struck them, was how the repair of the dike never came.
The neglect resulted in two injuries from the people in the community — a woman and a child — who slipped on the dilapidated holes of the broken dike.
Eighteen months after it broke, the dike stands as a symbol of neglect, as residents resorted to “bayanihan spirit”, compiling wood to make ladders and makeshift barriers across it while waiting for government help that never comes.
Elisa, one of the residents, said their life was prone to chest-deep flood, but lamented that these dikes were in place supposedly to protect them, but they still experience flooding whenever the tide rises.
Like Elisa, other residents share the same frustration, pointing to visible flaws in the dike’s construction as proof of failure. For them, the collapse was no mystery—it was the inevitable result of shortcuts and substandard materials.
Evidence of substandard work and contractors cutting corners were exposed when the dike collapsed. Instead of supported foundations, residents saw rocks and ripraps loosely piled, steel missing, and quality sacrificed for profit.
“Wala dyud gitarong ang pag trabaho diri, way bakal, taplak lang ug bato dayon semento, maka survive diay na? (The work here was not done properly—there’s no steel foundations, just rocks covered with cement. Do you think that could survive?),” asks Elisa.
“Kanang naay nahugmak dira, kung naa pay bakal na di na mahugmak- naa lage bakal di sad tama ang size, wa gyud taronga ang pagtrabaho kay nanglusot ang ubang materyales (That part collapsed because if had there been proper steel, it wouldn’t have fallen—but even where there is steel, it’s not the right size. The work was really not done properly, and some of the materials were even diverted.)” said Jusie, another resident.
For more than a year, the residents are frustrated with the promises from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and local officials that the dike would be repaired.
More than a year has passed yet what they see are visits from DPWH personnel performing inspection but never coming back.
“Sige sila check, pero igo ra sa tan-aw, (They keep checking, just looking at [the damaged dike],)” Jusie and Elisa observed, They said DPWH personeel would hold out meter sticks measuring the dike, stand in circles, capturing the damage, but never did anything beyond that.
“Sigeg follow up ang tagi-ya sa yuta para ipaaayo ni para pud sa amoang mululupyo, pero wala may nahitabo (The landowner keeps following up with them when to have this fixed for the sake of the people, but nothing was changed), “Jusie added. .
Despite these persistent follow-ups, government help remains stagnant.
“Pati gani ug mabahaan mi diria wa man gani ayuda (Even when we get flooded here, we don’t even receive any aid),” complained Jusie, saying the absence of relief exacerbates the residents’ sense of abandonment, as they are struggling to recover on their own after every raging flood.
The families wonder if officials merely want to see them suffer instead of resolving their problem.
With the issue of corruption in flood control projects making headlines and triggering protests, the people in Gravahan want action to replace empty promises.
For them, ther safety is no longer just about infrastructure, but is also about accountability, transparency, and the assurance that their lives will not be put at risk by negligence and greed.
“Wala may action, dapat naa silay action para sa katawhan (There is no action; they should take action for the people),” Elisa said.
Their message is clear. Act before it’s too late. Residents already endured enough floods and fear.(davaotoday.com)
