Dutch, Lingayeneans Build Dikes; Why Dagupenos could not Emulate Them

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Since the sides of Barangays Pantal and Bonuan Gueset in Dagupan City face the sea and are vulnerable to flooding during the high tide, why not our stakeholders emulate how the Dutch constructed their soil embankment and dikes.

SEA DIKE keeping Delfzijl in the The Netherlands and surroundings dry in 1994.

Soil dike is not new to us, there is one that snakes in Lingayen to the town of Urbiztondo and the City of San Carlos in Pangasinan. I heard they were constructed during the American colonization of the Philippines. They are sturdy as they still protect the people and their properties whenever water swell outside the dikes.

Here"s Wikipedia on how the people of the The Netherlands (called Dutch as I cited earlier) neutralized the sea that is higher than the dry land in two third of the country:

"Flood control is an important issue for the Netherlands, as due to its low elevation, approximately two thirds of its area is vulnerable to flooding, while the country is densely populated. Natural sand dunes and constructed dikes, dams, and floodgates provide defense against storm surges from the sea. River dikes prevent flooding from water flowing into the country by the major rivers Rhine and Meuse, while a complicated system of drainage ditches, canals, and pumping stations (historically: windmills) keep the low-lying parts dry for habitation and agriculture".

If the Dutch have survived since the first century the scourge of the sea, why not the "wise guys' of the Department of Public Works & Highway ( DPWH) and the City Hall of Dagupond Shitty, err, Dagupan City could not do it that includes expropriation on those affected properties if necessary?

If the Lingayeneans nearby did it, why not we Dagupenos?!

Dutch, err, that's a big question now!