Floods do not respect municipal boundaries, and Cebu’s provincial government wants its response to work the same way.

Instead of relying on a centralized approach, Gov. Pamela Baricuatro has ordered all local government units in the province to organize flood control task forces grouped into three geographic clusters — North, Central and South — under Executive Order 74.

The clusters will consolidate local flood-control plans before forwarding them to the provincial task force, creating what the provincial government hopes will become a coordinated strategy for tackling one of Cebu’s most persistent problems.

“Rather than being directed solely from the provincial level, each LGU must form a flood control task force that reports to one of three clusters,” Baricuatro told the DAILY TRIBUNE.

Provincial Planning and Development Office head Elizar Sabinay Jr. said the approach starts where flooding actually begins — in barangays and municipalities that understand their own terrain.

Instead of prescribing one-size-fits-all solutions, local governments will identify projects based on conditions in their communities, then classify them according to how quickly they can be carried out.