House to probe flooding in Cagayan, Isabela

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will investigate the circumstances behind the heavy flooding that submerged the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses (international name Vamco).

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, along with House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez and Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano, filed House Resolution 1348, directing the appropriate committees to immediately conduct the probe.

“As the death toll continues to rise and the extent of damage is slowly being revealed, there is an urgent need to examine the actions that were taken during, before and after the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses,” Velasco said.

In seeking an inquiry, the House officials cited the “gravity and unprecedented nature of the situation, the geographic propensity of the country to natural calamities and the need to prevent similar situations from occurring.”

In a related development, the Office of Civil Defense in the Cordillera Administrative Region has urged the government to upgrade their early warning and flood monitoring system.

Alberto Mogol, director of OCD-CAR, stressed to lawmakers at a virtual hearing conducted by the House special committee on North Luzon Growth Quadrangle the importance of having equipment that will provide accurate information about disasters.

He explained that massive flooding in the two northern Luzon provinces was the result of an “orographic effect” or a weather phenomenon in which moist air is lifted as it moves over a mountain range, causing clouds to form to become the source of rain.

“Because of this orographic effect, we are having a precipitation and water does not just go away and does not move to just one side. And all of these were poured over the eastern side of Cagayan Valley. That’s why the dam swelled, and the rivers too,” Mogol explained.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, meanwhile, said the plan of some local governments to sue dam administrators may not succeed as there were other factors that caused floods.

Among the LGUs that have assailed dam administrators for releasing water at the height of the Typhoon Ulysses are those of Marikina and the Cagayan Valley.

“If they file suit, they might not be successful because you have to prove that the dam was the proximate cause... It is the cause without which the cause of actions could not have occurred and I don’t know how they can prove that; but as far as suing is concerned, that is their right but I have serious doubts if it will prosper – as a lawyer,” he added. Roque said climate change was one of the factors that caused floods.

The Palace spokesman said water is released from dams to prevent them from breaking.

“If we don’t release water, the dams would explode and if it happens, many would be affected,” Roque said.

Last Sunday, President Duterte defended the decision of agencies to release water from dams.

“You have to release it otherwise we’ll have a catastrophe,” the President told reporters in Camarines Sur.

Roque also said the Philippine National Police (PNP) has to explain the presence of illegal mining in Cagayan.

PNP explanation needed

He said illegal mining activities do not have licenses so the issue is “a matter of enforcement.”

“If they were given licenses, they (officials) can be criticized. But (Environment) Secretary (Roy) Cimatu has clarified that they do not have licenses so they are illegal,” Roque said.

“So of course the PNP will have to more or less come up with an explanation on why there was unauthorized mining activities in the area because that’s a matter also of enforcement. So in that sense, there may have been lapses because there are illegal mining activities ongoing which should have been stopped,” he added.

Roque, however, said authorities may not have penetrated isolated areas of the Sierra Madre.

“They have limited enforcement so I would accept that we need to better enforce and implement the laws banning illegal mining even in secluded areas, remote and secluded areas such as the Sierra Madre range,” he added.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), for its part, called for an end to what it called the blame game.

“Nobody would like this to happen. We cannot stop the heavy rains that Ulysses brought. But this miserable incident gives us a lesson,” NIA administrator Ricardo Visaya said in a text message, emphasizing that protocols on dam discharge had been observed.

“We now know the causes of the flooding and it takes a whole nation approach to solve them. This is not the time of blaming but uniting,” he said.

Lawyer Terry Ridon, convenor of the infrastructure watchdog InfrawatchPH, earlier blamed NIA for the destructive effect of Magat Dam’s water release and called for Visaya’s resignation. Senators have called for an investigation.

“We have no problem with the senators’ call to probe the NIA,” Visaya said. “It is unfortunate that heavy flooding happened in the Cagayan-Isabela area. We feel pity for the misfortunes experienced by the victims,” he said.

Visaya reiterated that NIA did everything to manage water releases, which started as early as Nov. 9.

“We have a lead time of six to 10 hours that we give before we release water to ensure that residents along the waterways can evacuate,” he said.

Visaya said there is a need to desilt the Cagayan River. He added that illegal logging in the mountain ranges should be stopped and watersheds protected. – Alexis Romero, Louise Maureen Simeon