MANILA, Philippines ? Some 200 families living along the Marikina River need to be relocated permanently as it would be dangerous for them to return to their homes after tropical storm ?Ondoy? that swamped the city and other parts of Metro Manila two weeks ago, Marikina Representative Del de Guzman said.

Speaking at the Ayes and Nays forum in Quezon City Wednesday, De Guzman said affected families were those living in Tumana, Riverside A and B, and Barangay (village) Fortune.

?We have to convince them not to come back. ? Iyong iba, may phobia na, siguro hindi na babalik [The others have phobia, maybe others won?t go back anymore],? he added.

He said relocation sites were available in Bulacan and Antipolo, but acknowledged that livelihood opportunity should also be made available to the displaced families.

De Guzman, who represents the first congressional district, also said that flashfloods in the city were not caused by water released from dams.

De Guzman said he believed that the flooding was due to the downpour the entire day of September 26, which the country?s weather bureau said was equivalent to one month?s volume of rain.

?Galing sa Antipolo iyong tubig, wala naman tayong dam sa Antipolo. Galing sa San Mateo and Montalban at sa Antipolo iyong tubig [The water came from Antipolo, we don?t have a dam in Antipolo. The water came from San Mateo and Montalban and Antipolo],? De Guzman said.

But De Guzman said he supported inquiries on the incident to determine if the flooding in other parts of Metro Manila was aggravated by the water released from dams, which have exceeded their capacity.

?We still have to know from other areas that were flooded. In Marikina, there is no dam that goes through Marikina ? If this were true, it could have added to the flood but the water really came from the mountain, that is my observation,? he said in Filipino.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. had said that he was considering filing a class suit against officials responsible for the release of water from Angat, Ipo and La Mesa dams without warning that could have caused flashfloods in Metro Manila.

The senator had said that the government should have issued a warning to the public to allow the people affected to evacuate.