MANILA, Philippines -- Officials of the Catholic Bishops? Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Tuesday blamed mining and illegal logging for the sudden, heavy floods that submerged towns and villages in Central Visayas and parts of Mindanao last weekend.

The widespread destruction brought by typhoon ?Frank? (international codename: Fengshen) should serve as the administration?s ?wake up call? against what the CBCP considers destructive industries.

As forest and mountain lands are stripped to make way for mining and illegal logging operations, low-lying cities are at the mercy of the waters that come rushing down from the bare mountains during heavy rains, CBCP president and Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said in a radio interview.

His sentiments were echoed by Cotabato City Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, who said his diocese and surrounding villages have suffered heavy flooding in the past few years because rainwater from the surrounding mountains flowed down fast.

?There have been many instances of flooding in Minsalimpao in Sultan Kudarat, which is near Cotabato City. This was the first time they had this kind of flood. Many houses were submerged. This was the first time it happened in many, many years,? Bishop Bagaforo told Radio Veritas Tuesday.

Bagaforo said there were many logging operations in the provinces surrounding Cotabato City. ?There are reforested mountains and creeks in Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan provinces that are losing trees. The waters from there end up here in Cotabato City area,? he explained.

Lagdameo, whose archdiocese was one of the hardest-hit by Frank, said the government should take note of the fast and unexpected flooding in many areas.

The CBCP president said irresponsible mining and illegal logging operations, which have led to dwindling forest covers, ?contribute to what is happening today.?

?We have been advocating [against mining and illegal logging] because the mountains are getting bare. They cannot hold water anymore,? Lagdameo said.

In a statement Monday, Lagdameo described the waters that inundated Iloilo City and nearby communities as ?unexpected? and ?unprecedented.? A state of calamity was declared in the province, where floodwaters swallowed houses and highways.

The government, the archbishop said, should take note of the destruction wrought by the storm when promoting the mining industry.

Lagdameo said the mining firms? promise of wealth to the economy is outweighed by the future effects of their operations on the environment.

?Hopefully, our leaders will wake up and realize that [mining] is just a temporary solution and that we also need to preserve our environment not only for us, but to future generations,? Lagdameo.

Sister Roseanne Mallillin of the CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action-Justice and Peace said the ?places now that have been badly damaged, these are all places that are related one way or the other to irresponsible mining, quarrying, deforestation, and disappearing watersheds,? she said in an interview.

Meanwhile, CBCP officials Tuesday appealed for more help for the victims of Frank.

Caritas Manila executive director Fr. Anton Pascual said they need medicines, noodles, canned goods, and water for their relief operations in the Visayas region.

The charity organization was scheduled to dispatch an initial P500,000 worth of relief packs to the provinces of Iloilo, Antique and Sibuyan Island.

In Metro Manila, about 3,000 families were affected by the typhoon, Pascual said, adding that they have reached out to the victims in the city as well.

The CBCP-NASSA also revealed that the Catholic Church in the United States will be sending $55,000 or roughly P2.4 million for the relief efforts.

Mallillin said the fund will be coursed through the Catholic Relief Services, the humanitarian office of the United States Catholic Bishops? Conference.

Mallillin said several Church-based relief organizations like the Vatican-based Caritas Internationales and Caritas Australia pledged assistance.