MANILA, Philippines?The National Power Corp. on Tuesday rejected calls by mayors of Pangasinan to the operations of the San Roque Dam that had been partly blamed for the flooding in the province at the height of Typhoon "Pepeng" (international codename: Parma) which struck the province and other areas of northern Luzon over two weeks ago.

"Decommissioning is not a very good way of addressing the issue of flooding,? said Napocor spokesperson Dennis Gana in a Malacañang briefing, further pointing out that it also generates irrigation water and power for Pangasinan and nearby areas.

?In fact, the dam helps in mitigating flooding,? he said. ?What caused the flooding is the big volume of water brought by Typhoon Pepeng.''

Gana said he wasn't aware if the dam lies near a fault line as the mayors claimed.