LINGAYEN, Pangasinan ? The release of water from the San Roque Dam on Thursday was ?too sudden,? according to Vice Governor Marlyn Primicias Agabas.

?There should be a protocol,? she said, adding that dam officials should not have waited for the water to reach a critical level before deciding to open the gates.

Earlier, Agabas became worried on being informed that the dam located in San Manuel town was opening all its six spillway gates on Thursday.

Agabas knew that her hometown, San Nicolas, and other Pangasinan towns along the Agno River would be submerged with the release of the water. She became even more worried as images of the massive floods that hit Metro Manila on September 26 flashed in her mind.

The Agno River, Pangasinan?s major river system, traverses 17 towns and a city from San Manuel to Lingayen as it flows from the Cordillera and drains into the Lingayen Gulf.

In Manila, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said the administrators of the San Roque Dam should explain to the public their decision to release huge amounts of water on Thursday.

?I don?t know if the amounts were enough ... I would like those questions answered too ... I would like those questions to be explained clearly to the public so they?ll really know what happened,? Teodoro told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

?I think they?re trying to explain already, but when the time comes, after we?re [done] with the relief [operations], they should explain in the proper forum,? he said.

Asked about the possible liability of the dam administrators, Teodoro said: ?I really can?t say because it?s a technical question. Maybe if they hadn?t done it and the dam burst ... But I can?t say at this time, and I want to know.?

Immediately, Agabas told the officials of villages along Agno River of the water release. At the provincial capitol, Governor Amado Espino Jr. ordered the evacuation of people living on the river banks.

Released at a rate of 2,500 cubic meters per second (cms) and, later in the night, at 5,072 cms, the dam?s excess water was like a glass of water poured on an anthill, sending everyone scampering for their lives.

As a consequence, thousands of people, many of them children and elderly, spent the night on their rooftops as heavy rains poured on Thursday.

On Friday morning, 30 eastern and central Pangasinan towns were under water. The flooding was compounded by the rise in water level of the province?s other river systems.

Affected towns

The release of water from the San Roque Dam usually affects certain areas in Pangasinan, including the towns of San Manuel, San Nicolas, Tayug, Sta. Maria, Asingan, Villasis, Alcala, Bautista, Rosales, and Bayambang.

But according to the National Power Corp. (Napocor), the release of water from dams is necessary to preserve the structures? integrity and stability, and to protect low-lying communities from severe flooding.

Napocor had said that while the release of water from the dams might have partly added to the floods in northern Luzon, it was mostly the unusually high volumes of rainfall that caused the massive floods.

It had claimed that it followed a strict protocol prior to their dams? release of water.

The protocol includes the dissemination of warnings and notices to the concerned local governments and communities hours before the planned water release, it had said.

In August 2004, the San Roque Dam opened two of its spillway gates at half a meter each due to the rains dumped by Typhoon ?Marce.?

In November 2007, it opened two of its gates at one-fourth meter each when Typhoon ?Queenie? struck.

On both occasions, the dam?s water level had barely reached its critical level of 280 meters above sea level (masl).

Panicky folk

To compound the floods, rumors that the San Roque Dam had cracked or broken following the onslaught of typhoon ?Pepeng? caused much panic among residents of Pangasinan.

But Tom Valdez, vice president of San Roque Power Corp. (SRPC), yesterday said in a phone interview that this was impossible because the dam was sturdy and in good condition.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) also quoted the SRPC as saying that the dam was ?intact and there is no crack.?

?The dam is strong and firm and there will be no dam break,? the NDCC said in a situation report at noon yesterday.

Nevertheless, Valdez said, the San Roque Dam still had to release water because of the continuous residual flow of water from the Ambuklao and Binga Dams in Benguet.

3 of dam?s 6 gates closed

?We still don?t know when we can stop releasing water because we?re still getting a substantial inflow from the two dams and also monitoring for possible rainfall,? he said.

Valdez reported that as of yesterday afternoon, San Roque Dam was still receiving water from the Ambuklao and Binga Dams at 1,200 cms.

The good news, he said, was that three of the dam?s six gates had already been closed.

These three gates were releasing water at a rate of 700 cms, down from over 5,000 cms, at the height of Pepeng. The water level at the dam was about 288.6 meters yesterday, Valdez said.

But the heavy rains over northern Luzon have caused record water inflows into the Ambuklao and Binga Dams, resulting in the spilling of water into the Agno River, said SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP)-Benguet.

SNAP said in a statement that there was no reported damage to the dams, but some homes and structures in the surrounding communities had been severely affected.

It said it had launched relief activities.

SNAP-Benguet is the owner of the hydroelectric power plants operating in Ambuklao and Binga.

Flood control component

The San Roque Dam started releasing excess water on Wednesday when its water level was already 286.7 masl. (Its maximum level is 290 masl.)

Governor Espino said he was sure there would be massive flooding when dam officials told him all spillway gates would be opened.

?That?s why I ordered an immediate evacuation of residents. I even went around the eastern Pangasinan towns to tell them to get ready,? he said.

Espino said he was surprised when the dam officials told him that Agno River would be able to absorb the water it was releasing.

?Why did they have to say that?? he said.

Valdez said that in keeping the dam?s water level above its ?normal high level? of 280 meters, his firm was trying to maximize its capacity.

?What you are seeing is the flood control component of the dam at work,? he said.

Valdez said there was no sudden water release because dam officials were just trying to balance the dam?s outflow and inflow.

?It was very difficult to predict the erratic movement of ?Pepeng? at that time,? he said, adding:

?Our rain gauges were recording a fluctuating amount of rainfall. That?s why even the water released from the dams upstream was also fluctuating.?

Vice Governor Agabas said the residents of eastern Pangasinan towns had opposed the dam?s construction in 1992 because of the potential danger of flooding.

?But we were later convinced to allow its construction because the proponents were saying that the dam?s irrigation component would benefit thousands of farmers in Pangasinan and Tarlac,? Agabas said.

?Unfortunately, six years after its operation in 2003, the dam?s irrigation component is still not there,? she said.

Critical infra ruined

Teodoro cited reports that the strong currents that swept Pangasinan as the dam drained its supply had destroyed critical infrastructure, particularly Bued Bridge that provided access into Pangasinan?s inner towns.

?I think, like it or not, they should?ve communicated more directly even through major networks, major radio stations for information purposes. And it?s their burden. They cannot just pass notices to us when they know it will affect a lot of people?s lives,? he said.

Mining operations

The militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) also called on the Arroyo administration to look into the large-scale mining operations in the province of Benguet, saying these might have aggravated the effects of Pepeng.

?Benguet ... has hosted large mines for over a century now and has a history of deadly landslides. It is particularly vulnerable during typhoons,? Bayan said in a statement.

?When the rescue and relief work is done, the Arroyo government should have the political will to investigate the causes of the landslides and floods,? it said. With a report from Tarra Quismundo