DRY LAND SHRINKS An aerial survey by the Philippine Air Force shows riverside settlements in the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan disappearing as water from Cagayan River rises. The government has recommended the dredging of sections of Cagayan River to ease flooding in Cagayan Valley region. —PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE
MANILA, Philippines — Two more senators are seeking a Senate investigation into the massive flooding spurred by the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses in Luzon provinces.
Senator Risa Hontiveros filed Senate Resolution No. 571, which pushed for a probe into the man-made causes of the severe flooding in Cagayan, Rizal and Marikina City “to create policy that better prepares the country for future calamities.”
“We need to study the gaps and fill them immediately. This can’t keep on happening. Especially now, the climate disasters in the middle of a pandemic have created unique problems never before seen in the country,” Hontiveros said in a statement Tuesday.
“It is our responsibility to take seriously the protection of nature, investigate human-made causes of flooding and drastically upgrade the country’s preparedness and response,” she added.
The senator also pointed out “shocking” online images and audio recordings from Isabela and Cagayan Valley circulating online of residents calling for rescue amid intense flooding following the release of water from Magat Dam.
“The audio recordings were chilling. The cries of our countrymen and women sounded like they were abandoned in the pits of hell.The devastation of those floods is on us,” she said.
“The floods swept away the lives and livelihood of millions without warning, which could have been avoided if the alarm was rung loudly before they opened the dam,” she added.
Hontiveros also attributed the increased vulnerability of the Philippines in intense typhoons to the exploitation of the country’s natural resources.
Citing conservation experts from Masungi Georeserve, the senator said the flooding could have been caused by illegal logging and land-grabbing in the Upper Marikina Watershed and Sierra Madre despite legal protections under the National Integrated Protected System (NIPAS) law.
The logging “massively diminished” the capacity of the mountain range to buffer the National Capital Region and Rizal Province from the ravage of the strong typhoons, she noted.
“Alin dito ang talagang kasalanan natin? [Which of these is our fault?] We need to know the answers immediately before the next typhoon hits. Natural calamities are beyond our control and can be unpredictable, but there are causes to the historic devastation of Typhoon Ulysses that could have been addressed,” Hontiveros said.
“We are not new to natural disasters. Paulit-ulit ang kwento. Napapagod at nagagalit ang taumbayan [The stories are the same. The public is already tired and angry], and rightly so. Let’s find out what is really causing this vicious cycle, and change the story once and for all,” she added.
Senator Francis Pangilinan said he will also be filing a resolution seeking an investigation into the massive flooding in Cagayan Valley.
“Sunod-sunod na mga sakuna ang nangyari sa bansa nitong mga nakaraang linggo, pero dapat pa ring tanungin: Naiwasan kaya ito kung na-control nang maayos ang pagbukas ng mga flood gates ng Magat Dam? Kung nabigyan ba ng sapat na warnings ang ating mga kababayan na tatamaan ng mga pagbaha?” Pangilinan said in a separate statement.
(Calamities continue to come but we need to ask: Could this have been prevented if the release of water from Magat Dam was controlled properly? If residents that will be affected by flooding were given enough warnings?)
Pangilinan, who formerly chaired the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) from 2014 to 2015, said there are protocols that should have been followed on dam discharge and flood warning.
He said that the release of water from dams should be coordinated with the state weather bureau and the local governments, especially when it comes to issuing early warnings to residents.
“Kailangan din dapat nagsagawa ng inspections o kaya checkup sa mga warning stations at equipment. Ang pagbababala rin ay dapat through texts, radio, local TV—lahat ng paraan,” the senator added.
(Inspections or a checkup of the warnings stations and equipment should be conducted. Warnings should be sent through texts, radio, local TV—and all other ways.)
“Sa madaling sabi, kung nasunod ang mga protocol at napaghandaan nang maayos si Ulysses, maaring naiwasan sana ito,” he also said.
(In short, if these protocols were followed and there was enough preparation for Ulysses, this would not have happened.)
Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla earlier filed a similar resolution, which directed the proper Senate committee to investigate “confluence of factors” that led to massive flooding in Luzon following the onslaught of recent typhoons.