House probe on Cagayan, Isabela flooding not just for finger-pointing — solon

Philippine Air Force conducts aerial reconnaissance over Cagayan on Nov. 16, 2020, amid the widespread flooding in the region. AFP-PAO

MANILA, Philippines — The investigation at the House of Representatives on the recent flooding in Cagayan and Isabela will not just be about pointing fingers on who to blame for the incident, a lawmaker said Wednesday.

During the Ugnayan sa Batasan forum, Bagong Henerasyon Partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrera, who filed a resolution calling for a probe on the flooding, said the hearings will mostly focus on finding solutions to address the problem and not on putting blame on government officials linked to the decision to release water from dams on the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses.

“Every time we do an investigation in Congress, it’s not just about pointing blame on people but to find solutions in aid of legislation as to how we could better address it,” Herrera said.

“It was a necessary thing (discharge of water from dam), now how would we avoid the necessary thing that would affect thousands of lives? ‘Yun ang kailangang i-analyze. Hindi naman ito mas more of, sinong may kasalanan, of course part of it is that but most of it is we have to find out paano natin ito maiiwasan,” she added.

(That’s what we need to analyze. It’s not about who is at fault. Of course, that is a part of it but most of it is we have to find out how we can avoid such incidents.)

For Herrera, the recent flooding in Cagayan and Isabela underscored the need for additional catchment basins in the country.

“Napakaunti ng catchment basins natin in the country. We only have 21. Imagine the numerous typhoons that we have in the country. I think 21, doon pa lang masasabi mo na e talagang magbabaha tayo,” Herrera said.

(We have very few catchment basins in the country, We only have 21. Imagine the numerous typhoons that we have in the country, I think we can say that there will be flooding with the number of catchment basins we have.)

“Kung mayroon tayong catchment basins, hindi mapupuno ng ganun ang dam. So hindi magiging necessary para magpakawala all at the same time yung dam kasi napuno siya,” she added.

(If we have more catchment basins, the dam will not be filled so it won’t be necessary to discharge water all at the same time.)

The House committee on agriculture and food has set the first hearing on the flooding in Cagayan and Isabela next week, November 24.

Quezon 1st District Rep. Mark Enverga, who chairs the committee, said that the hearing seeks to “get the facts straight,” adding that his committee will conduct a “clear, concise, and factual” probe on the issue.

“Just to be fair to all as well, it would be very hard also to realize na maybe true enough, NIA did their part, they were responsible enough in following their protocols, maybe the local government officials did not get the proper warnings—I think bottomline, we will find everything from this hearing,” Enverga said in the same forum.

Wilfredo Gloria, operations manager of the Magat River Integrated Irrigation System, has said that the NIA could not completely stop the release of water because that could result in more massive destruction as the dam’s water level was at a critical point.

/MUF