Court won’t buy power firms’ defense on ’09 flooding

ROSALES, Pangasinan—A court here denied the motion of the San Roque Power Corp. (SRPC) and the National Power Corp. (Napocor) seeking to dismiss two damage suits for widespread flooding in eastern Pangasinan at the height of Typhoon “Pepeng” in 2009.

In an order issued on Aug. 31, Judge Teodorico Alfonso Bauzon of the Rosales regional trial court threw out SRPC’s arguments that it could not be held liable for the floods that hit 36 towns and cities of Pangasinan because it only receives orders from Napocor. The flooding was attributed to the late release of excess water from the San Roque Dam in San Manuel town.

Bauzon said the two companies should have been in close coordination during the onslaught of Pepeng so they could calibrate the amount of water that would be released. Napocor owns the San Roque Dam and spillway, while SRPC owns and operates power-generating facilities in the complex.

“Based on the exacting descriptions provided by [Napocor and SRPC on their] participation in the dam management, it’s crystal clear that they are both actively involved in the management of the dam,” he said.

The cases were filed by Goldon Agritec Products Inc., a fertilizer manufacturer and distributor based in Barangay Carmen here, and by rice miller Tranquilino Tan. Goldon Agritec said it lost P12.9 million worth of goods to the floods while Tan lost P11 million, representing rice and palay submerged under water and his damaged rice mill, warehouse, equipment and vehicles.

Tommy Valdez, SRPC vice president for corporate social responsibility, said the company has received a copy of the motion but said he could not comment until the firm’s lawyers decide what action to take next.

In his order, Bauzon said Napocor, through flood operations manager Alex Palada, provides instructions on when and how much water to release from the dam while SRPC opens the spillway after receiving those instructions.

“Under this setup, it cannot be said the Napocor alone is the active one while SRPC is the passive one because under their power purchase agreement, it is the SRPC which maintains the spillway gates,” Bauzon said.

He ordered SRPC and Napocor to file their answers within 15 days after receipt of his order.

Goldon Agritec sued on July 31, 2010 Napocor president and CEO Froilan Tampinco, SRPC president and CEO Ryukichi Kawaguchi, Valdez and Palada.

Goldon Agritec, represented by businessman Rosendo So, said floodwater as high as 2.43 meters entered its warehouse in Barangay Carmen, destroying all fertilizers stored there in October 2009.

Rice miller Tan, represented by his son Roger, also named Tampinco, Kawaguchi, Valdez and Palada in his complaint. The Tans own the Anson Rice Mill in Carmen East, a village along the Agno River.

The dikes protecting villages here from floods collapsed because of the raging water released into the waterway by the San Roque Dam.

The sudden surge of water caused the river to swell and destroyed dikes along the Agno River in Rosales, Villasis and Bayambang towns.