SAN ROQUE DAM PROBE: NO EARLY WARNING SYSTEM
MANILA, OCTOBER 15, 2009 (STAR) By Aurea Calica - Representatives of two agencies and a private firm pointed at each other when senators asked them yesterday who ordered the release of huge volumes of water from the San Roque Dam in Pangasinan at the height of typhoon “Pepeng” last week.At Malacañang, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that the dam’s manager must answer complaints from officials and residents of Pangasinan about the massive flooding that destroyed several houses.
“The instruction was given yesterday to the manager of San Roque Dam to review what had been brought out as a complaint because of the untimeliness of the release of the water, (since) some local executives were complaining that there was not enough time to inform the people,” he said.
During the hearing, Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. told the senators and members of the House of Representatives that he only received a text message from an official of the San Roque Power Corp. that the dam’s floodgates would be opened while rains from Pepeng were pouring in his province.
“Do you know our fax number?” Espino asked Russel Rigor, San Roque Dam principal hydrologist.
In response, Rigor said they got a copy of the fax numbers of municipalities, and that people were assigned to send the advisories.
The National Power Corp. sent fax messages to local governments that the floodgates would be opened, he added.
Rigor said the release of water from the dam is based on the discretion of the person on duty at the facility.
However, he said he did not order the release of water, and instead pointed to Alex Palada, Napocor flood forecasting and warning system for dam operations division manager.
Napocor decides whether water should be released from the San Roque Dam, he added.
However, there was no protocol or systematic order to warn the public that the dam’s floodgates would be opened, according to Rigor, San Roque engineer Raymund Mariano and administrator Prisco Nilo of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
Rigor said San Roque should be getting information from Pagasa on the amount of rain that would fall.
However, the weather agency had been complaining that it did not have the Doppler radar to do that.
On the other hand, San Roque officials were only following “written instructions” from Napocor on the release of water from the dam on Oct. 6, Mariano said.
It was not automatic for them to inform the media about the release of water, according to Rigor and Nilo.
Pagasa would only announce the opening of a dam’s floodgates out of concern, not as part of its job, Nilo added.
They would actually have to go through the National Disaster Coordinating Council, Nilo said.
San Roque would open floodgates three to six hours before, and municipalities would be informed through fax or patrol cars deployed to deliver the message, Mariano said.
However, Espino said Tommy Valdez, San Roque Power Corp. vice president, only texted him and other mayors that water would be released.
They only knew that the floodgates would be opened through local leaders and non-government organizations, he added.
There was no early warning system and the water release was too sudden, Espino insisted.
The release of water from San Roque Dam was believed to be the reason why many areas in Pangasinan were submerged.
Several residents in Pangasinan were still in their homes when the floodwaters suddenly rushed in, leaving them with no time to evacuate.
Ermita said it is up to the concerned individuals or groups from Pangasinan if they want to pursue the class suit against Napocor and the San Roque Multipurpose Project.
“It would not be proper for us to tell them do not pursue (since) they are the ones affected. But we will look into it so it won’t be repeated.”
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde welcomed the Senate probe and said that the results will be added as inputs in the actions of the Executive branch in response to the calamities.
“First of all, we welcome the investigation that is being conducted by the Senate,” he said.
“Second, we are watching the investigation and third, whatever information that has come out of the investigation, those that can be acted upon will be immediately acted upon by the Executive.”
Remonde said President Arroyo has ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways to make the necessary repairs after local officials of Pangasinan raised their concerns about the dikes damaged by the floods.
“We will do anything and everything that is necessary in parallel or independently of what the legislature is doing to ensure, to improve disaster response and risk management in our country which is now being rocked by national disasters,” he said.
The newly created reconstruction commission would look into the cause of flooding in Pangasinan and other parts of Northern Luzon, Remonde said. – With Marvin Sy
'Don't blame Teodoro on boat purchase' By Jaime Laude (The Philippine Star) Updated October 15, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - An official of the defense department clarified yesterday that Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who is also chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), had authorized the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) as early as last March to purchase 100 rubber boats for search and rescue operations during typhoons and other calamities.
Defense Undersecretary for Legal Affairs and Strategic Concerns Alberto Valenzuela dismissed reports that Teodoro should be blamed for the failure of the OCD to buy the Rigid Hull Inflatable Rubber Boats (RHIBs) that could have been used during the floods caused by tropical storm “Ondoy” that ravaged Metro Manila and nearby provinces last Sept. 26. The OCD is an agency directly under the supervision of the NDCC.
“Defense Secretary Teodoro authorized the procurement of RHIBs as early as March 6, 2009 through negotiated procurement if necessary, records at the Department of National Defense (DND) showed,” Valenzuela said.
Valenzuela said Teodoro’s handwritten note bore the condition for the procurement: “If bidding cannot be expeditiously done, why can we not bid and have delivery within four months.”
Teodoro came under attack for reportedly causing delay in the procurement of the rubber boats, which could have been used during rescue operations in Metro Manila.
“There is no basis for the allegation that Secretary Teodoro delayed the procurement of the RHIBs,” he said.
The OCD, which was then under Anthony Golez, now one of the presidential deputy spokesmen, decided to conduct a public bidding to ensure transparency and accountability, after Teodoro signed the Acquisition Decision Memorandum No. 2009-003, Valenzuela said.
Valenzuela said that as of December 2008, OCD had distributed 182 RHIBs and Inflatable Rubber Boats (IRBs) to various local government units, government agencies and the OCD’s regional offices, since they are the NDCC’s frontline operators.
He said that poor LGUs in flood-prone areas were given priority for the rubber boats.
“Local government units who have more resources are capable of buying their own boats,” he said.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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