Damning the dams for the flood

Despite the pounding of strong winds and heavy rains stirred by typhoon Harurot in Pangasinan last Tuesday, the “listening tour” of business tycoon and prospective presidential wannabe Danding Cojuangco in Urdaneta City was well attended by various political leaders of the province.

Except for first district Rep. Arthur Celeste and Speaker Jose de Venecia, who was reportedly in Indonesia for a speaking engagement at that time, all of the province’s congressmen were there. Gov. Victor Agbayani, Vice Gov. Oscar Lambino, provincial board members and almost all of the mayors in the province were there, too.

The Urdaneta Cultural Center, where the miting-de-avance-like consultation took place, was bursting to the seams as delegation after delegation walked in to give Boss Danding a warm welcome. As journalist-friend Eva Visperas wrote in the Philippine Star, Boss Danding took Pangasinan by storm.

With the province’s political leaders’ presence in that consultation and the outpouring of their all-out support to Boss Danding’s presidential bid, no one from among Boss Danding’s prospective opponents in next year’s presidential race will have any chance in Pangasinan anymore. Not even Ping Lacson, who is “Manugang na Pangasinan” or FPJ, who is from Barangay Caoayan Kiling in San Carlos City.

But, what is interesting to see is when GMA finally changes her mind and decides to run. Well, this is just a passing thought.

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As of this writing, typhoon Harurot is already unleashing its fury in southern China after leaving at least six persons dead and destroying crops and properties in several towns and cities in the country, Pangasinan included.

But just when everybody thought that the typhoon is gone and that the skies have cleared, rampaging floodwaters submerged Dagupan City and nearby towns and surprised everyone.

As usual, everybody is asking, “Why?” or “Where did the water come from?”

In the past, it was convenient to blame the defunct National Power Corp., which operates the Ambuklao and Binga hydroelectric dams in Benguet province. Everytime the NPC announces then that it has opened the spillway gates of these dams, flooding in central Pangasinan is almost automatic in just a matter of hours.

But with the construction of the San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam in San Manuel town, it is no longer easy to blame the dams for the floods. (By the way, with the signing into law of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, the NPC has been abolished and new organizations, such as the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. and the National Transmission Corp., have been created. I am not sure what agency is in-charge of the San Roque dam, which is an independent power producer.)

This is because the San Roque dam, which is located downstream, is supposed to serve as a catch-basin for all the excess water released by the two dams upstream. This was what our officials were repeatedly telling us when opposition to the San Roque dam project was gathering strength – that with the San Roque dam, flooding is gone.

Ironically, when the San Roque dam was commissioned last June by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, there was severe flooding in the province that the ceremonies had to be held in Malacanang. That flooding would occur again today.

Over the local airwaves, the nagging question is, “Did San Roque release excess water?”

We cannot expect San Roque dam officials to admit it at this point. Maybe, it is really true that no excess water has been released. Even Gov. Victor Agbayani said that based on reports received by his office, the dam’s water level was still far from the spilling level.

What is interesting to note, however, is that the people are finding it hard to believe what our officials are saying. To them, San Roque dam was built to stop flooding in Pangasinan. But this does not seem so today.

Sadly, the country borrowed US$1.1 billion for that dam. And the people, instead of benefiting from it, suddenly find themselves as victims.

ENDNOTES: On Sunday, July 27, a dear friend, Josie Tamondong, who is now based in the US, will celebrate her birthday. She wrote, “I will be 60, Ging. I feel I have covered the different phases of my life - the high and the low, I have tried. I soared then plummeted, but then I got up and have remained steady, just hanging on to dear life and now, a new love.”

QUOTE: Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. -- Michael Jordan