The House of Representatives will investigate the severe Cagayan flooding that submerged Cagayan and Isabel during and after the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses (international name Vamco).
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, and Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano filed House Resolution 1348, ordering the concerned committees to investigate the flooding immediately.
“As the death toll continues to rise and the extent of damage is slowly being revealed, there is an urgent need to examine the actions that were taken during, before, and after the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses,” Velasco said.
The “gravity and unprecedented nature of the situation, the geographic propensity of the country to natural calamities and the need to prevent similar situations from occurring,” the lawmakers added.
Meanwhile, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said some local governments’ plan to file a case against dam administrators might not succeed as other factors caused the flooding.
Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro and Governor Manual Mamba of Cagayan Valley are among government officials eyeing to sue dam administrators.
Roque added dams needed to release water to prevent them from breaking.
“If we don’t release water, the dams will explode, and if it happens, many would be affected,” Roque said.
Congress to probe Cagayan flooding
On Monday, National Irrigation Administration Administrator Ricardo Visaya explained why Magat Dama had to open its gates and release water amid the heavy rains from Typhoon Ulysses, saying it would break and cause bigger tragedy.
“We have a lead time of six to 10 hours that we give before we release water to ensure that residents along the waterways can evacuate,” Visaya said.
Magat Dam opened seven gates at one point on November 12 and released water volume equivalent to 106.223 Olympic-sized swimming pools, or around two swimming pools per second.
However, Lawyer Terry Ridon, convenor of the infrastructure watchdog InfrawatchPH, blamed NIA for the destructive effect of Magat Dam’s water release and asked Visaya to resign.
“We have no problem with the senators’ call to probe the NIA,” Visaya said. “It is unfortunate that heavy flooding happened in the Cagayan-Isabela area. We feel pity for the misfortunes experienced by the victims,” he said.