Lorenzana open to NDRRMC controlling opening of dams during typhoons

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is open to the suggestion that the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) will be in control of opening the gates of dams during typhoons.

"Ako ay sang-ayon diyan kasi kami parating pa lang 'yung bagyo, puwede na naming sabihing mag-release na kayo ng tubig unti-unti... However, ito kasing Magat ay also a hydroelectric power plant, ngayon ang nagpapatakbo diyan ng kanilang generator is water," Lorenzana told reporters on Tuesday.

"Kung mababa ang tubig, 'yung generator sa taas di na tatakbo 'yun, maapektuhan 'yung kanilang power generation at revenues. Sa tingin ko naman, I think compared to lost revenue and lost lives, doon ako. Kakampihan ko 'yung lost lives," he added.

Lorenzana is the chairperson of the NDRRMC. He said the NDRRMC could control the release of water from dams whenever there are storms, however, during normal conditions, it should be under the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

It was Interior Secretary Eduardo Año who floated the idea. He also said dams should be opened to release water even before a typhoon strikes so that it will no longer contribute to heavy flooding.

The release of water from Magat Dam contributed to the massive flooding in Cagayan and Isabela last week, aside from the heavy rains brought by Typhoon Ulysses.

Many people were stranded on rooftops for three days without food and water as they waited to be rescued.

The NIA said it would review its protocols regarding the release of water in Magat Dam and improve its watershed following the flooding incident.—AOL, GMA News