Velasco wants House probe on Cagayan floods to focus more on finding solutions

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Monday said he wants the House panel investigation into the massive floods that submerged parts of Cagayan and Isabela to focus mostly on finding long-term solutions to prevent more deaths and economic costs in future calamities.

Velasco made the remark ahead of the inquiry of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food on the Cagayan floods set on Tuesday.

In a statement, Velasco said the purpose of the House panel investigation is to establish facts leading to corrective actions, and not merely putting the blame on concerned individuals.

“We hope to hear everyone’s side and get a clearer picture of the events that transpired when Typhoon Ulysses struck and caused widespread flooding in Luzon,” he said.

“The aim here is to come up with solutions and legislation, if needed, to prevent the unnecessary loss of lives and properties during typhoons,” he added.

At the same time, Velasco said the hearing will also focus on finding ways to better address proper protocols even before a natural disaster strikes.

“There will be more typhoons that will come our way, and we have to become better at preparations and in handling situations that call for sound judgement to prevent deaths and loss of properties from happening,” he said.

Velasco himself, along with Majority Leader Martin Romualdez and Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano, had called for the investigation into the Cagayan floods through House Resolution 1348.

In filing the resolution, the three House leaders specifically wanted to find out the circumstances that led to the rapid inflow of water into the reservoir, as well as the possible non-compliance with laws, rules, or regulations that may have contributed to the swelling of Cagayan River.

At the same time, they also wanted the House to look into the decision of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to open the spillway gates of Magat Dam, and if such a move was done following established guidelines and protocols.

Committee on Agriculture and Food chair Mark Enverga has set the probe on Tuesday, with officials from NIA and the local governments of Cagayan and Isabela invited.

NIA Administrator Ricardo Visaya earlier said the gates of Magat Dam had to be opened since last week amid heavy rains from the typhoon to prevent the dam from breaking and causing a bigger catastrophe.

Magat Dam had seven gates open 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.

“Ang laki ng ating reservoir ng Magat [Dam] is about 4,800 hectares. ‘Pag ito ang na-break, lumampas sa spilling level na 193 meters above mean sea level, mag-spill po 'yan. Masisira po 'yan at milyon-milyon po na tao ang maaapektuhan,” he said.

Typhoon Ulysses has left 73 people dead and 68 others injured, and affected 3.8 million individuals or more than 932,000 families, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire Luzon under state of calamity following the onslaught of typhoons Rolly and Ulysses. — RSJ, GMA News