VARIOUS municipalities in Pangasinan, which never experienced flooding, were either submerged or partially flooded at the height of typhoon Pepeng.

Blame was quickly pointed at people behind the releasing of water of the San Roque Dam.

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Yet for the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, a group who have long been opposed to the dam's construction during the term of former President Fidel Ramos, said flooding is a confirmation of events various opposing groups have long predicted.

If the dam opens its spillways, majority of the province will be inundated, the group then predicted.

The CPA said an independent probe of the dam's management should be done to identify those who should be held accountable for the loss of lives, property and livelihood.

The CPA said the heavy volume of rainwater may have contributed to the flooding but it maintained the spilling of water due to impending overflow at the dam, aggravated the situation.

It claimed the San Roque Dam's storage capacity has been reduced.

With storage capacity of 850 million cubic meters the CPA said the dam should have been able to hold the volume of rainwater poured during typhoon Pepeng "if not for the heavy siltation along the Agno River."

The CPA warned the recent inundation will happen again.

"The decreased capacity for water storage would also mean that torrential rains would result in flooding at the scale experienced during typhoon Pepeng or even worse."

It estimates that with a flood rate of 12,800 cubic meters per second, at least 1, 250 square kilometers of Pangasinan and Central Luzon will be flooded and will affect more than a million people.
(Rimaliza Opiña)