Lanao blamed for Sendong’s destruction

Friday, February 17, 2012

A CIVIL society group in Mindanao cried foul over the blame being thrown on Lanao del Sur as the one “responsible” for the destruction brought by Tropical Storm Sendong, specifically in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro cities.

Drieza A. Lininding, secretary general of the Young Moro Professionals Network (YMPN) for Mindanao, said they are frustrated over the statements of the City Governments of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, including Malacañang, blaming Lanao del Sur for the deaths of thousands of people from the wrath of “Sendong”.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

Lininding said there is “injustice here” and their side was not heard.

“We are punished because of this. We are being singled out. It is very ironic that you can buy wood in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro while in Lanao, the wood now is like ‘drugs’ that you need to hide,” he said during a press conference on Friday.

Engineer Pip Naga, consultant for environment and natural resources and a member of Save Lake Lanao Movement (Salam), said it is very disheartening to hear that two months after the flood, “Lanao del Sur has always been in the limelight.”

“Sendong is a natural phenomenon. No amount of human intervention could have stopped it. But if preparations were made earlier as mandated by the government, we could have minimized the casualties. Maybe we could avoid it if the local government units heeded the government’s instructions to make preparations for disasters like ‘Sendong’,” Naga said.

Hamidah Guro, chairperson of YMPN Northern Mindanao, said Lanao del Sur “was robbed, blamed and had suffered for the happenings of ‘Sendong’.”

A few days after the December 16 and 17 flash flood, hundreds of cut logs were found in Iligan City, which according to Iligan Mayor Lawrence Cruz, could have come from Lanao del Sur.

Cruz said the logs, based on the accounts of survivors, swarmed the houses in the city and left thousands of people dead.

Cagayan de Oro Mayor Vicente Emano also said earlier that the devastation wrought by “Sendong” could have been due to the rampant logging in the mountains of Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur.

But Guro said no amount of water can carry the logs to Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.

Naga added that based on his assumption, the woods were already in Iligan City days before the calamity.

“With the distance and the current, there is no way it can bring the wood from Lanao del Sur to Iligan,” he said.

He said the saw mills in Iligan City have probably stocked the pile of logs.

Guro also claimed that if carabao logs were thrown from Lanao del Sur, “it would have to exit at the lake, not in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro City.”

“In our presumption, the logs were already outside of Lanao del Sur a few months ago before ‘Sendong’. It is presumed that the logs were robbed from us months before,” she said.

Lininding said at present, they can no longer buy finished and processed timber in Lanao del Sur “legally”.

Naga said it can be bought in some instances but through the “black market” and at a higher rate of P100 per board feet compared to its previous price of P7 per board feet.

“Let’s say that the logs found at the affected areas come from Lanao del Sur, is it sourced legally? It is unlikely, given the current situation,” he said.

Guro said they are hoping that the issue would be cleared and the blame on Lanao del Sur “be eliminated.”

Lininding added that they initially plan to hold a tri-conference between the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro and the province of Lanao to know what really happened during the typhoon but no one from the two cities “responded to their call.”