ILOILO CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said excessive rainfall, not mining and logging, was to blame for the massive flooding that ravaged Panay Island.
The DENR issued the statement amid comments made by environmental and Church groups that denuded forests caused the region’s worst flooding.
In a statement, DENR Regional Executive Director Lormelyn Claudio said abnormal amounts of rainfall triggered the floodwaters that inundated entire villages.
“Extreme rainfall on June 20 saturated the soil, loosened root systems and, with strong winds, trees were uprooted and were carried downstream,” said Claudio.
She said the rainfall reached 354 millimeters in a day, much higher than the region’s average monthly rainfall of 196 mm.
This was compounded by high tide that reached 1.8 meters. High tide prevented excess water in the Tigum and Aganan Rivers, main tributaries of Iloilo, from flowing into the sea.
Claudio said because of this, the waters accumulated and spread to low-lying areas.
The DENR claimed there has been no significant logging on Panay Island for the past decade.
Claudio said that forest cover in Western Visayas had even increased to 16 percent in 2007 from 2 percent in 1986 to 8.72 percent in 2002 because of reforestation programs.
She refuted reports, including those of local officials, that logs were carried by floodwaters.
Mayor Isabelo Maquino of Sta. Barbara town, one of the hardest hit areas, earlier said in a meeting of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council, that logs swept by the floodwaters slammed into and destroyed bridges.
“Uprooted trees, not illegally cut trees, were inventoried by our teams,” said Claudio.
Environmental groups in Western Visayas called on officials to take the massive flooding as a warning and wake up call to stop and prevent the further destruction of the island’s environment.
The Madia-as Ecological Movement (MEM) said officials should now heed the oft-repeated warning of environmental groups and experts.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and experts earlier blamed mining and logging for the massive flooding in the region.
But the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines last week said the Church and other groups should investigate first before blaming mining as the cause of the flooding
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