Salceda urges GMA to create Mayon Commission

The chairman of the House appropriations committee urged President Arroyo yesterday to create a Mayon Commission in the wake of the wide devastation brought about in the Bicol region by super typhoon "Reming."

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said the proposed commission would be similar to the Mt. Pinatubo Commission the government created shortly after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 to handle the relocation or rehabilitation of areas threatened or destroyed by lahar and mudflows.

He said the body can be created through an executive order and "come up with long-term strategies for areas surrounding Mt. Mayon."

"The evolving terrain orientation from Mayon’s eruptions, coupled with super typhoons, is creeping towards highly urbanized areas, including Daraga, Cagsawa, Busay, Culiat, Binitayan, and Tagas (all in Albay)," Salceda said.

He pointed out that parts of Guinobatan town have been completely erased by lahar that is flowing in the direction of other towns, including San Rafael, Traves and San Francisco.

"The entire road between Camalig and Daraga could be wiped out by lahar. That would require an elevated road section. As in Pinatubo, the issue is save or move," he added.

Salceda also said the area worst hit by Reming was Barangay Maipon in Guinobatan, where about 350 persons were buried by mudslides. About 250 bodies have been recovered.

He also blamed the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) for the hundreds of deaths caused by lahar and mudflows in the wake of typhoon Reming.

He said while the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) issued typhoon warnings as early as Nov. 27, Phivolcs failed to alert Bicolanos on the possible threat of lahar cascading to low-lying areas.

Had there been such an alert, there could have been forced evacuation of residents of areas near Mayon volcano, he said.

"Phivolcs has a lot of explaining to do. Mayon is the culprit. Reming just pulled the trigger to the humanitarian disaster in Bicol. The crisis was preventable if forced evacuation was enforced," he said.

Salceda pointed out that while his entire province reported chest-deep flooding, the nearly 400 deaths were concentrated in five towns southeast of Mayon.

"All five reported lahar (flows). All the affected barangays were in the vicinity of Mayon. Ergo: Reming caused the floods but Mayon’s lahar caused the deaths," he stressed.

"It was a deadly combination — super typhoon Reming and Mayon with several eruptions. The loss of lives was unnecessary; only a full investigation can do justice," he added.

Another Bicol congressman, Luis Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, asked the government to make donations to typhoon victims tax-deductible.

For his part, Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez said the House should attend to the needs of typhoon victims by appropriating funds for them and their communities.

Golez urged the majority bloc to declare a moratorium on Charter change because it would be in bad taste for congressmen to tackle this issue while thousands of Bicolanos are "in pain and anguish."

Meanwhile, Sen. Ma. Ana Consuelo Madrigal urged the President to impose a total log ban in the country and suspend all mining explorations in the Bicol region.

Madrigal said the uncontrolled logging and mining operations in Bicol contributed to the massive destruction and deaths caused by mudslides from Mayon volcano. — With Marvin Sy