Quarrying blamed for Pampanga megadike damage

SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga — Local officials have blamed unhampered sand quarrying for the breaching of the eastern flank of the P1.4-billion, anti-lahar megadike at the Pasig-Potrero River.

Fourth district Rep. Oscar Rodriguez who, along with local leaders, inspected the damaged section of the U-shaped, 54-kilometer megadike in Barangay Calzadang Bayu in Porac town, said floodwaters that eroded the megadike could have come from the river’s heavily quarried upper sections.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, expressed fear that more rains could also threaten the P720-million Centennial Bridge whose southern section is being eroded by strong current from the Sacobia River.

The continuous erosion of the Sacobia River’s banks, local officials earlier said, could endanger the P3.4-billion Expo Pilipino at Clark Field.

Business leader Rene Romero, of the North Philippines Business Council, said three sections of the megadike’s eastern flank were damaged, the biggest breach about 100 meters long in Calzadang Bayu.

While lahar flows are no longer observed at the Pasig-Potrero River, Romero said water could escape from the damaged sections during severe rains and endanger Barangays Calzadang Bayu, Caalibutbut in Bacolor, Del Rosario, Balite, De la Paz, Telabastagan, and even this city’s downtown area.

Rodriguez and Romero, however, said the danger is not immediate as the weather conditions over Mt. Pinatubo slightly improved yesterday.

Provincial administrator Benalfre Galang denied that quarrying operations under Gov. Lito Lapid’s jurisdiction could have been responsible for the megadike’s damage.

"Since jurisdiction over quarrying was returned to the provincial government last January, no permits have been issued to cover areas outside the main channel of the Pasig-Potrero," he said.

Lahar sand quarrying in Pampanga used to be under the control of the government-owned Natural Resources Development Corp.

Engineer Lita Manalo, head of the Mt. Pinatubo Rehabilitation-Project Management Office of the Department of Public Works and Highways, however, said only a 100-meter stretch of the megadike in Calzadang Bayu was scoured.

Manalo placed the damage at P2 million. But she said the repair could cost some P5 million.

While heavy equipment has yet to be mobilized, she said sandbags fortified with bamboo poles installed by volunteers the other day, temporarily protect the structure.