‘Cotabato floods not due to illegal logging’

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) belied yesterday reports that the flash floods that hit some areas in Maguindanao and North Cotabato this week were due to illegal logging in the watersheds at the boundaries of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and North Cotabato.

In a report sent to the DENR central office, Jim Sampulna, the DENR’s Region 12 executive director, said there were no reported cases of illegal logging in the watersheds at the boundaries of the three Central Mindanao provinces.

One of the hardest-hit by the flash floods was the North Cotabato town of Alamada, located not far from the forested Maguindanao-North Cotabato boundary.

In Alamada, the most affected were the barangays of Polayagan, Raradanga, Camansi and Barangiran, the DENR said.

Authorities have placed at P80 million the damage wrought by the flash floods on crops, livestock and infrastructure in the hinterland towns of North Cotabato and Maguindanao following days of torrential rains.

Officials in Central Mindanao have asked Malacañang to probe the wanton cutting of trees in the watersheds at the boundaries of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and North Cotabato.

But Sampulna cited a map provided by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) showing that the areas affected by the flash floods were highly prone to flooding.

Barangay Upper Dado and its neighboring areas experienced continuous heavy rains from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning, causing the Makabas River, a tributary of the Libungan River, to overflow, Sampulna said.