Security at Magat Dam beefed up

RAMON, Isabela — Senior Superintendent Napoleon Estilles, Isabela police director, has ordered the immediate deployment of policemen to beef up security at the Magat Dam and hydroelectric power plant in Barangay General Emilio Aguinaldo here after police intelligence agents uncovered a plan by communist guerrillas to sabotage the facility.

In a media briefing on critical infrastructure in the province last Friday, Estilles, speaking through Chief Inspector Abraham Balderas, police community relations chief, disclosed that the Magat Dam has been the target of the New People’s Army (NPA).

"It is the most vulnerable target of the dissident group because of its vital contribution to the country’s economy," Estilles said.

He, however, refused to give details on the rebels’ sabotage plan.

"The threat has always been there but it has been heightened lately, prompting us to beef up the dam’s security," said Estilles, who was the regional police intelligence chief before he was named Isabela police director.

An elite Magat Security Force, composed of 25 policemen trained by Army Scout Rangers, has been formed to secure the dam from NPA attacks.

The Army’s 5th Infantry Division based in Gamu town has also committed an augmentation force to beef up the Magat Security Force.

The biggest dam in Southeast Asia, Magat Dam supplies some 540 megawatts of power to the Luzon grid of the National Power Corp. (Napocor), from which electric cooperatives in Northern Luzon, including the Lopez-owned Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), draw electricity for their consumers.

The dam also irrigates more than 102,000 hectares of Isabela farmlands as well as some 50,000 hectares in northern Cagayan.

"The Magat Dam is a very vital installation for the normal functioning of our economy and agriculture in Cagayan Valley, making it very vulnerable to terrorist attacks," Estilles said.

He urged residents of communities near the dam to report to police authorities suspicious people trying to get near the Magat Dam’s hydroelectric power plant which is strictly off-limits to unauthorized civilians.

"Securing a major infrastructure like the Magat Dam is a shared responsibility of the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces and the people," he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Superintendent Jeffrey Soriano, Cagayan Valley police director, told The STAR that his command has forged a memorandum of agreement with the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) police on the joint provision of security to Magat Dam, which lies at the boundary of Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela and Ifugao.

Under the agreement, the Isabela and Ifugao police commands will jointly conduct round-the-clock security patrols within Magat Dam’s 4,460 reservoir.