AFP to help remove water lilies clogging rivers in Mindanao

SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao, Philippines  – The military has rejected proposals from local officials to use explosives in blasting water lilies that have blocked the rivers in Cotobato City and surrounding towns, saying they would instead send soldiers to help civilian volunteers to remove the water lilies.

Col. Modesto Asto, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division said their commander, Brig. Gen. Rey Ardo assured the support of soldiers in cutting the water lilies and “let them flow downstream into the Moro Gulf.”

 “The initial conclusion by our engineers and ordinance experts is that if we use explosives, surely, the soil and silt attached to the roots of these plants will sink on the river beds and scatter,” Asto said.

Sultan Kudarat Mayor Hadji Tucao Mastura said engineers have warned the water lilies now tangling on the columns of two bridges connecting Cotabato City and Sultan Kudarat can weaken the structures of both bridges and cause their collapse.

“Evacuees from the upper areas traversed by these rivers saw huge chunks of water lilies being carried by water flowing towards these bridges. We are bracing up for a bigger problem,” Mastura said.

Mastura, chairman of the provincial chapter of the Liberal Party (LP) in Maguindanao, said he and Maguindanao first district Rep. Bai Sandra Sema, also sought the assistance of President Aquino for the immediate intervention of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The water lilies now clogging the three rivers traversing Maguindanao’s neighboring Sultan Kudarat, Datu Odin Sinsuat towns and Cotabato City were swept downstream by floodwaters spawned by heavy downpours that started more than a week ago.

The torrential rains also swelled marshes in several towns in the first and second districts of Maguindanao, causing the inundation of some 200 barangays and forcing more than 50,000 people to evacuate to high grounds.