House panel to probe P1.8-B Angat Dam rehab project

MANILA, Philippines - The House committee on public works and highways is set to conduct a congressional inquiry into the status of the P1.8-billion rehabilitation project of the Angat Dam in Bulacan to ensure its safety in the event of powerful earthquakes. 

Lawmakers led by Bulacan Rep. Linabelle Ruth Villarica, president of the Central Luzon bloc in the House of Representatives, filed House Resolution 846, which seeks an investigation into the status of the project otherwise known as the Angat Dam and Dike Strengthening Project (ADDSP). 

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) approved the ADDSP on Sept. 4, 2012 with a P1.826-billion budget for its implementation, according to the resolution. 

“The ADDSP was already approved by NEDA. To date, however, the Angat Dam and dike have yet to be rehabilitated,” Villarica said, adding the project is urgent due to the unpredictable nature of natural calamities. 

The Angat Dam and dike, which are located in Norzagaray, Bulacan, were constructed by the National Power Corp. (Napocor) in the early 1960s as a multi-purpose facility for domestic water supply, irrigation, power and flood control.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) previously warned that the West Valley Fault, which runs through the central Metro Manila area, is potentially active, and that a splay or local fault runs 200 meters east of the Angat main dike and any movement of the West Valley Fault may affect the local fault. 

Villarica said after the Phivolcs announcement, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., the Napocor, National Irrigation Administration, Phivolcs, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, Office of Civil Defense, and the Bulacan provincial government entered into a memorandum of agreement in October 2011 to identify, prioritize and implement a program for the safety and integrity of the Angat Dam in the event of an earthquake.

Villarica, who also chairs the House committee on women and gender equality, said a safety study was conducted and it was recommended that the Angat Dam and dike must be strengthened.

“An auxiliary spillway must be constructed to accommodate the updated probable maximum flood of 12,000 cubic meters. It was this study that initiated the ADDSP,” she said. 

She said the ADDSP aims is to secure the safety of the structures of the Angat Dam and dike should the West Valley Fault move since this is where 97 percent of Metro Manila’s domestic water comes from. 

She said the dam irrigates about 25,000 hectares of rice fields in Bulacan and parts of Pampanga, and supplies 246 megawatts to the Luzon power grid.

“The realization of the project will also prevent downstream flooding,” she said.

She said the congressional probe aims to expedite the implementation of the vital infrastructure project to ensure the safety and reliability of the Angat Dam and dike from geological and hydro-meteorological hazards.