Floods prompt revision of protocol on release of water from dams

In the wake of widespread flooding in Pangasinan that was aggravated by the release of excess water from San Roque Dam, the National Power Corporation on Friday promised to revise its protocol on water release to make it more responsive. At the resumption of the hearing of the Senate committee on climate change, Napocor president Froilan Tampinco said they do have a procedure for releasing water from overflowing dams, and this has been followed at the height of tropical storm “Ondoy" and typhoon “Pepeng." "It clearly shows that the protocol we followed certainly would need updating, we submit to that," he said, referring to the lack of preparedness on the part of the Napocor that caused San Roque Dam's management to release excess water too late. The committee chaired by Sen. Loren Legarda resumed its hearing as Pangasinan’s political leaders blamed the Napocor and San Roque Power Corp. (SRPC) of improperly releasing excess water, thus endangering the lives of tens of thousands of people in the province and in nearby Tarlac. Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. had earlier threatened to file charges against the dam officials for neglect. Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco also maintained during the hearing that while SRPC officials did issue a warning before releasing water, it came abruptly. He insisted that the release should have been done early on so that it would be gradual and cause minimal flooding downstream. A report of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) as of 6 a.m. Friday showed that the floods affected 23 towns and three cities in Pangasinan, most of which are along the Agno River basin located downstream from the San Roque dam and reservoir. The SRPC is owned by the Marubeni Corp. (75 percent) and Kansai Electric Power Co. Ltd. (25 percent) but Napocor's Flood Forecasting and Warning System for Dam Operations (FFWSDO) and the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) "dictate the volume of water to be released by specifying the appropriate spillway gate openings to SRPC" based on weather and river data. In addition to San Roque Dam, Napocor oversees Angat Dam, which also released excess water at the height of storm Ondoy on Sept. 26 and typhoon Pepeng last week, causing floods in several towns of Bulacan. On the other hand, Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija and Magat Dam in Isabela, which also released water at the height of Pepeng, are both under the jurisdiction of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA). More time needed Senator Legarda said she would have wanted the revised protocol “before the end of office hours today even if you have to work until 12 midnight." But Tampinco said they need more time because they still have to coordinate with the concerned stakeholders “in order for us to come out with a worthwhile and responsive revised protocol." He said they will be inviting people from the academe, local experts, the different representatives from the different agencies to a meeting together with certain local government units who are directly affected by or their host to their facilities. The protocol should be ready by end of November, he added. "We have to sit together and agree on a certain plan that would allow us to avoid the tragedies we experienced recently," he said. In the meantime, the Napocor will modify the steps and the trigger levels they are following in order to avoid similar disaster experienced during the onslaught of Pepeng based on the findings in the committee hearing. “But to come out with a formal document that will now address future incidents, that will have to take sometime," Tampinco reiterated. Legarda agreed with the Napocor head and even asked him to include in the revised protocol input on climate change projects and exhaustion of all early warning systems including the use of megaphones, whistle, announcements in local radio stations and texts messages saying there is a big gap in communication network. “We understand. We don’t want a haphazard new protocol that will cause more death and destruction but we appreciate your recognition of the need for urgent, speedy, correct action and that is through the implementation of revised protocol," Legarda said. Who’s at fault? The review of the protocol was based on the directive issued by Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes Thursday. Reyes said he wanted the Napocor to determine any administrative lapses, culpability or criminal liability, if there are any, in case protocols were not followed and recommend changes in the protocols, especially in terms of procedure, mechanism in the release of water and in the issuance of advise to government agencies, local government units and public. Tampinco, defending his men, said they followed the protocol and he cannot fault them for making the decisions they made. “We would like to state that there is a protocol. This protocol was developed on the basis of historical experience over a certain period of time and we acknowledged that what we experience recently has not been experienced by the Philippines for a long, long while," he said. “I would like to commend our people who did their very best to act on the basis of what was provided them as a guide in the protocol. At the time they are making their decisions, it was on the basis of this existing protocol so I cannot fault them for making such decision," Tampinco added. He further said that the decision on dam release does not depend solely on their personnel. “In fact, the protocol requires our engineers to coordinate with Pagasa. It is really Pagasa which is the lead agency because they are the ones who provide us the data that will allow us to make the necessary calculation in order to determine how much opening will have to be given as instruction to the dam operators," Tampinco said. Pre-release But Pagasa administrator Prisco Nilo denied this, saying they have no control over the release of water from the dams. “Pre-release (of water) operations lang kami, beyond that wala na," Nilo said. Engineer Alexander Palada, division manager of the flood forecasting and warning system for dam operations of Napocor, said he could not issue the order to release water on Oct. 4 or 5, as suggested by critics, because it was still not raining in Pangasinan. In a television interview, Palada admitted panicking when rains did not stop on Oct. 9 and the water level of San Roque Dam was rising fast. All of the dam’s six floodgates were opened, causing widespread flooding downstream. But he said the decision he made prevented an even bigger tragedy. “It’s a case of picking the lesser evil," he said, noting that there were not much fatalities as a result of the floods. The hearing is continuing and Rep. Cojuangco said the House of Representatives also intends to hold its own inquiry into the matter. - GMANews.TV