BEN SERRANO
Contributing editor
BUTUAN CITY - President Arroyo will personally inspect tomorrow the P350-M Baobo National Irrigation Project in Sitio Fatima, Barangay Sinobong, Veruela, Agusan del Sur which was one of the irrigation projects in Caraga Region destroyed by flooding due to weeklong intermittent rains that ravaged the region recently.
Earlier environmental groups such as Green Mindanao and others have blamed unabated, wanton destruction of forest by illegal loggers, kaingin method, illegal mining and migration of lowland settlers to upland areas as the real culprit in the flooding.
They alleged continuing deforestation have caused waters from the mountains to flow downstream with cascading sands and soils filled up rivers and lakes that cause floodwaters to overflow due siltation.
Environmental group Green Mindanao Executive Director Butch Dagondon said “Trees whose roots were suppose to sip cascading waters are no longer there and now we are paying dearly for the mistakes and greed of illegal loggers and yet they go still unpunished, scot-free while some even become Mayors”.
“The recent disaster that hit Caraga Region is surely man-made destroying irrigations, rice lands, other agricultural crops and that there must be someone or group of people be held liable” Dagondon told this writer
“We are not learning lessons from landslides like what happened in Ormoc, Guinsaugon in St. Bernard town in Southern Leyte that killed many innocent lives and we will not wait this will happen to us here in Caraga Region”, Dagondon added.
Dagondon said that the recent disaster in the region should also tantamount to criminal and administrative liability of concerned government agencies.
'The funds used to build those danaged government infrastructures were hard-earned Filipino taxpayers' money and letting these culprits go unpunish is an insult to the intelligence of the Filipino people" and it is our right as Filipino citizens to call for an investigation to this, Dagondon concludes.
Meanwhile President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is expected to arrive at Baobo National Irrigation Project in Sitio Fatima, Barangay Sinobong, Agusan del Sur at 10 o'clock in the morning of January 28.
According to Presidential Management Staff representative who coordinates the presidential visit, the President will physically inspect the Php350 million irrigation projects which were damaged due to a week long heavy rains that ravaged the province recently.
The President will arrive at Bancasi Airport here in Butuan City in the morning of January 28 (tomorrow) and will immediately take the helicopter together with Agusan del Sur Governor Tina Plaza who will conduct an aerial inspection of the flood affected towns in Agusan del Sur in going to Veruela.
In Veruela, PGMA will be met by Veruela Mayor Salimar Mondejar, Sinobong Barangay Captain Adela Matood, 402nd Brigade Commander Col. Gupana, DAR-13 Asst. Regional Director Al Otacan, NIA -13 Regional Director Democratico Grana and some 2,000 people of Veruela.
NIA Provincial Director Mr. Pacifico Calibayan will brief the President on the profile of the irrigation project.
Mayor Mondejar said that the project if not damaged by flooding was supposed to benefit five barangays of his municipality and supposedly serve about 1,600 hectares.
He said that the visit will surely boost the morale of the people of Veruela despite the extent of the damage on their farms caused by the calamity.
Agusan del Sur Governor Maria Valentian Plaza said that Agusan del sur is one of the President's priority areas of the GMA Rice Sufficiency Program. The heavy rains and the floods that hit the province of Agusan del Sur has damaged more than 6,000 hectares of agricultural lands and estimated to cost about Php 27 Million pesos.
She also said that Veruela is one of the rice producing towns of the province. The calamity has damaged 2,729 hectares of its agricultural lands and estimated cost of Php14 million pesos.
The President is expected to stay for 30 minutes and will immediately depart for Koronadal, South Cotabato, Agusan del Sur Provincial Information Officer Ferdinand Perez said.