131 villages in Pampanga, Bulacan remain isolated due to floods
Floodwaters flowing downstream from Nueva Ecija and other mountainous areas in Luzon continue to swamp Pampanga
and neighboring Bulacan, isolating at least 131 barangays (villages) in the two provinces and forcing some residents to evacuate.
In Pampanga, the municipalities of Apalit, Candaba, Macabebe, Masantol, San Simon, and San Luis in the 4th District and Arayat in 3rd District were placed under state of calamity as 82 barangays in these towns remain submerge even after typhoon “Lando” was downgraded to a mere low pressure area.
These municipalities were placed under state of calamity after Governor Lilia Pineda directed the the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to assess the extent of damage left by Lando, PDRRMO head Angelina Blanco said.
In Bulacan, the PDRRMO reported that 49 barangays remain flooded – 27 in Calumpit, 10 in Hagonoy, and 12 in Pulilan – affected at least 24,049 families.
The Bulacan PDRRMO said that MacArthur Highway corner CalumpitPulilan Road and Calumpit-Hagonoy Road, from Barangays Calizon to San Jose, are not passable to all types of vehicles.
It also reported that the hardest hit barangays by the backfloods are Sapang Bayan (9 feet), San Jose (5 to 9 feet), Calizon, Bulusan, and Meyto (3 to 8 feet), Meysulao and San Miguel (7 feet), Gatbuca, Poblacion, and Gugo (2 to 7 feet), Sta Lucia and Pandukot (1 to 7 feet), all in Calumpit.
Failure to dredge Bulacan residents blamed the failure to dredge the Pampanga Delta Flood Control project as well as rivers in the province for the flooding.
“They (authorities) did not listen to the suggestion of dredging Pampanga Delta and Bulacan rivers, that’s why Calumpit, Hagonoy, and Pulilan are flooded again resulting in force evacuations,” lamented the residents. They said that a few years ago, Gov. Willy Alvarado called for the dredging of the heavily silted Pampanga Delta Flood Control project and rivers in Bulacan.
Worsening the problem is that part of the flood control project has been converted into fishponds, affecting the flow of water.
Alvarado said the Pampanga Delta and Bulacan rivers could no longer hold huge volume of rain waters, reason Central Luzon towns easily get flooded during heavy rains and strong typhoons.
“Kaya heto na naman tayo ngayon sa baha, kung pinakinggan agad nila siguro si Gov. Willy noon, baka hindi na namin inabot ang ganitong baha na kahalintulad noong 2011 nang humagupit ang bagyong ‘Pedring’ sa Gitnang Luzon (If only they listened to Gov. Alvarado, we may not have experienced this massive flooding which is similar to the situation when typhoon Pedring struck Central Luzon in 2011),” the Tobias family of Barangay Pandukot in town of Calumpit said.
Flooded barangays In Pampanga, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) reported that a total of 34,004 families or 154,058 individuals are affected by the rising flood water in the seven towns.
“This is enough to interrupt the economic activities in the affected municipalities,” the PDRRMO said.
In Arayat, the barangays of Candating, Matamo, Cupang, San Mateo, Guemasan, San Agustin Sur, Paralaya (Purok 3), and Mesulo are under one to six feet floodwater.
In Apalit, six barangays are submerged under two to five feet flood. These are Sulipan, Sucad, Capalangan, San Juan, Cansinala, and Tabuyuc.
In Candaba, barangays San Agustin, Lanang, Buas, Pasig, Gulap, Paralaya, Pansinao, Mandasig, Sto. Rosario, Bambang, Pescadores, Mapaniqui, Dulong Ilog, Mandili, Magumbali, Barangca, Lourdes, Barit, Dalayap, Paligui, Pangclara, Pulong Palazan, Tagulod, Tinajero, Talang, Vizal San Pablo, Vizal Sto. Niño are under one to six feet flood.
In Masantol, eight barangays are flooded. These are San Isidro (Anac), Bebe Anac, Bebe Matua, Caingin San Agustin, Caingin Sta. Monica, Sta. Cruz, Puti, and Malauli.
In Macabebe, 15 barangays are also flooded. These are Caduang Tete, Candelaria, Castuli, San Francisco, San Gabriel, San Isidro, San Jose, San Vicente, Sto. Niño, Saplad David, Tacasan, Batasan, Sta. Rita, Mataguiti, and Sta. Cruz.
In San Luis town, barangays San Juan, San Nicolas, San Agustin, San Isidro, Sta. Rita, Sto. Tomas, Sta. Cruz Poblacion, San Sebastian, Sta. Catalina, Sta. Cruz Pambilog, Sto. Rosario, and Sta. Monica remain inundated.
In San Simon, barangays San Pedro, Sta. Cruz, San Miguel, San Nicolas, San Juan, and San Jose remain under water.
The Pampanga PDRRMO also reported that a total of 2,069 families or 8,227 individuals are temporarily housed in various evacuation centers. These include 11 families or 55 individuals in Apalit; six families or 31 individuals in Arayat; 1,777 families or 6,962 individuals in Masantol; 14 families or 54 individuals in Candaba; 19 families or 57 individuals in Macabebe; 230 families or 1,006 individuals in San Simon; and 62 individuals in San Luis.
Speedy relief efforts
As Pampanga and Bulacan residents contend with floods, President Aquino traveled to typhoon-hit Casiguran, Aurora, yesterday and promised speedy relief and rebuilding efforts to help communities recover from the calamity.
The President assured that concerned authorities are exhausting efforts to fully restore power, communication and water supply, rebuild damaged public buildings, and extend shelter assistance to affected families in the province.
Aquino, however, appealed for the cooperation of the public in these relief and rebuilding efforts. In particular, he asked people not to use fallen power lines to dry clothes to avoid electrocution once the power is restored.
“Pakiusap ko lang ho, lahat tayo makakatulong mapabilis, ‘di ba, ibalik ‘yung kuryente, ibalik ‘yung komunikasyon, iayos ‘yung tubig [My only appeal is we can all help in hastening the rebuilding efforts, restore the power, communication, and fix the water],” the President said during a disaster response meeting in Casiguran.
“Ituloy lang ho natin ‘yung pagtutulungan, pakikisama sa isa’t isa, mapapabilis natin ‘yung prosesong lahat ito [Let us continue to work together to speed up all these processes],” said Aquino.
Accompanied by several Cabinet members, the President got a look of the extent of the damage left by Lando in Casiguran, flying over the ravaged communities and extending relief aid to the victims.
Two persons died while 42 others were hurt when Lando made landfall in Aurora last weekend, according to local officials.
Aurora Governor Gerardo Noveras reported to the President that more than 18,000 families were affected while thousands of houses were damaged by the heavy rains and floods.
Noveras said damage on infrastructure and agriculture has reached more than 573 million.
Power supply and communication lines have not been fully restored in the province. Noveras said the Aurora Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AURELCO) reported the damage caused by “Lando” on power lines reached 22 million.
Aurora assured of aid The President and his Cabinet men later took turns to assure the Aurora residents of the government’s assistance to help them get back on their feet.
On the power supply, Aquino ordered energy officials to heed the request of Casiguran to be connected to the Luzon grid. The energy department promised to bring back power in some parts of the province by Monday.
Aquino also grabbed the chance to appeal Aurora residents to pull out their clothes from the downed power lines due to concerns for their safety.
The government will also extend emergency shelter assistance in the form of materials worth 30,000 for totally damaged houses and 10,000 for partially damaged houses, according to Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman.
Soliman added that they have provided 4,500 food packs to affected families in Casiguran, on top of the 400 packs prepositioned by the provincial government.
Health Secretary Janette Garin said they have set aside 75 million for the repair of the Casiguran District Hospital after it was damaged by Lando.
Agriculture Secretary Proceseo Alcala also promised to provide 500 boxes of certified seeds, 100 boxes of hybrid seeds, 10,000 pieces of planting materials of coffee, 5,000 tissue culture banana and 500 boxes of complete fertilizer to affected farmers.
From Casiguran, the President conducted an aerial inspection on the damage left by “Lando” in Pangasinan, Tarlac, Pampanga, and Bulacan.
Aid for ‘Lando’ victims
Meanwhile, the government of Australia said it will provide 33 million in emergency relief supplies for the victims of typhoon “Lando” (international name: Koppu).
“Australia, as a close friend of the Philippines, is saddened by the loss of life and damage to homes and property in the wake of this tragedy,” Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop said.
Likewise, the Catholic Church, through the National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA)/Caritas Philippines, will allot some 13.21 million in relief assistance to areas badly affected by Lando.
“We are planning to help the most vulnerable such as the elderly, disabled, single parents, and those who are ill from the worst-hit and hard-to-reach areas. We are very thankful to our Caritas networks around the globe for its immediate response to our appeal,” said NASSA/Caritas Philippines executive secretary Fr. Edwin Gariguez over Church-run Radio Veritas. (With reports from Genalyn D. Kabiling, Madel S. Namit, Christina I. Hermoso, and Ellalyn B. de Vera)