BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – After massive floods in the past weeks, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson will review the permits granted to all quarry operators in Negros Occidental.
The assessment, according to Lacson, will be in coordination with all concerned local government units to determine if quarry operations contributed to the destructive floods on New Year’s Day and the latest on Friday last week.
The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of residents from in the 3rd District all the way up to Escalante City in the 1st District.
The flashfloods triggered by hours of moderate to heavy rains reached neck-high in some barangays.
With the construction boom in Negros Occidental and in Bacolod City, Lacson observed an increase in the number of sand and gravel quarry operations.
Lacson said he can see the construction of more hotels, condominiums and public works. However, there should a serious maintenance work on waterways to mitigate flooding.
“Because many areas are now made of concrete and impermeable materials, there is limited ground for water to seep in when there is a heavy rain,” the governor said.
He reiterated that, “There should be no conflict between economic growth and the protection of the environment.”
Lacson likewise appealed to Negrenses to follow proper waste disposal otherwise or the flooding will happen again.
In a related development, the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division (PDMPD) is mulling additional early warning and rescue equipment, noting that the recent flooding killed three people and adversely affected around 76,000 individuals.
Dr. Zeaphard Caelian, head of the PDMPD, said their rain and river gauges were filled.
The province’s solar-powered rain gauge donated by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) also did not work due to lack of sunlight.
The PDMPD head requested for additional early warning systems from the DOST and for a backup system for their existing solar-powered monitoring equipment.
Caelian said they have asked for additional rescue equipment from the Regional Disaster Risk Management Committee to help local government units in Negros Occidental deal with rescue operations.
He also admitted that during the floods last week, they had a hard time responding to the affected residents due to a lack of equipment.
Due to continuing rains experienced in the province brought by the tail end of a cold front, Caelian urged the Negrenses to immediately evacuate and not wait for the flood waters to rise up./PN
