Central Luzon bloc seeks probe ofAngat Dam and Dyke rehabilitation status

Central Luzon lawmakers have called on the House Committee on Public Works and Highways to investigate the status of the Angat Dam Rehabilitation Project to expedite its implementation and ensure safety and reliability of the dam and dyke from geological and hydro-meteorological hazards.

Through House Resolution 846, the lawmakers led by Rep. Linabelle Ruth Villarica (4th District, Bulacan), president of the Central Luzon Bloc, sought the investigation of the status of the project otherwise known as the Angat Dam and Dyke Strengthening Project (ADDSP).

The Resolution cited the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) approved the ADDSP on September 4, 2012 and the amount of P1.826 billion for its implementation.

“The ADDSP was already approved by NEDA. To date, however, the Angat dam and dyke have yet to be rehabilitated,” said Villarica.

The Angat dam and dyke, which are located in Norzagaray, Bulacan, were constructed by the National Power Corporation (NPC) 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 (Philvolcs) previously warned that the West Valley Fault (WVF), 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 Dyke and any movement of the WVF may affect the local fault.

Villarica said after the Phivolcs announcement, the Metropolitan Water Works Sewerage System (MWSS), Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), the NPC, National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Philvolcs, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the province of Bulacan entered into a Memorandum of Agreement in October 2011 to identify, prioritize and implement a program and project for the safety and integrity of the Angat Dam in the event of an earthquake that may occur in the future.

Villarica, also chairperson of the House committee on women and gender equality, said likewise, a Safety Study was conducted and it was recommended that the Angat Dam and Dyke must be strengthened.

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“An auxiliary spillway must be constructed to accommodate the updated Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) of 12,000 cubic meters. It was this study that initiated the ADDSP,” she said.

She said the purpose of the ADDSP is to secure the safety of the structures of the Angat dam and dyke should the WVF move since this is where the present source of 97 percent of Metro Manila’s domestic water originates.

“It supplies about 25,000 hectares of rice farms in Bulacan and parts of Pampanga, and power supply of 246 megawatts to the Luzon Grid. The realization of the project will also prevent downstream flooding,” said Villarica.

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 dyke from geological and hydro-meteorological hazards.

House Resolution 846 is co-authored by Pampanga Reps. Joseller “Yeng” Guiao (1st District), Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2nd District), Oscar Rodriguez (3rd District), and Juan Pablo Bondoc (4th District), Bulacan Reps. Ma. Victoria Sy-Alvarado (1st District), Gavini Pancho (2nd District), and Joselito Andrew Mendoza (3rd District), Zambales Reps. Jeffrey Khonghun (1st District) and Chery Deloso-Montalla (2nd District), Nueva Ecija Reps. Estrellita Suansing (1st District), Joseph Gilbert Violago (2nd District), Czarina Umali (3rd District) and Magnolia Rosa Antonino-Nadres (4th District), Tarlac Reps. Enrique Cojuangco (1st District), Susan Yap (2nd District) and Noel Villanueva (3rd District), Bataan Reps. Herminia Roman (1st District) and Enrique Garcia (2nd District), Reps. Arturo Robes (Lone District, San Jose del Monte), Bellaflor Angara-Castillo (Lone District, Aurora), and Party-list Reps. Sherwin Tugna and Cinchona Cruz-Gonzales (CIBAC), Agapito Guanlao (Butil), and Erlinda Santiago (1-Sagip). (30) rbb