CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso said he has requested President Macapagal-Arroyo to help raise P175 million for the restoration of the Bucao Dike, saying that without it, it is “not advisable to stay” in Botolan town after last Thursday’s flashflood in 10 villages that has displaced almost 7,000 families
Deloso said the President, after an inspection on Monday, committed to help scout for funds.
According to him, Ms Arroyo immediately ordered the National Housing Agency to proceed with a “massive low-cost housing” for 4,000 families.
The units will cost P70,000 each, but the terms of payment or ownership were not yet clear.
Deloso said the new settlement will be located in an upland area called Mayamban in Barangay San Juan.
“It is seen to be risky living in lower Botolan now because the (Bucao) river has changed course. The water flows through the villages instead of the regular channel. [The water] carried mud from the slopes [of Mt. Pinatubo]” the governor explained.
The Bucao River is where the Balin-Baquero and Baquilan Rivers drain from Mt. Pinatubo to the South China Sea.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has yet to issue its advisory related to the volume of pyroclastic deposits left on the Zambales side of the slopes after the 1991 eruptions.
In 2000, the Phivolcs and the Department of Public Works and Highways made a canal on the three-km crater-lake of the volcano to release the water that had impounded there and prevent it from triggering an avalanche of lahar on rainy months toward Botolan.
Alfredo Tolentino, director of the Department of Public Works and Highways, said there is no allotment yet for the repair of the Bucao Dike, which he said was just made of soil.
Strong currents at the height of Typhoon Kiko burst through the dike, destroying one kilometer of it.
Tolentino said the DPWH was in the meantime doing a footbridge along the national highway in Barangay Carael and in three weeks, a steel bridge, to connect the northern and southern towns of zambales and normalize the traffic there.
Zambales is another route to Pangasinan. With the highway damaged, motorists have to resort to using the MacArthur Highway (Manila North Road) via Tarlac to get to northern Zambales and Pangasinan.
Deloso said the President, after an inspection on Monday, committed to help scout for funds.
According to him, Ms Arroyo immediately ordered the National Housing Agency to proceed with a “massive low-cost housing” for 4,000 families.
The units will cost P70,000 each, but the terms of payment or ownership were not yet clear.
Deloso said the new settlement will be located in an upland area called Mayamban in Barangay San Juan.
“It is seen to be risky living in lower Botolan now because the (Bucao) river has changed course. The water flows through the villages instead of the regular channel. [The water] carried mud from the slopes [of Mt. Pinatubo]” the governor explained.
The Bucao River is where the Balin-Baquero and Baquilan Rivers drain from Mt. Pinatubo to the South China Sea.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has yet to issue its advisory related to the volume of pyroclastic deposits left on the Zambales side of the slopes after the 1991 eruptions.
In 2000, the Phivolcs and the Department of Public Works and Highways made a canal on the three-km crater-lake of the volcano to release the water that had impounded there and prevent it from triggering an avalanche of lahar on rainy months toward Botolan.
Alfredo Tolentino, director of the Department of Public Works and Highways, said there is no allotment yet for the repair of the Bucao Dike, which he said was just made of soil.
Strong currents at the height of Typhoon Kiko burst through the dike, destroying one kilometer of it.
Tolentino said the DPWH was in the meantime doing a footbridge along the national highway in Barangay Carael and in three weeks, a steel bridge, to connect the northern and southern towns of zambales and normalize the traffic there.
Zambales is another route to Pangasinan. With the highway damaged, motorists have to resort to using the MacArthur Highway (Manila North Road) via Tarlac to get to northern Zambales and Pangasinan.
