“IPINAKITA PO namin ni Gov. Nanay kay [DPWH] Secretary Vince Dizon at mga opisyal ng National Irrigation Administration ang pinsala na tinamo ng Sto. Cristo Dam sa Lubao mula kahapon, Aug. 28.
“Sa kasagsagan ng malakas na ulan, inanod ng rumaragasang tubig ang mga puno at putik mula sa kabundukan ng Zambales mountain range, dahilan kung bakit nagbara at lumiko ang tubig na tumangay ng apat na bahay sa kalapit na baryo. Ipapakumpuni po ang dam.
“Kakailangan din po na magtanim ng mga puno sa itaas. Nagpapasalamat po kami kay Secretary Vince sa agarang inspection na ni-request po ng ating governor.”
Thus, posted Vice Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda on his social media page on Aug. 29, with corresponding pictures of the inspection.
There is something uncanny about the vice governor’s post, some feeling of déjà vu with the photos, some recurrence in the same spot from only a year past.
JULY 2025
DAM NOT IN DANGER
LUBAO, Pampanga – The National Irrigation Administration Pampanga-Bataan Irrigation Management Office has denied reports circulating in social media that the Sto. Cristo Dam in Barangay Sta. Rita here is in danger of collapsing due to soil erosion. The agency assured residents that it continues to monitor the dam for the community’s safety.
On July 23, sandbagging operations on an eroded slope protection were undertaken by NIA- PamBat IMO, along with the DPWH 2nd District Engineering Office, Sta. Rita barangay council, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, and irrigators association members. NIA-3 FB page
NANAY GOV STRESSES SENSE OF URGENCY IN DIKE ROAD REPAIR
LUBAO, Pampanga — “Tingnan mo naman ang mga taong masasalanta… yung pananim, yung agrikultura, yung mga bahay at ari-arian nila. Kung mawa-wash out ito, ano naman ang mangyayari sa kanila?”
Checking it herself, Gov. Lilia “Nanay” Pineda impacts the sense of urgency in the immediate restoration of the collapsed portion of a dike road near the Sto. Cristo Dam in Barangay Sta. Rita here, to be followed by a long-term, sustainable solution.
With Nanay Gov in her on-site monitoring were officials of the DPWH, NIA-PamBat IMO, PNP, the local government of Lubao, the chiefs of the provincial engineering, environment and natural resources, and disaster risk reduction and management offices. Governor Pineda remains proactive in ensuring the safety and welfare of all Kapampangans amid these natural calamities. Pampanga PIO
DPWH CHIEF ASSESSES DAMAGED DIKE ROAD, IMMEDIATE REPAIR SET
LUBAO, Pampanga — “It’s a critical situation if we don’t act quickly. But rest assured that this will be attended to by the government, including NIA and DPWH.”
DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan on July 25 personally made a personal assessment of the damaged dike road in Barangay Sta. Rita here, a day after Gov. Lilia “Nanay” Pineda raised alarm over the imminent danger to life, property, and livelihood of the surrounding communities.
The governor called on the DPWH and the NIA to carry out immediate measures on the eroded slope of the dike near the Sto. Cristo Dam which is under NIA management.
Following the on-site assessment, Bonoan confirmed that NIA, in coordination with the provincial government, is prepared to carry out immediate and necessary repairs and rehabilitation works on the affected sections of the dike.
Among the immediate measures the governor called for was sheet pile shoring where interlocking steel or concrete sheets are driven into the ground to create a continuous wall for earth retention and support in eroded areas…
SEPTEMBER 2025
REPAIR WORK AT STO. CRISTO DAM
LUBAO, Pampanga – On Sept. 26, as part of precautionary measure for oncoming super tropical storm Opong, Lt. Col. Dederick M. Relativo, acting chief of police, personally inspected the water level of Sto. Cristo Dam, inadvertently named Sta. Rita Dam due to its location in Barangay Sta. Rita. Posted in the police’s FB page is a photograph of the cop chief and an aide at the dike by the dam.
Last July 24, mainstream media carried this photograph of the dike damaged at the onslaught of storms Dante and Emong and the southwest monsoon, which looks like a reproduction of the first photo sans the persons.
On July 25, then-DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan did an on-site inspection, with equipment and material, principally sheet piles, for the dike repair on hand.
On July 28, heavy equipment were reported to be at work at the site as shown in this CLTV-36 photograb. Sheet piles embedded into the bank not even halfway the dike level show work accomplished for two months. The Editor
AND THEN, but for the assurances of NIA heard in perfunctory meetings, nothing more was publicized of the rehabilitation of the Sto. Cristo Dam. Until the southwest monsoons this week impacted it anew into the public consciousness.
So, yesterday, Aug. 28, Dizon stood, looked, and made a point where his now disgraced predecessor Bonoan did the same but a year ago.
And the same Sisyphean rigmarole rolls on. And on. And on.
