NIA’S POSITION ON THE EFFECT OF QUARRYING ALONG THE BUED RIVER DOWNSTREAM OF SAN FABIAN DAM

Republika ng Pilipinas

Department of Agriculture

Pambansang Pangasiwaan ng Patubig

(National Irrigation Administration)

Regional Office No. 1

October 11, 2011

NIA’S POSITION ON THE EFFECT OF QUARRYING ALONG THE BUED RIVER DOWNSTREAM OF SAN FABIAN DAM.

Strongly supported by NIA’S more than forty years of invaluable experience in the operation of the San Fabian Irrigation System and considering the historical facts of the Bued River and backed by our technical assessment of the various phenomena that took place in the area and its effect on the San Fabian diversion dam, the Regional Manager and Staff of the National Irrigation Administration firmly believe and state that:

a. The lowering of the riverbed is the main reason for the damage and collapse of the old diversion dam. This is perceptible by examining the old and latest design of the dam whereby the downstream apron is typically set at riverbed elevation or lower. In the original design of the dam, the downstream elevation was then at 51.00 but needs to be lowered to 47.5 or 3.50 Meter below for stability and hydraulic considerations in the 2009 dam design.

b. The lowering of the riverbed is greatly affecting the delivery and application of diverted water for irrigation because of deep percolation due to a much lower water table. This is manifested by the diminishing irrigated area from 2,765 has. In the 1970’ s to a mere 1,144 has. even during the wet crop season since 1994 to present.

c. The more than 4.5 meters difference of elevation from the downstream apron to about One (1) kilometer of the Bued river near the quarry site is causing the slope of the river to become steeper thus increasing the velocity of flood water. Stronger current carries more sediments and scouring the embankment and nearby farmlands as they are made of finer and erodible materials.

d. The existence of sandbar in the middle of the river is causing the shifting of fiercer water current towards the western embankment thus the erosion of farmlands and houses at the same time scouring the riverbed.

e. To stop further the lowering of riverbed no quarrying is allowed downstream of the dam. This is to allow the river to negate the effect of retrogression and extensive quarrying, i.e., to replenish the extracted materials downstream of the dam up to the mouth of the river until such time that more gentle and more stable slope shall have been attained.

f. Quarrying if approved by all concerned agencies shall have limitations as to depth, width area and location of quarry site as it will ultimately determine the shift and direction of flow at various stages of river discharges which at present should preferably be at the upstream of the dam.

Submitted by:

Gerardo C. Oculto, Principal Engineer C

Frida L. Nidoy, Operation Chief, SFDRIS

Helsy S. Bermudez, Manager, Pangasinan IMO

Dolores C. Nicer, Chief, Planning and Design Section

John N. Celeste, Regional Manager

Pilgrim Image of Our Lady of Manaoag visits ASSF

5 October 2011 – San Fabian, Pangasinan. The school community of the Archdiocesan School of San Fabian (ASSF) welcomed the Pilgrim Image of Our Lady of Manaoag last 4 October 2011. The visit of the image of Our Lady of Manaoag is part of the program of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan Catholic Schools (ALDCS).

Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas, the Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagpan, has expressed his desire that the image of Our Lady of Manaoag visits ALL the ALD Catholic schools. He has asked that during the visit the schools will pray the rosary, hold confessions and celebrate the Eucharist. The visit of the image of Our Lady of Manaoag will be from 3-21 October 2011.

Continuous Praying of the Rosary

At 9AM, the image of the Our Lady of Manaoag was welcomed by the ASSF community led by Rev. Fr. Oliver E. Mendoza, the School Director and Parish Priest, together with some teachers, students and parishioners, from the San Jacinto Catholic School, San Jacinto, Pangasinan. San Jacinto Catholic School was the first school visited by the image.

The students and faculty met the image at the Tempra-Poblacion junction. A procession followed from the junction to the Archdiocesan Catholic School of San Fabian.

The students with their teachers prayed the rosary at the lobby where the image was kept. Each class from the elementary to the high school prayed the rosary continuously until the image was brought to the Parish Church at 3 PM.

Eucharist with Father Soc

A procession from the school to the parish church was held. The route of the procession was shortened due to the rains.

Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas celebrated the Holy Mass with the student population of ASSF with the parishioners. The mass was celebrated after a communal praying of the holy rosary at the parish church.

Overnight Vigil

The parishioners held an overnight vigil in the church after the ASSF students had finished their own vigil. The different religious organizations took part in the vigil, offering an hourly prayer and visitation.

Farewell Rite

The image of Our Lady of Manaoag was fetched from the parish church by the community of Sto. Tomas Catholic School, Mangaldan, Pangasinan on 5 October 2011 after an overnight stay in the Parish of St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr. The students and faculty of ASSFR were on hand to bid farewell to the our Lady.  Sto. Tomas Catholic School led by Rev. Fr. Jijune Genaro Herramia, school Director, welcomed the image.

 

(All photos, courtesy of Ms. Ria Katrine Sibayan)

Integrated Nutrition Program launched in San Fabian

by Antonio J. Supremido, Jr.

19 September, 2011 -San Fabian. The Hapag-Asa Integrated Nutrition Program was formally launched this 19^th day September, 2011 at Longos Amangonan-Parac-Parac as the pilot barangay in the parish. The launching was inaugurated with the celebration of the Holy Mass presided over by Rev. Fr. Oliver E. Mendoza, the Parish Priest.

Integrated Nutrition Program

This Integrated Nutrition Program was initially launched in July 2005 by Pondo ng Pinoy Community Foundation headed by Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, Assisi Development Foundation and Feed the Children Philippines. This was already running in most parts in the country and has reached the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan with seven (7) parishes as the pilot areas and one of which is the Parish of Saint Fabian. This program is meant to develop the culture of sharing and loving among various stakeholders, to reduce malnutrition rate among children from 0-6 years old and to improve the capacity of parents to care and provide for basic needs of their children.

Nutrition, education, livelihood

The activity has three (3) program components: the supplemental feeding, the education of parents, and the skills and livelihood training of parents. The supplemental feeding is not meant to substitute the regular meals which the children get from their homes but rather is intended to complement the necessary meals so that they would acquire the required nutrients and vitamins necessary for them to grow strong and healthy. The parents are indispensable in the program. Their role is very crucial in the process. They are not only there to support the program but to see to it that the program is properly implemented and continued even after the feeding is finished. They are required to attend the parents’ education class. They are taught information on how to be effective and affective parents to their children. They are likewise given skills and livelihood training to support the financial needs of their families.

Malnourished Children, Underweight Pregnant, Breastfeeding Mothers

The target recipients are the malnourished children from 0-6 year old, underweight pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. The period of child’s development is up to 6 year old. The feeding is meant to address the lack or imbalance of nutrients in the body where they don’t usually get from regular meals. If it not addressed properly the physical, psychological, and emotional function of an individual is impaired. He/she is not capable of capable of maintaining adequate level of performance such as physical work, resistance to and recovers from illness. He/she is expected to have low literacy, lack of skills, and lack of concentration in school. So, what kind of people do we have to expect in the future?

Parents are also part of the feeding not just the children, especially the underweight pregnant and breastfeeding parents. We have to safeguard the health of parents so that we can assure the healthiness of the child they carry or breastfeed. The malnourished parents have the reduced capacity to care for the child much more they cannot give what are needed by their children in the process. This can be prevented by giving them nutritious food during their pregnancy or breastfeeding period. Again, the feeding is not meant to substitute the regular meals but as to compliment it.

There are  175 recipients in the program. There are 66 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and the rest are children from 0-6 year old. At the end of each month, there will be evaluation if there will be an improvement in the physical, emotional and social condition of the children as well as mothers. At the end of six months, 120 days, we expect that our recipients attain the necessary objectives of the program.

Invitation to share

There are quite few parishioners who are willing to take share in the program. They’ve expressed to sponsor a couple of days of feeding by allocating certain amounts for ingredients and materials needed in cooking. But, to implement the program for six months takes a big sum of money to sustain it. We are extending our invitation to our generous and kindhearted fellow parishioners to help and take part in the program. We can never outdo God in His generosity. The amount we can share will surely given back to us by God a hundred times.

We would like also to express gratitude to the barangay council of Longos Amangonan Parac-Parac who has extended their support and assistance in the implementation and monitoring of the program and for deputizing the barangay health workers (BHW) in the identification of our target recipients.

(See also: “”Feeding our Future”)

Position Paper by PICD on the Quarry Operations in San Fabian

The paper should have been read the multipartite meeting at the Mayor’s Office, 20 September 2011.
 
September 20, 2011

The past and recent calamities that had past our country especially the northern Luzon had lost properties and threatened the lives of people living in San Fabian especially the along Bued river at barangay Binday. These had caused a lot of restlessness and disillusionment among the people affected. They have seen how their houses together with their possessions were shattered apart as the furious waters came to demolish them. They’ve seen how their dreams and aspirations too for their families were lost for even their meager resources were gone with the running waters. This had caused stigma from their hearts. The wound was so deep that only time can tell when this wound would heal.

The Peoples Initiative on Christian Development of San Fabian (PICDSF) who stands for truth, justice and peace wants to overlay its recommendations and suggestion for an integral and comprehensive Bued River System.

1. There is a need to formulate a more comprehensive development plan for the Bued River System. The comprehensive plan will put in-place all the necessary engineering works to be done, the right materials and equipments to be used, its proper implementation and monitoring by all stakeholders concerned. The technical plan will only be prepared after upon consultation with other technical attached agencies of the government and other stakeholders concerned. This should be guided by a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with implementing guidelines to be followed by all stakeholders for mutual cooperation and assistance.

2. There is a need to restore and rehabilitate the integrity of the Bued River. The river is the source of life not just for man but also for other living organisms existing in the river. Now, the river is so much affected and damaged due to natural intrusion and by unprecedented abuse of man through illegal fishing and unsystematic and irresponsible quarrying operations done in the area. In view of this, the restoration can only be done and effective when all other man-made interventions and disturbances like illegal fishing and quarrying operations are stopped until the river system has fully recovered from its dying state.

3. There are seen literal abuses of the quarrying operations in the area. There it seems that the terms and conditions on how quarrying operations should be done under the rules and regulations as stipulated in the mining act of 1994 was desecrated and violated. The scattered mounds of oversized materials at the former and recent quarry areas attest to this. The existence of potholes due to the extraction of materials is very visible. There were seen quarrying operations even at night just to meet the deadline of the contractors. There should be proper interventions to rectify the abuses mentioned above.

4. Before the renewal of quarrying permits – there should be a clear and definitive mining work program to include quarry plan, quarry development and production, and environmental protection to be followed and implemented by all quarry operators. We should raise the level of awareness of the quarry operators that they should not only be interested with profiteering but also their social responsibility to protect the people and the environment.

5. The river is God’s free gift to man. A gift that he makes to all human beings. The river belongs to man because God entrusted it to man, and by his work man subdues it and makes it yield fruit (cf. Gen. 1:28). It is God’s will that man should communicate with nature as an intelligent and noble master and guardian, a steward of creation, and not as a reckless exploiter. It is then our responsibility to take care of our river because once it is lost we can never regain it again.

Bro. Antonio J. Supremido, Jr., Secretary, Peoples’ Initiative for Christian Development

DENR Orders Suspension of Quarrying Operations in San Fabian

14 September 2011 – San Fabian, Pangasinan. In the latest development concerning the people’s fight to prevent the further destruction along Bued River brought about by the massive, unregulated and unsystematic quarrying operations in San Fabian, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region I has ordered the “immediate suspension of sand and gravel quarrying operations in Barangay Anonang, San Fabian, Pangasinan.”

Report of the MGB Technical Personnel

The order for the suspension was based on the report from the technical personnel of DENR Mines and Geosciences Bureau submitted to the OIC, Regional Director of DENR, Mr. Carlos A. Tayag. The report was entitled “Ocular Inspection Report Relative to the Reported Riverbank Erosion at Barangay Binday, San Fabian, Pangasinan.”

In his letter to Rev. Fr. Oliver E. Mendoza, Parish Priest, Mr. Carlos A. Tayag informed the former of the suspension order. Attached in the same letter was a letter informing the quarry operators of the suspension order.

“Our technical personnel, who conducted an ocular inspection on September 6, 2011, found there is a looming danger to life and property along the eroding embankment of Barangay Binday. In view thereof, you are hereby ordered to immediately SUSPEND your operations”. The letter was addressed to Mr. Melchor Parayno, Mr. Marlon Eleria, Mr. Josefino de Guzman, Jr., Mr. Joegina Aspurias, permit holders.

Copies of the letter were given to Hon. Amado T. Espino, Jr., Governor of Pangasinan, Hon. Sec. Ramon C. Paje, DENR Secretary, Hon. Irene F Libunao, Mayor of San Fabian and Hon. Leo L. Jasareno, Mines and Geosciences Bureau Director.

Sandbar

The technical team found  a “sand bar with approximate measurement of about 1,000 meter long, an average width of around 100 meters and height of about 2 meters … (found) at the mid-portion of the river just lightly downstream of the dam’s cut-off wall east of the reported eroded river embankment at Barangay Binday. The said river feature is believed to have obstructed the flow of water coming from the dam and diverted the same toward the western side of the river scouring and causing erosion of the banks.”

Mound of oversize materials from the quarry areas

The report also mentioned that a “mound of oversize materials from screening/salandra activities were noted stocked on the mid-portion of the river channel along the active quarry areas which may obstruct water flow.”

The report mentioned that the “water turbulence from the large volume of floodwater and strong water current coupled by the presence of the sand bar resulted to the deflection of water to the western embankment of Abenoleng River downstream of Binday Dam causing the undercutting and scouring of the riverbank resulting to the erosion of considerable portions of the farmlands and residential area at Barangay Binday.”

A Looming Danger to Life and Property

The report admits the existence of a “looming danger to life and property along the eroding embankment at Barangay Binday since the conditon will be aggravated further once strong precipitation/flooding occurs.”

Suspension of Quarrying Operations

To arrest further erosion, the report recommended the “immediate suspension of sand and gravel quarrying operations at Barangay Anonang”.

During Typhoon Mina, five houses were washed away by the surging waters and about two hectares were lost, including the irrigation canals that supply water to several barangays. The concrete barangay road connecting from Barangay Binday to Barangay Anonang was cut.

Four other houses were abandoned near the river banks due to imminent danger of collapse.

Other Recommendations

The report also recommended that immediate dredging of the identified sandbar to the immediate downstream of the Binday Dam cut-off wall … to divert the flow of water at the center and deter erosion on the western river bank.

It further recommended that additional gabion dikes on the scoured area be installed.

It asked that the Memorandum of Agreement signed by sand and gravel permit holder and the LGU of San Fabian dated 24 November 2009 be reviewed and implemented as soon as possible to negate the imminent danger.

The report was signed by Amalia G Menzi, Senior Science Research Specialist, Jose D. Lignes Jr., Senior Geologist, Ruben G. Soriano, Engineer III, Edward M. Henry, Jr., OIC, Environment Section and Roel A. Collado, OIC, Mine Management Division.