Estrella sought investors confidence

By Janice Hidalgo

ROSALES - Congressman Conrado Estrella III of the 6^th district assured business investors that the local government will be working hand in hand with the San Roque Power Corporation and the Agno Flood Control in order to make sure that incidents of flooding that destroyed thousands of  infrastructures and submerged agricultural areas of the province leaving thousands of families homeless and business investors losing millions worth of investments from happening again.

Estrella admitted that the local government and key officials of the said district will have hard time in gaining back the confidence of the business investors especially in the town of Rosales.

He said that right before the tropical storm Pepeng the town of Rosales is presently on the midst of marketing the said town for more possible investors who might eye the town for opening investments that would commercially compete with the giant SM prime holdings which is a general scenario in most of the areas where SM  (Shoe Mart) is located.

"Before the flooding, Rosales was on an upswing when it comes to investment. We have gained the confidence of investors. The biggest challenge for us now is regaining the confidence of the investors. And we want to be upswing again especially so that the expressway will be here by 2011,"

Nevertheless, Estrella explained that San Roque should not be blamed all along.

He said that it was very clear that the National Power Corporation who was the one giving orders in the release of the water should atleast shoulder the responsibility for this incident.

"For a long time, there were no floods here because San Roque Dam was also the solution. It was able to hold water and control it. It has been an ally to us.

The culprit in the recent flooding was the water releases. The culprit was the National Power Corporation which have the power to dictate water releases," he added.

Estrella assured business investors that dikes that were destroyed are now being repaired immediately.

The congressman reiterated that the Agno River can accommodate more than 4,000 cubic meter per second of water based on the original design.

“Without the dam before, what we are getting from this area was 2,600 cubic meter per second. To include the water coming from the Ambayoan, water that happened here was only 3,900 plus, thus our design on this section Carmen-Alcala is 4,000 cubic meter per second. But when they released 5,364 cubic meter per second last October 8, 2009, the dikes were overwhelmed," he added.

Isagani Chavez SM Prime Holdings Assistant Vice President for Northern Luzon told Pangasinan Today that more than a Hundred business tenants were affected by the flood but nevertheless business has to resume immediately despite loses.

Chavez explained that this incident will have a great effect in the local economy of the area and nearby towns especially that employees of this tenants and SM itself is composed of more than 60 percent and close to more than Five Thousand employees.

Chavez said he is happy and appreciates the effort of Estrella and Mayor Ricardo Revita of this town

"Were very appreciative on how the congressman and the mayor handled the situation; very hands-on, immediately they wanted to regain back the confidence of the investors," he said.

Estrella and Revita asked Chavez to gather all their tenants/locators for another meeting or briefing in Manila this week.

The congressman said he will personally inform the NAPOCOR’s top officials for their attendance for them to directly answer the questions of the business sectors affected within his district.

It will be recalled that Typhoon Pepeng (international codename Parma) hit the Philippines exactly one week after tropical storm “Ondoy” (Ketsana) dumped the heaviest rains in more than four decades in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, killing more than 300 people

Pepeng left the province’s 67 percent of it submerged in water after heading out in the South China Sea isolating the major population centers of Pangasinan.

The San Roque Dam, located in the town of San Manuel, recorded 289.1 meters of water. The critical level is 290 meters.

The excessive rains also damaged a total of 10 dikes and spillways in the province. Officials said the six spillway gates at 1.5 meters high had discharged excess water at 2,023 cubic meters per second.

The Ambayaoan Bridge in San Nicolas collapsed, as did the dike in Bued River in San Fabian.The Sison Bridge going to the town of Rosario in La Union also collapsed.

Among the towns badly affected were Rosales, Bautista, Alcala, Bayambang, Sto. Tomas, Urbiztondo, San Manuel, Calasiao, Tayug, Asingan, Natividad, Sta. Maria, Villasis, Mapandan, Binalonan, Tayug, Laoac, Pozurrobio, Sison, San Fabian, Basista, San Jacinto, Aguilar, San Quintin, Umingan, Sta. Barbara, Balungao, Manaoag and the provincial capital of Lingayen.