Mangudadatu on floodsand We can endure this
• 04:44 AM Sun Jun 28, 2015
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By:
Ferdinandh Cabrera in Sultan sa Barongis
A resident of Sultan sa Barongis was all smile after she was rescued Saturday night, along with her family, by government forces as floods continue to rise. (FC)
SULTAN SA BARONGIS, Maguindanao – We can endure this one.”
This was how Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Toto Mangudadatu described the third
calamity to hit the province this year.
Early this year, the province of Maguindanao was hit by man-made
calamity when mass evacuation triggered by government action against lawless
elements and the five-month dry spell.
About a dozen municipalities were placed under state of calamity due
to drought as well as the massive displacement of civilians.
Kaya pa naman (We can still handle this),” Mangudadatu said of the
floods that hit eight of the 36 municipalities of Maguindanao, adding that the
province has enough calamity fund to use until the end of this year.
Under water as of Saturday are the towns of Datu Paglas, Mangudadatun,
Datu Paglas, Pandag, Paglat, Rajah buayan, Buluan Datu Salibo and Sultan sa
Barongis which was hardest hit.
Mangudadatu lauded the quick response by government forces who served
as rescue teams amid calamities in Maguindanao.
Nobody has died due to floods,” Mangudadatu said, adding that he already alerted
the towns surrounding the Liguasan marsh to be on guard for possible sudden rise
of river water.
he admitted though that a woman died in Kabuntalan, Maguindanao after a coconut tree fell on her. I have appealed to the local executives to be watchful of impending
floods so they can convince the people to quickly move to safer grounds,” he
said.
In Sultan sa Barongis, flood water reached as high as the neck of an
average person, one of the worst flooding that hit town in recent history. To
date, at least 25,000 persons have been affected and displaced.
The municipal government has placed the entire town under state of
calamity due to rising flood water since Thursday.
Sultan sa Barongis Mayor Ramdatu Angas said his town has been
underwater for the past five days.
He said the water level receded Saturday morning but slowly rising as
rain continue to hit South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.
Angas said residents displaced by the floods on Tuesday and Wednesday
have started to return home only to evacuate anew as water rises at mid day.
Water level in some areas reached as high was neck level sending more
villagers to flee to higher grounds,” Mayor Angas said in Filipino.
Angas blamed a flood control project that actually did not control the
flood water from Ala river. He said a
banana plantation constructed a dike to prevent the floods from reaching the
banana plantation but what happened was it threatened Sultan sa Barongis.
Angas said the tail end of the dike triggered more flood water for
Sultan sa Barongis. The water used to
pass through Barangay Tinumigis, now it goes directly to more villages,” he
said.
The villagers fled to higher grounds Saturday afternoon for fear water
will rise further overnight.
Sarah Salik, a resident, said flood water continue to rise and we
have no more place to stay in our village, thus we stay here at the roadside.”
Some evacuees stay at the town gymnasium, others at a Mosque nearby
and others on makeshift houses along the road leading to the town center.