• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Following the flashfloods in the communities at the foot of Kanlaon Volcano, Negros Occidental Fourth District Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer on Tuesday called on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to conduct an inspection and inventory of infrastructure developments within the Mount Kanlaon Natural Park.
He noted that some of these have reportedly not been issued with environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
The DENR-Environment Management Bureau earlier issued notices of violation and stoppage order against the operations of two mountain resorts in Bago City for constructing structures without securing an ECC.
Ferrer, who attended the executive briefing with Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco and Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara at the Provincial Capitol, said logs and uprooted trees, aside from boulders, were carried by cascading muddy waters from the upper portion of Mount Kanlaon to low-lying areas of La Carlota City and other communities in the Fourth District.
A total of 13 persons died while 11 remained missing in the cities of La Carlota and Bago as of Nov. 11, records of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office showed.
Some 2,437 houses were destroyed while 26,510 homes were partially damaged by the typhoon in the Fourth District.
Ferrer also noted the damage in school buildings and bridges and heavy flooding, especially in two barangays of La Carlota City, where a bridge collapsed.
While concerned local officials immediately responded to the needs of their constituents, with support from other local government units and the private sector, the lawmaker said these are merely band-aid solutions, noting that thousands of families may no longer have homes after these were destroyed by the massive flooding.
“We need to look for a permanent relocation area, especially for those residing on the riverbanks,” Ferrer said. | GB
