Pangasinan not backing out of case vs San Roque, gov stresses

By Danny O Sagun

Dagupan City (9 December) — The provincial government has not backed out of its move against agencies or personalities responsible for the massive flooding of Pangasinan in October, Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. stressed in a press conference this morning.

“The province of Pangasinan has never abandoned, and has no intention of abandoning, its plan to pursue criminal and civil cases against the National Power Corporation and other agencies and personalities that have direct control over the operation and management of the San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam, if only to seek justice not only for the 63 fatalities, but also for the numerous families that were rendered homeless and stripped of their means of livelihood and other valuable properties,” Espino said in a press statement.

The governor was reacting to an Inquirer story that quoted Provincial Legal Officer Geraldine Baniqued as saying the provincial government already backed out of its court battle with the operators of the San Roque dam because of high docket fees that could amount to P98 million for the P4.9 billion damages it is seeking. The dam was being blamed for the destruction of properties and loss of lives when it released excess waters in big volumes at the height of typhoon Pepeng.

Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan was also quoted as saying that there was no need to file the case because of the class suit already filed by a group of Pangasinan lawyers last month against NPC and San Roque Power Corporation which operates the power generation component of the dam.

“The allegation that the Province of Pangasinan has backed out of the case vs. San Roque based on statements attributed to the provincial legal officer and the provincial administrator is not true, he said, noting that the statements of the two provincial officials were only their “personal comments” and not the official stand of the provincial government.

He said that the delay in the actual filing of the case was due to “certain government procedural requirements and should not be interpreted to mean that the provincial government has already shelved the case.”

He said that while it was easy to compute the damages caused by the floods, it has been difficult to pinpoint the persons and officials directly responsible for the series of decisions that led to the release of the unprecedented volume of water from the dam even after several investigations conducted by the Senate and House of Representatives and by the provincial board. “Hanggang sa ngayon nagtuturuan pa sila at di sinasagot yong tinatanong natin kung sino ba talaga ang may responsabilidad sa pag-release the tubig na yon… palaging sinasabi yong warning system at protocol nila,” he lamented.

The lawyers of the sangguniang panlalawigan and the provincial legal office, he said, are in the process of preparing the necessary complaint.” As soon as this is submitted to my office, we will take concrete steps to file the case in court.” The docket fee, he said, was not the issue.

He bared that the provincial government was pursuing the criminal complaint first against the responsible persons or persons or agencies as such complaint does not need a filing fee, he pointed out. The filing of complaint for damages, he added, would just follow. “What I’m looking at here is who is guilty, who is the culprit, and perhaps the complaint for damages will follow,” he said.

Espino expressed hope that the Japanese technicians who came to the country to look into the matter can help identify the culprit as the concerned agencies up to now do not want to name the responsible person. “We are asking the agencies to tell us, who was the one in-charge, they are not telling us.”

He said he was really angry at what happened even as he expressed his deep concern about the plight of those people who lost their homes in Rosales and Bayambang and other places ravaged by the floods.

He branded the newspaper report as an attack “below the belt” pointing out that he never abandoned his people. “Basic courtesy here dictates that I should have been asked of delicate things like these,” he said referring to the interviews made with the two provincial officials. “Mali itong tirada na ito, foul na ito,” he said stressing that he never abandoned his grieving people. He said he believed the report was already politically motivated. “I’m very interested to find justice for these people,” he said.

Espino is seeking re-election against comebacking Victor E. Agbayani, who is the incumbent second district congressman. (PIA Pangasinan)