Cagayan

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) has partnered with 100 beneficiaries of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) to plant bamboo along riverbanks. Planting bamboo along riverbanks has many environmental benefits because they function as carbon sinks, produce oxygen, control soil erosion, provide organic matter, regulate water levels in watersheds, conserve biodiversity and beautify the landscape, among others. According to DENR Region 2 Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan, the 100 individuals are beneficiaries of DoLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged (Tupad) who will participate in bamboo planting along the riverbanks of flood-prone areas of Tuguegarao City and the towns of Alcala, ...

CAGAYAN RIVER BY CORIE CORPUZ, DENR The rehabilitation of the Cagayan River will soon commence after the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and two operator-dredgers was signed earlier today. The MOA on the Cagayan River Restoration Project was signed by DENR Cagayan Valley Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn C. Bambalan and Great River North Consortium Managing Head Antonio Talaue, and President Feng Li of Riverfront Construction Incorporated. It can be recalled that in 2017, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte directed the dredging of heavily silted rivers in the Philippines including the Cagayan River, the country's longest and biggest river. Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu issued on February 27, 2020 DENR Adm...

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENR BY CORIE CORPUZ Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu is eyeing immediate dredging and strict enforcement of the 20-meter easement rule along the Cagayan River to avoid a repeat of massive flooding that submerged the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses. Cimatu’s plans for the Cagayan River received a warm reception from four governors and 31 mayors in Cagayan Valley when he met with them on Nov. 23 in Tuguegarao City. “We will create a working group and conduct a joint meeting to come up with important engineering interventions along the Cagayan River," said Cimatu, who co-chairs the Build Back Better Task Force created by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to oversee the rehabilitation of areas devastated by recent typhoons...

CEZA HELPS. Cagayan Economic Zone and Authority (CEZA) Technical Assistant head Leonardo Cruz oversees the packing of relief goods at the CEZA office in Greenfield, Mandaluyong on November 16, 2020, to make sure all bags are complete with food items, which will be distributed to 400 families who were greatly affected by the typhoon Ulysses onslaught last week in Cagayan Valley. The relief goods were transported on Tuesday night (November 17) and will be turned over to the office of the provincial governor of Cagayan and the city mayor of Tuguegarao. Also in the photo is CEZA Media Relations Head Michelle Agabin. CEZA PHOTO THE Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) on Tuesday night sent hundreds of relief goods to victims and residents of flood due to the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses i...

HENRY KELLY VILLARAO. PHOTO FROM THE FACEBOOK PAGE OF IAN SAQUING MAGGAY BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO IT is the "death of a hero,” says lawyer Asis Perez, former Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director, regarding the demise of a BFAR regulatory officer during a rescue operation in Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province. The onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses on Wednesday with continuous heavy downpour caused some 20 rivers to swell and filled the Cagayan River causing massive flooding in Isabela and Cagayan provinces. “With much sorrow, I learned of the demise of a former comrade, Henry Kelly Villarao, Fisheries Regulatory Officer I, during the rescue operations by Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Quick Response Team (BFAR-QRT) in Tuguegarao City,” Perez said in a F...

UNDER WATER. Drone shot of widespread flooding in Tuguegarao City due to heavy downpour caused by the Frontal System and Typhoon Ulysses [International name: Vamco]. COURTESY OF LOUIE ANTONIO (https://facebook.com/louie.antonio.79) BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO “CAGAYAN needs help. They need us. Let us help them please!” Thus said Lt. Col. Rowan Rimas, Marine Batallion Landing Team 10 commanding officer describing submerged communities between municipalities of Alcala and Amulung. “The highway, the roads just vanished. Truly heartbreaking. Words can’t explain what I am feeling right now. I know God will give us the strength to overcome this,” Rimas added. He said it has been two hours and they have yet to reach the town of Iguig which is north of Tuguegarao City adding it will be a...