CAGAYAN — Governor Manuel Mamba of this province has appealed to the concerned agencies to help save the Cagayan River which has been a problem during calamity times.
The Cagayan River, also known as the Río Grande de Cagayán, is the longest river and arguably the largest river by discharge volume of water in the Philippines.
It has a total length of approximately 505 kilometers and a drainage basin covering 27,753 square kilometers. It is located in the Cagayan Valley region in northeastern part of Luzon Island and traverses the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Isabela and Cagayan.
Problems occur when the said river overflows during typhoons, affecting thousands of residents, just like what happened after Typhoon Paeng’s wrath.
Gov. Mamba stressed that overflowing of the Cagayan River is a perennial problem which cannot be handled by Cagayan alone.
“This has been our perennial problem and this is the cause of poverty and destruction in Cagayan,” the governor lamented.
The governor also cited the situation of Magat Dam which he said is heavily silted.
He said the siltation of Magat Dam has already reached 33 meters, and that the same has never been desilted for almost 40 years.
“In Cagayan, we suffer the most,” he said.
Gov. Mamba said he would like to have a discussion with the concerned agencies including the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, and the local government units to address the Cagayan River problem.
