No truth to text messages that San Roque dam is collapsing - NDCC

Panic gripped residents in areas near the San Roque dam in Pangasinan province early Saturday, after text messages spread that the dam was in danger of collapsing. National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres Jr. appealed for calm on radio, saying the text messages were false. "Di totoo ang message na sumabog ang San Roque Dam ... Kaya nakikiusap ako na huminahon (It is not true the dam had burst. I ask the people to stay calm)," Torres said in an interview on dzRH radio. Gina Limpingco-Marcos, a resident of Bautista town in Pangasinan, said some of her neighbors have been fleeing their homes on Saturday morning following the text messages. "Pinapaliwanagan namin sila na hindi yun totoo,, (We are explaining to them that it wasn't true)," Limpingco-Marcos said in an interview over GMA News. Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino Jr. went on air to deny the dam was collapsing. San Roque Plant engineer Medel de Jesus added that while the dam is still releasing water, the release is at a much lower rate. "Nagpapakawala tayo ng tubig pero kaunti na lang po (We are still releasing water but the volume is much smaller)," he said. He said the present rate is one-fourth the rate of water released by the dam at the height of rains brought by tropical depression "Pepeng." Rosales town was one of the most heavily flooded areas in Pangasinan in the wake of floods brought by tropical depression "Pepeng" (Parma), and the release of water from dams in Northern Luzon. Residents in the town are still trying to recover from the trauma brought by the floods. For his part, from San Roque Power Corp. vice president Tom Valdez issued a statement that "there is no crack" in the dam. "Ang San Roque Dam nananatiling nakatayo at matatag, may isang tao nagkakalat ng inpormasyon para sirain ang aming imahe (San Roque Dam remains standing. It is just one person spreading false information)," he said in a separate interview on dzRH. - GMANews.TV