BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - While torrential rains have caused flashfloods and landslides in Northern Luzon these past days, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Saturday this is good for Cordillera's watersheds. Due to the nearly continuous rains since Tuesday, following the onslaught of typhoon "Juan" last month, the DENR-Cordillera Administrative Region office reported that 80 percent of the region's watersheds had been replenished. DENR Regional Director Clarence Baguilat said this replenishment of water tables in different parts of the Cordillera region guarantees an abundant supply of water during the initial months of the summer season in 2011.
Baguilat said that, in this perspective, the rains are a welcome occurrence especially after the region reels from the long dry spell caused by El Niño since late 2009. "Despite the current threat to the region's watersheds due to rapid deforestation, abundant water will be available for the people in both the highland and lowland communities which is expected to last until the dry season but the same depends on the weather situation in the remaining months of the year," he said. However, Baguilat expressed alarm over the continuous encroachments being done by unscrupulous individuals in the different parts of the region who have put up of residential houses or expansion of commercial gardens, citing that political will among local officials and the vigilance of the public are the major aspects to be considered to abate the invasion of the watersheds, the primary source of water for everyone.
