The rehabilitation of Cagayan River, the country’s longest waterway spanning 500 kilometers, started on Tuesday to prevent severe flooding in Cagayan Valley during the rainy months and when typhoons batter northern Luzon. Three sandbars covering 275 hectares in three villages would be removed to ease river flow, said Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, who led the launch of the Cagayan River Rehabilitation Project with Public Works Secretary Mark Villar in Lal-lo town, Cagayan province. Ceremonial dredging of sandbars to launch the project was held along Magapit Narrows in the river’s constricted midstream, and bamboo propagules were planted in the riverbank in Barangay Bangag, Lal-lo. The event coincided with the celebration of the 25th World Wetlands Day.

Visaya, V. Jr., & Subingsubing, K. (2021, February 3). Cagayan flooding seen to ease with river rehab: Project part of gov’t postdisaster program for typhoon-hit areas. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A8.