Familiarizing Liboganon River

                

TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte (PIA) – Seldom can we now hear reports about Davao del Norte flooding that reaches the national highway, the way it happened way back in 1980s or in 1990s. Despite such relief, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMCO) is still keeping its guards up against flood occurrences.

Last week of October, the Reduce the Risk (RDR) Rescue Teams of PDRRMO rolled their sleeves up as they took some members of the Davao del Norte media to a familiarization tour (fam-tour) of Liboganon River considered as one of the river basins in Mindanao.

It was not the usual sight-seeing, leisure tour. It became a true-to-life experience of river-watching as the tour fell on the day when tropical storm Ofel was expected to affect the eastern side of the country. There was moderate to heavy rainfall the night before the tour. Fortunately, flooding did not occur but Liboganon River turned out murky the next morning.

Rains did not bother our early morning trip to the river after PDRRMO Executive Officer Sonio Sanchez briefed us about the fam-tour.  Rescuers tugged along three rubber boats, each with a carrying capacity of 10 and one fiber boat with a capacity of seven.

Donned with lifejacket, we got into the rescue boats along the river bank in Barangay San Miguel in Tagum City.  Driven with 40 horsepower engine, the rubber boats swiftly maneuvered through the murky waters of Liboganon River while the 25 horse-powered fiber boat came along. On board the boards were 20 participants including the RDR rescuers and and Sanchez, their chief, and Provincial Information Chief Romulo Tagalo and his staff. 

Liboganon River is long and wide.  PDRRMO says that it follows a winding course estimated to stretch about 300 kilometers from Sitio Patil in far-flung Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong and empties into the Davao Gulf. Its width is more than 100 meters. When it overflows, its water rises more than 10 meters high from its normal level.

No wonder it created a real havoc when its waters overflowed late December 2011. Some said last year’s flooding was a little less lighter than the flooding occurrences way back in the 90s and 80s during which Liboganon River used to unleash and spawn floodwaters to the national highway, barring traffic flow, causing vehicles to get stuck.                       

Senior broadcast journalist Aurora Lozada, station manager of DXDN Radyo Ukay Tagum recalled how she waded through the flooded highway along Bincungan, Tagum City to monitor the situation and gather news reports.

At its normal state, Liboganon displays its fertile river banks which offer rich soil for fruit trees and bananas.  Birds fly along the course of the river and feed along the vegetation of reeds that abundantly grow at its banks. Only few were seen fishing at the Liboganon River during that fam-tour but children found thrill and excitement as they spent time boating and swimming at it.

Participants to the fam-tour also eventually found and encountered the most thrilling and exciting part of the activity at the river-mouth where the sea met the river. Rains poured, wind blew harder than usual, and waves surged high. 

They got wet. Still, they seemed relaxed with the presence of RDR rescuers.  Women participants, however, couldn’t hold their shrilling voice as they screamed in a mixture of excitement and a bit of fear when rubber boats crossed surging waves.   

At the command of Sanchez, the rubber boats and the fiber boat were led towards a river in Carmen (adjacent to Tagum City), to escape from the harsh sea. They got off along  Barangay La Paz to take their lunch.

They laughed at their mixed reactions of the experience which became an eye-opener to the urgent need for public support and cooperation to keep a close watch on the Liboganon River. (PIA-XI/Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)