The deadly record flooding in Cagayan Valley is a summation of everything we have done to the environment, according to Governor Manuel Mamba.

In the Laging Handa briefing, Mamba said that while the local government was prepared for typhoon Ulysses, the volume of the floods was just too much to handle—blaming it on the degredating of the forests.

“Ang talagang malaking problema, degradation of our forests. Abuso ‘yung mga forests namin dito both in the Cordillera and Sierra Madre sides,” he said.

He said that the province now looks like an ocean now due to the floods because through the years, there has been environmental neglect

“We need to have a holistic approach on how to do this. Ito po ay summation ng mga mali sa environment natin,” added Mamba, noting that there needs to be a regional approach to address problems of the environment.