Environmental activists and groups representing the poor held a protest in Manila's business district on Wednesday the 14th, blaming some of the recent flooding in the northern Philippines on a Japanese-funded dam project.

The protesters say that San Roque Dam's sudden release of large volumes of water at the height of Typhoon Parma added to the widespread flooding in Pangasinan province.

The Philippines senate has launched an inquiry on San Roque Power Corporation to determine how much of the flooding it is to blame for.

The activists said the firm should have let water out of the dam earlier and more gradually, instead of releasing it in huge volumes.

[Giovanni Tapang, Advocates for Science & Technology for the People]:
"What our government is allowing is to let these foreign corporations dictate the policies that affect the safety of our people. This example is seen in the case of San Roque Power when they prioritized profit generation rather than the safety of those downstream of Agno River.

Twenty-one people died from drowning when floods hit Pangasinan, and damage to crops reached up to $4.3 million.

Survivors claimed that their areas were flooded within 30 minutes.

Dam officials say they warned the people and the local officials of the water release.

The volume of water spilled over dikes along the Agno River, causing a four-mile breach.

Pangasinan's congressman said the dikes were overburdened with more than twice the flood control system's capacity of 130 feet. Nearly 40 towns and cities in Pangasinan were flooded.