Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando has ordered the full replacement of all six rubber gates at Bustos Dam following the failure of Rubber Gate 3 on Thursday afternoon.
Fernando said he had long recommended the replacement of the gates to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which oversees the dam’s operations. He blamed the current issues on substandard materials used by the contractor. He warned that the remaining gates could also fail, citing a similar incident in 2020 when Rubber Gate 5 was damaged.
The governor clarified that the gate did not explode but leaked, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO). He assured the public there is no cause for panic, as only a small volume of water was released and no flooding occurred in nearby areas.
The incident happened around 2:30 pm on Thursday, when Rubber Gate 3 gave way, releasing more than 2 meters of water from the dam. However, the PDRRMO said the opening was minor and would only lower the dam’s water level by 2.38 meters. As of the incident, the water level stood at 17.38 meters.
The damaged gate sits above the dam’s dike and regulates the dam’s 15-meter-deep water. At just 5 meters wide, it is small compared to the 25-30 meter width of the Angat River.
Given the summer dry season, the Angat River remains at Yellow Level or low risk. PDRRMO added that towns from Bustos to Calumpit should not worry, as the water flow increase was minimal—only around 5 centimeters. The river returned to normal flow by 4:00 pm.
As chairman of the PDRRMC, Fernando assured Bulakenyos that evacuation is unnecessary and there is no risk of flooding.
In June 2020, Gate 5 also failed due to poor construction quality. The Bustos Dam serves around 15,706 hectares of farmland and benefits more than 12,900 farmers.
Fernando has called on the NIA regional office to conduct an urgent inspection and stressed the immediate need to replace all six gates.