By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

San Enrique Mayor Jilson Tubillara said he has ordered an investigation after a portion of the riverbed in the Candaguit River rose out of the water last week.

In a radio interview yesterday afternoon, Tubillara said the local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) recommended the probe in order to provide more formal information to the public.

The mayor said the area is now closely being monitored and no other visual abnormalities have been spotted recently.

The river water was also tested for any signs of compounds that could be harmful to both humans and livestock, with results coming out negative.

“So far, we haven’t monitored any ‘fishkills’ in the area where the riverbed suddenly rose,” Tubillara said.

He also ordered the area be cordoned off to residents as they are still unsure what caused the riverbed to rise.

Last week, fishermen reported the said portion of the riverbed had risen out of the water by three feet and claimed to have seen smoke rising from the mound.

Bacolod City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) head Joemarie Vargas said the rise of the riverbed may have been caused by a build-up of either nitrous oxide or methane gas.

In addition, the CDRRMO head assured the incident was not connected in any way to the volatility at Mt. Kanlaon, which is presently under an ‘Alert Level 2’ status./DGB, WDJ