MANILA, Philippines – Classes resume on Monday. Garbage is being collected again. Water supply has been restored. Clearing and cleaning operations are in full swing. Farmers are ready to plant.

A week after floods from tropical storm “Ondoy” reduced vast swathes of Metro Manila to ruins, and a swamped national government grappled to help the tens of thousands of flood victims, life in the capital is slowly returning to normal.

Even as countless number of residents are still struggling to cope with the destruction while bracing for the likely effects of yet another typhoon, the government is taking steps to put Metro Manila and the rest of the country back on track, officials said at a National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) meeting with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday.

Water supply in the worst-hit districts has been restored, repair of damaged telecommunication facilities and infrastructures has started and alternative evacuation sites have been identified to free the schools packed with homeless flood victims to hold classes again.

The epic levels of rainfall brought by Ondoy last week submerged entire districts of Metro Manila, killing at least 288 people and injuring five. The NDCC said 42 people are still missing.

Ms Arroyo on Friday declared the entire country in a state of calamity to ensure that all government resources are ready for a worst-case scenario as the country braced for the arrival of Supertyphoon “Pepeng.”

According to Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Administrator Diosdado Allado, the eight water pumping stations in its east zone concession, which sustained the brunt of the flooding, have all been restored as of dawn yesterday.

The MWSS has also deployed water trucks to elevated areas of eastern Metro Manila, where water pressure has reportedly weakened because of increased consumption.

The supply of water in the west zone by the Maynilad concessionaire has also returned to normal, except for Barangay Putatan in Muntinlupa, which continues to be inundated because of the high water level of Laguna de Bay, said Allado.

Sixty percent of the water service in Ayala Alabang, also in Muntinlupa, was restored after deep wells were reactivated.

Local and provincial water utilities have also agreed to increase water pressure to reach remote areas still submerged by floods.

Water delivery

To supply flood victims with potable water, the MWSS has set up special high-pressure water filling stations in four strategic areas—in Puregold along Commonwealth Avenue, the Ever Gotesco Mall on Ortigas Extension and in the pumping station along Marcos Highway in Marikina and the Pasig reservoir on Julia Vargas Avenue.

“We are delivering bottled water in five-gallon containers to evacuation centers,” said MWSS Administrator Diosdado Jose Allado.

Water concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad are extending payment relief to customers by declaring a moratorium on water disconnections in all areas inundated by floodwaters. Flood victims are also being given up to 12 months to pay their water bills.

Acting Interior Secretary Melchor Rosales said local chief executives have been directed to temporarily waive the usual permits and requirements for the repair and restoration of telecom facilities and cell sites for the duration of the state of calamity.

Class resumption

The Department of Education has given the go-signal for classes to resume on Monday in public schools in the metropolis, Rizal province and surrounding areas.

“As a general rule, classes are back,” the President said.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said classes would resume on Monday in the metropolis, Rizal and other provinces except in areas where the schools are inaccessible or are being used as evacuation centers.

To make up for the class days that were lost and the limited availability of classrooms, Lapus has proposed two-shift classes, holding classes on Saturdays, and cancellation of the semestral break.

Classes in Metro Manila and surrounding areas were suspended from Wednesday to Friday in the wake of Ondoy.

Hospital cleanup

Rosales said directives to identify alternative evacuation sites were also given out yesterday “so we can relocate those that are occupying the schools, in preparation for the cleaning and clearing of schools for the resumption of classes.”

Hospitals affected by the flooding are already being cleaned up and public areas cleared with high jet water hoses, he added.

Damage to agriculture by Ondoy has been estimated at P5.5 billion. Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said certified seeds have already been “pre-positioned” with farmers in Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Laguna so that when the floodwaters go down they can immediately start replanting to replace lost crops.

“If these can’t be harvested by the end of December 31, these will be available by January which will allow us to recover our loss,” said Yap.

Uncollected garbage

Annoyed by reports that mounting piles of garbage in some metro streets were stalling traffic and increasing threats of disease, Ms Arroyo ordered local government officials to mobilize trucking companies and get private contractors to collect household trash in 72 hours.

“Traffic was very bad. The secondary roads are still full of garbage,” she said.

The contractors should hire new garbage trucks as part of their “voluntary work,” she said.

Bayani Fernando, the Metro Manila Development Authority chair, said the uncollected garbage was “10 times” more than the daily volume produced by households and markets.

He said the government “can’t do it alone,” and appealed to residents to find ways to dispose of their garbage, including flushing biodegradable food down the toilet.

Massive cleanup

MMDA general manager Roberto Nacianceno said that although the MMDA is undertaking a massive cleanup operation, the local governments are the ones tasked to coordinate with garbage collectors.

“We can only pile them up but collecting them is not part of our work,” said Nacianceno, who was leading clearing operations in Balubad, Marikina, yesterday.

Nacianceno said MMDA employees have been working extended hours since last Saturday and have hardly had a rest.

“There’s still so much to do but we’re actually enjoying it because we see that the residents are appreciating what we do,” he said.

Marikina cleanup

He said the MMDA was still focused on cleaning up Marikina, the hardest-hit area, but will soon shift operations to Pasig and Taguig.

“It will probably take us a week to finish. There’s still a lot of mud and debris that have to be taken care of,” he said.

Allado said the MWSS was concentrating on de-sludging operations in evacuation centers because of reports of outbreaks of diarrhea due to overflowing septic tanks.

Arroyo said that she had ordered Vice President Noli de Castro, chairman of the Home Development Mutual Fund, known as Pag-Ibig, to provide an incremental home improvement loan of P150,000 to Pag-Ibig members whose homes were damaged by the flood and mud.

The Manila Electric Co. said power has been fully restored to all of Metro Manila as of yesterday. Meralco had to cut off electricity to several cities and municipalities that were heavily flooded last Saturday.

The company said in a statement that it was now conducting a thorough meter-to-meter check of the affected households as a precautionary and safety measure. With a report from Amy Remo