Flood capital

Joey de Leon, my favorite comedian who is top notch in delivering humor in deadpan fashion had me and my neighbors in stiches when he spoofed the day’s news during a live noontime show yesterday over TV 5.

Joey reported that although Metro Manila and many areas in Luzon had good weather, these places have not yet completely dried out and some remained submerged after days of incessant rains.

To recall, people were cleaning up since Thursday when the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration jolted them yesterday with a scary weather advisory: an active low pressure area that could potentially develop into a cyclone had been spotted entering the Philippine area of responsibility.

The report made tempers rise especially in barangay Tumana, Marikina City where, early in the week, thousands had to be evacuated to safer grounds because the water in the Marikina River dangerously went up to 20 meters.

Marikina is always in the radar during calamitous situations. When Ondoy hit Manila and other parts of Luzon in September 2009, the Marikina River swelled to 23 meters. Torrential rains dumped rainwater from the mountains of Rizal rushing down to the river and spilling into the inner city causing catastrophic floods.

Ondoy would have been a real wake up call, but the national government did not undertake necessary measures, like the construction of retaining dams near the upper portion of the river.

Asked to comment, Marikina City Vice Mayor Jose Fabian Cadiz told media that “plans are being drawn.” Upon hearing this, the people of Tumana wailed, thinking, rightly I must say, that the official was referring to a drawing that does not go beyond the board or actual work.

At this, they shouted “Tama na” (Enough)! as if saying now is the time for action, not words.

Joey de Leon had a different take though. He said the people just had had it with heavy rains and floods that they would now want Barangay Tumana to be renamed “Tama Na.”

The administration is poised to build a flood resilient region covering Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon by coming up with infrastructure projects valued at more than P321 billion.

Reports say the Department of Public Works and Highways has drawn up a master plan for “effective and comprehensive flood management in the region” to be implemented up to 2035. President Benigno Aquino III is expected to go over the plan as head of the National Economic and Development Authority board. Once he gives the go-signal, the DPWH will undertake some 11 projects, including a large dam to be built in Marikina costing P198 billion.

The infrastructure projects are all good, but they cannot be viewed as a single solution to the problem of floods.

The government needs to resolutely address the burgeoning population of informal settlers living around creeks and rivers. We are all familiar with the situation. Instead of dealing with the problem, politicians would rather play ball with informal settlers in exchange for votes during elections.

In fact, it is not only the informal settlers who erect structures on top of creeks and rivers. In Cebu City, a mall sits on top of a creek in the downtown area. Such indiscriminate construction clogs the passage of rain water, preventing it from washing out into the sea.  Now we understand why the downtown area and nearby barangays get flooded and water goes up to waist-level even with small to moderate rainfall.

Philippine urban planners also need to study the case of Bangkok, Thailand after it suffered severe flooding in 2010. In the catastrophic flood of that year, the city had to absorb all the economic and social problems.

A study by Asian experts cited “unbalanced development as the weakest point of urban planning in many Asian countries,” that’s according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a November 2011 report. The case of Thailand turned out to be a classic example, because the country “focused all its energy on the country’s business and political capital,” Bangkok.

In the national setting, the idea would be not to allow new businesses to be set up around Metro Manila because it would draw more migrant workers that put more pressure on government to deliver added basic utilities. Or in the local setting, instead of attracting new investments to Cebu City, future investments should be diverted to less developed areas especially those on higher land.

Heavy rainfall which is synonymous with severe flooding in the context of national and local problems is the “new normal,” according to a state official.

The problem is a formidable and one that calls for concerted action by government and the private sector. Civic involvement is a must if we are to at least mitigate the problem.