Traders kick off ‘Decongest Metro’ drive

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The Philippines should begin decongesting Metro Manila, the financial and governing center, so the risks of earthquakes, typhoons and tsunamis hitting the metropolis would not paralyze the economy and government, Pampanga businessmen said here on Friday.

The Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PamCham) launched its campaign called “Decongest Metro Manila for the Country’s Sake,” saying the risks are too high, especially on lives, the government and the national economy.

“It’s simple logic that we cannot put all our eggs in one basket,” PamCham chair emeritus Levy Laus said to illustrate his position  against the concentration of people, offices, businesses, investments and facilities in a single area.

Metro-centric

“We should be able to avert a breakdown of the national government,” Laus told participants in a disaster management forum here. “We have become Metro Manila-centric.” Over 10 million people reside in the country’s capital.

In the forum, Renato Solidum Jr., director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said Metro Manila deals with the risks of earthquakes, liquefaction, storm surges and tsunamis.

The country, he said, had been hit by 90 destructive quakes in the past 400 years.

A 7.3-magnitude quake with the epicenter in Casiguran town in Aurora province in 1968 toppled the Ruby Tower in Manila, killing 268 people.

According to Solidum, 40 tsunamis had occurred on Manila Bay in the past 400 years. The West Valley Fault had moved four times in the past 1,400 years, the last in 1658, he said.

Laus said PamCham’s advocacy to make Metro Manila able to withstand disasters needed legislation.

Pampanga Rep. Oscar Rodriquez said the advocacy should be supported because it concerned not only Metro Manila but the national government and national economy as well.

“We need to implement actions to be able to mitigate the effects especially on the national economy,” said Jim Jimenez, PamCham president.