Three years and still the same

By: Jude Sulit

IT HAS been three years since the destructive widespread floods and the relentlessness of heavy rains killed almost 500 Filipinos in Luzon awakened not just the public but most significantly, the government, to the terrifying wrath, and revenge perhaps, of nature. Was it not for the fact that this tragedy destroyed millions worth of infrastructures, business and livelihood, the rehabilitation of all critical watersheds and waterways in the country might not have been instigated.

In commemoration of Ondoy’s third anniversary, hundreds of environment advocates planted trees at the Marikina Watershed, considered to be “Metro Manila’s last line of defense against floods”, to circumvent, as much as possible, the occurrence of the same scenario caused by the typhoon.

According to an Inquirer report, some 500 volunteers from nine government and non-government organizations, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation participated in the cause. The group’s collective capacities and efforts successfully packed a 10-hectare area in Barangay Pintong Bocaue, San Mateo, Rizal, with 8,000 seedlings of 10 different species.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said in a report that by simply remembering the infamous scenario, that painfully hit the country on September 26, 2009, is not good enough. For him, Filipinos should learn and live the lessons it taught.

“What happened three years ago remains vivid to each other and every one of us,” he said in a statement. 

“The damage, the loss, the emotional scar are still there, particularly to those who lost their loved ones but somehow, it taught us some good lessons to be more resilient in light of climate change.”

Marikina’s residential areas, until these days, were severely affected not just by Ondoy but also by the previous consecutive typhoons. This annual condition, according to National Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), is plainly the product of the city’s heavily silted watershed’s upstream and downstream branches that could not contain the massive downpour which, more often than not, results to overflowing and subsequently to extensive flooding.

If the magnitude and gravity of Ondoy’s fury in Marikina would be measured, the residents of Provident Village, one of the hardest-hit areas, could have the most of experiences. The urgency to climb to their rooftops and other possible structures and stay there for longer hours, as their subdivision turned out to be the catch basin of the raging water of Marikina River has been the last thing they had resorted to for their survival. The floodwaters, according to reports, climbed to nearly 23 feet.

The typhoon’s havoc was also unleashed in the cities of Malabon, Caloocan, Muntinlupa, Quezon, Makati, Manila, Pasay, Taguig, Antipolo, Valenzuela and San Juan. Its strong rains also triggered immense flooding in the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal and Laguna.

With this historical phenomenon, La Liga Policy Institute, National Development Organization, that has similar goals of the above mentioned cause called for the government to have a firm political will to fully address the problems on flooding.

“Ondoy’s rainfall was really of epic proportion as experts had noted. But, we must also acknowledge the fact that the flooding then was aggravated by the eroded capacity of our watersheds and waterways to contain the massive downpour and make this flow freely toward larger natural water catch basins and ultimately, the sea” La Liga Managing Director Roland Cabigas said in a report.

How does the government respond on this?

Today, the search for solutions continues to prevent a repeat of this catastrophe.

According to Marikina Representative Romero Federico Quimbo, putting up a dam in the nearby area in Montalban, Rizal could be the quickest and yet effective solution.

Aiming for a long term answer for this problem, he said in a news report, “a more comprehensive solution is needed, one that involves waste segregation, the clean-up and rehabilitation or drainage and creek systems, and the reforestation of the Marikina watershed.”

“To make the watershed effective in preventing floods, at least 25 million trees need to be replanted considering that almost 80% of the 28,000 hectare watershed is already denuded. And it will probably take at least 10 years to do that.”

In order to establish a complete and lasting solution, the Aquino administration has allotted P5 billion for flood-control projects under the Department of Public Works and High Ways, which are for the implementation of a flood mitigation plan in Metro Manila and nearby provinces until 2035.

Included in this plan are the strengthening and restoration of the Manila Bay seawall, the Upper Marikina River Improvement, construction of Navotas’ breakwater and those pumping stations in Malabon and Navotas that impose great danger during high tides and strong rains.

Though Ondoy is considered to be the most destructive storm that hit the Philippines, the tragedy, on its lighter side, inculcated among government officials and residents positive traits worthy of emulation-unity and readiness at all times.

But Ondoy cannot be forgotten. It has been a part of the country’s history, as the general perception of an unusual, destructive typhoon and widespread devastation. Filipinos’ vivid memory of this tragedy serves not just a wake-up call but a constant reminder of how deadly nature’s revenge can be that it should never be taken for granted.