By Augusto Villalon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
LAST week’s column piece “Where Have All the ‘Esteros’ Gone?” has generated several feedback from readers.
“Let’s change the way we live,” writes M.L.C. “All is not lost, we can still reverse the situation now...though we must first do our part in taking care of Mother Nature.”
“Your article was a good read for those who are concerned with what just happened [the floods]...One thing for us to look into is the lowly bamboo as alternative for construction. It is sturdy and grows easily. Plant them in areas prone to landslides.
“We have to live simply so that others may simply live.”
From another reader: “Yes, I agree the drainage in Manila is so outdated it is the big reason why rains flood Manila.”
Krisbelle of Pagadian City, who has been living in Manila for eight years, observes in Filipino: “I do not see cleanliness in Manila; people here do not care about their surroundings. Only one thing will prevent flooding, that canals and drainage are not clogged and proper exits are provided.”
Chronic disregard
Readers express mainly outrage at how the government has allowed the state of the urban and rural environments to dismally deteriorate.
Outrage? By all means, we should be outraged.
Look at the chronic disregard of planning and environmental ordinances by government authorities and real-estate developers.
Consider the poor maintenance of drainage and flood-control facilities; over-concreting of urban areas; unregulated building over natural waterways and open public areas, whether urban or rural; massive deforestation. These are just a few of a multitude of issues that must be looked into immediately.
But we are as much at fault as those in authority whom we like to blame.
Illegal residents squat on easements and clog waterways with trash. From upscale communities like Forbes Park to mid-scale BF Homes, residents appropriate public easements as well, either fencing them off or worse still, covering them over with permanent structures that clog urban waterways with concrete.
Plastic-free Philippines
These days, a covered basketball-cum-multipurpose area gifted by the leading local politician is the centerpiece of most town plazas, displacing the usual open planted areas that would have naturally drained excess water back into the ground. Goodbye to natural water absorption.
Despite ill-enforced environmental laws to protect our forests, rampant illegal logging persists. Goodbye to natural flood control.
Rather than being outraged at government carelessness and blaming it for the widespread degradation, should we not also be outraged at ourselves for being so remiss?
In the same way that ordinary citizens banded together to help out flood victims, people can channel their energy protecting the environment. We could start simply by taking care of our immediate surroundings, keeping it clean and free from garbage, avoiding the use of plastic altogether.
A plastic-free Philippines makes so much sense after seeing how drains and waterways clogged by plastic caused flooding and destruction. This is a call for us to use biodegradable materials.
We should let our cities breathe again. Peel away as much concrete as possible. Restore open areas and replant trees and shrubs to allow excess water to drain naturally back into the ground.
It is time to change our environmental paradigms. The old way of environmental laissez faire does not work, as the floods have so cruelly shown us.
After the floods, we can’t go back to our old habits. We have to change the way we live.
E-mail feedback and comments to pride.place@gmail.com.
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