By Jesmael M. Montaña

Ondoy has brought out the true essence of the plethora of promises of our politicians’ harangue that reverberate at the dawn of our elections next year. The bitter truth about all these so called concern and heart for the masses has starkly emerged. Painful as it may be, but that’s something that we have awakened to lately — the Philippines has not produced leaders that genuinely care for the Filipino. Much has been said about the catastrophic event as an “act of God or force majeure” but not much has been said about the negligence of our leadership. Something could have been done to prevent or minimize this senseless loss. This fact has stared many of our past and present leaders in their faces. Their “looking somewhere else” won’t take away the obvious heartlessness.

Ondoy Typhoon Aftermath

Paulo Alcazaren, in one of his insightful articles (The Philippine Star, October 03, 2009,) mentioned that Singapore’s highest recorded rainfall was 467 mm, which obviously eclipses the highest recorded rainfall of Ondoy at approximately 350mm to 400mm. It was something the Singaporeans have studied and prepared for, which is, sad to say, the exact opposite in the case of the Philippines. By the ‘70s, Singapore’s rivers were cleared and vital city wide drainage infrastructure were set in place.

The pathetic truth is that during the ‘70s, the Philippines was way ahead of Singapore economically. Singapore then was rejected by Malaysia when they applied to be one of its ‘states’ and on top of this was the withdrawal of the British military base. Yet their leaders made sure that their vital infrastructure was built to address this perennial flood-problem. Wide drainage open canals and culverts were put in place making sure that they could handle the highest recorded rainfall brought by the yearly torrential monsoon rains. Mr. Alcazaren mentions that even building entrances were designed “with thresholds that had floor finish elevations centimetres higher than that 1969 historical record (their highest recorded rainfall in a hundred years.)” Mr. Alcazaren even described the “the world-famous 12-meter-wide pedestrian paradise of Orchard Walk parallel to the road is actually a humongous drainage canal underneath. It is regularly cleaned and accessible by small service vehicles.”

The Singaporean leadership didn’t just fix the infrastructure of their canal system, they also understood that they needed to factor-in the vital landscape that was needed in storm water management. They put in place, as Alcazaren said, “… large green open spaces, parks and plating verges along major thoroughfares filled with vegetation — all, I found later — functioned also to absorb rainwater aside from keeping the city cool and green.”

If there is something noticeable about developed countries, it’s the proliferation of gardens, parks and well managed forest reserves which is ruefully lacking in the Philippines. We have literally built an ‘asphalt jungle.’ During weekends, traffic in developed countries would be concentrated on routes leading out of the city towards the outskirts where fishing grounds, lakes, jogging trails and national forest parks abound. The exact opposite is seen in our metropolis. Traffic is stupendously making a bee-line towards our malls because we love to indulge in our ‘malling culture.’

Singapore’s Orchard Road

Malaysia had to face the onslaught of the same perennial torrential monsoon rains head on. Although a bit later than the Singaporeans, they set the development of retention reservoirs, so that water can be held and used for other alternative purposes. Additional drainage canals were built and what has been featured in engineering documentary shows, the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel or SMART Tunnel. A dual purpose storm drainage and road tunnel, 9.7 kilometres long. When floodwaters are minimal, the lowest section allows water through, when floodwaters are heavy, the entire road portion is closed and the whole tunnel lets storm water through.

Malaysia’s S.M.A.R.T. Tunnel

Now we are faced with a complicated situation because the banks of our rivers and creeks are inhabited by informal settlers, thus impeding the quick flow of floodwaters. Add to that our heavily silted major riverbeds including our main catch basin, Laguna de Bay. During the early 1900s, Laguna de Bay was around 9 meters deep. By the ‘70s, due to the normal siltation process of nature, it was approximately 6 meters deep. Now it’s a mere 3 meters or probably even less. Laguna de Bay is a major source of millions of kilos of fish and other freshwater produce every year. But after Ondoy, it has become a wasteland – unable to handle the rainwater. Consequently, some residential areas around it are still flooded up to now. Dredging will cost around five billion pesos. Add to this the denudation of our forest, lack of proper waste management and wanton, careless disposal of garbage resulting in what we now have —an environmental nightmare that will haunt us for a long, long time.

Laguna de Bay, Philippines

As early as the late ‘40s, according to Alcazaren, “the master plan for Quezon City and environs was set up by a group of Filipino and American, architects, planners, and landscape architects. The basin from Laguna to Marikina all the way up to Montalban was already identified as a greenbelt that was to be consolidated and conserved for functional as well as aesthetic purposes. The importance of maintaining these areas as agricultural and open land was further reinforced by the knowledge, as early as 1949 that a fault runs through the area all the way to Muntinlupa.” Our leaders during the ‘50s did not act on it.

Proposed Parañaque Spillway

By the ‘70s, Felino Palafox Jr. cited that a study was funded by the World Bank on a land-use plan that was finalized by Hong Kong-based consulting firm Freeman Fox and Associates. Areas that were severely flooded recently were already cited as areas wherein development should be controlled and managed. A key solution in the study submitted in the ‘70s was the Parañaque Spillway in order to relieve the Laguna de Bay of excess water. Alcazaren noted that “The government could not or would not get the right of way, or the money and plan disappeared.” Now we still wonder if our leaders would act on it. It’s brain-dead enough that we need to convene a senate investigation to talk about the gradual and early release of excess water in our dams. Hello! It’s mental suicide that our leaders need to discuss the importance of Doplar radars. Oops, I almost forgot that I have to pretend to think that they’re broken for the people and all of this is not simply making the most out of their misery for media mileage.

Elections are fast approaching and once again we will hear a barrage of promises from our politicians. Goodies and moneys will be tossed to the masses and once again, many will be stupid enough to vote for them because they have been raised with the scraps of decrepit education, since our best academic institutions have, at its best, produced the pitiless entrepreneurial and political leaders we have now. Of course, relief goods will be distributed so that the culprits can sleep at night nightmare-free. People will be allowed to build settlements beside the creeks, rivers and landslide-prone areas. The masses will think that the politician really cares for their well-being, when we all know what they really care about. Most are only concerned for where they can buy their scandalously-priced signature accoutrements with names we could hardly pronounce, how they can satisfy their stupendously high-gourmet taste buds and how they can provide their children’s allowances amounting to three to four times Juan de la Cruz’s minimum wage. Their children will also develop a calloused stomach to swallow fodder from this nefarious source, quickly learning the tricks of the trade and this heart-wrenching saga can go on and on and on, ad infinitum.

A desperate crowd

Despite these things, the recent events brought out the heroism of many of our countrymen. The names of Muelmar Magallanes, Ancheta and others have warmed our hearts as they lost their lives for the sake of others. People with speedboats, jet skis or even pool boats went out of their comfort zones and into harms way to save some people. We realize that despite the darkness, there are beacons shining and giving us hope. We need to raise up more of this kind of people from the next generation. We need to remind our next generation that life is found in having a raison d’être, a mission, a purpose. We need to tap into something deeper, something greater within. We need to recoup the Filipino soul, rather than calling these catastrophes “acts of God,” because that’s what many of our leaders want us to believe.

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