Much has been said on the massive flooding caused by typhoon Ondoy and Pepeng. During the week that followed, senatorial and presidential wannabes conveniently pointed a blaming finger to LGUs and spouted their own brand of prevention against another flooding to that scale and magnitude. Anyone but themselves. Very typical.

Taking advantage of media mileage, presidential wannabes gave their opinion on the recent flooding in Metro Manila, particularly Pasig and Marikina; nearby Cainta, Rizal; and Northern Luzon such as Pangasinan, Tarlac, and Bulacan. Here are the wannabes:

Gibo blamed the obsolete equipment of PAGASA. He said if only PAGASA had the state-of-the-art equipment to monitor weather disturbances and predict accurately on the strength, timing, intensity and volume of rainfall brought by a typhoon, then we could have better prepared ourselves for the coming onslaught of any typhoon.

Observing that 90 percent of Marikina was submerged in water, Bayani echoed the observations of PAGASA that Ondoy surpassed all other storms in Philippine history by dumping a month’s worth of rain in twelve hours. On the issue of rubbish that were scattered and piled up everywhere, Bayani admits that MMDA finds it difficult to clear all mountains of garbage in 72 hours as instructed by the president.

On this issue, Loren found an opportunity to grandstand. In a public hearing, the lady senator blamed the LGUs for not properly implementing the Solid Waste Management Act or the proper segregation of waste and its disposal. In a sudden flash of brilliance, she proposed a “shame” strategy– public humiliation to those violators of the law– to address this issue. Methinks, what a waste!

Other politicos, including Chiz and Dick, proposed extra appropriations to help victims of Ondoy. Chiz even went as far as taking the administrators of the San Roque dam to courts for causing tremendous damage in Pangasinan and Tarlac.

Another public figure proposed a study on Laguna Bay, after reports that water-levels of the bay surged to record-levels. The bay, he said, overflowed resulting to flooding in nearby areas.

Note that Marikina and Pasig Rivers interconnect and serve as a natural drainage system for excess rainwater from the Sierra Madre mountains on the east and the hilly Quezon City on the west. The excess rainwater then flows out either to Manila Bay or Laguna de Bay. Since Laguna de Bay had already overflowed after Ondoy and Pasig River was clogged by rubbish, it is not surprising then that the Marikina-Pasig-Rizal Valley would become a scene similar to the Underwater movie. To aggravate matters, Ondoy brought more rain than any other typhoon in recent history. So, it took only a little time for the flood water level to go up.

Notice that the flood water in Markina and Pasig were brown, as in muddy brown, unlike the murky floodwaters of Manila, Pasay, Makati and other parts of Quezon City. I had surmised that the muddy floods we experienced in Pasig must have come directly from nearby Rizal province, which is known to have extensive property developments and illegal logging. Result? Soil erosion and landslides. To compound the situation even more, waterways were cramped by illegal settlers and clogged by their rubbish as well as industrial wastes. Result? Record-breaking floods and sadly, deaths.

Everywhere, everyone seems to agree that Pasig River needs to be dredged and rehabilitated so that rainwater coming from Sierra Madre and the hilly parts of Quezon City will not be trapped in the Marikina Valley and surrounding plains.

Let’s take their arguments one by one.

1.) We need state-of-the-art technology to accurately predict storms and its rainfall.
– Yes. We do need to upgrade our weather detection equipment. No problem with that. But will it prevent the flood from occurring? No.

2.) No to shifting the blame to others. We should look into what really caused the flooding.
– Yes, it does not serve us well to finger-point and even blame nature for our sorry state. An inquiry is a must, indeed. But is that all we have to say?

3.) We need to properly implement the Solid Waste Management Act.
– Indeed, we do. In fact, all the affected cities were front-runners in implementing this law, yet all of them experienced flooding to record-levels. All the rubbish that were scattered everywhere after Ondoy’s wrath were destroyed properties of affected residents, including household trash. While proper implementation of the law may help reduce pollution, it doesn’t solve the root cause of the problem, does it?

4.) We need to de-clog and rehabilitate Pasig River.
– Yes, we do. Dredging the river is one. But is dredging alone sufficient to solve our persistent problem of flooding? No, it isn’t.

5.) Installing an alarm system and instituting a standard protocol in the release of water from dams.
– Yes, we need a sufficient and an effective alarm system and standard protocol to warn residents that administrators would be releasing waters from dams. Again, will that prevent flooding? No, it won’t.

While all the proposals presented have their own merits, they do not address the issue at its core. The proposals are band-aid solutions at its best and implicitly shows that they possess a political will as strong as a jelly. Thus, I pose these questions for all of us:

Why not attack the problem of flooding at its roots? Why not go after the illegal loggers who helped in precipitating soil erosion and landslides that cost a hundred lives? Why don’t mayors of these affected town and cities ban people from erecting shelters under bridges and along riverbanks? Specifically, why not impose a measure that prohibits construction of shelters within nine meters from riverbanks and mandates construction of medium- to high-rise buildings in low-lying areas such as the Marikina Valley (as proposed in a 1970s study by renowned engineer Jun Palafox and other experts in urban planning)? And come to think of it, why don’t we extend this throughout the land by legislating a national policy to this effect and see to it that the law is respected by all, no exceptions?

Why do we punish dam administrators who were just following protocol when residents also contributed to the problem by stubbornly erecting their shelters along rivers and other danger zones, and when LGUs failed to properly implement zoning laws just to garner more votes to cater to their own political ambitions? And if the people we elect in public offices fail us, why do we let them get away with it?

I know. History has taught us that we, as a nation, have a chronic myopia, a jelly-like political backbone, and a stubborn streak of turning a blind eye from the real issue. All of these ‘sins’ prevent us from getting out of this mess. Isn’t it high time for us to get our acts together instead of waiting for another disaster and tragedy to get us moving? Let us be pro-active instead of reactive.

ACT NOW!