Paralyzed

For the second time in less than a week, motorists were again trapped in massive flooding in parts of Metro Manila the other day.

From the Skyway at past 10 p.m., you could see traffic at a standstill on the northbound lane of the South Luzon Expressway. Some motorists detoured to the Alabang-Zapote Road in Muntinlupa, where traffic soon crawled as well.

EDSA was described as a virtual parking lot, with motorists complaining that it took them up to five hours to reach Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong from Pasay City.

President Aquino called a Cabinet meeting yesterday – not a regular occurrence in this administration – to tackle the flooding. Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras preferred to spread the blame. Among other things, he said, in so many words, that if people didn’t have filthy habits, drains and waterways wouldn’t be heavily clogged within just a week after being dredged and cleaned up.

The observation is valid, but the burden of cleaning up and flood control still lies heavily on the government. Especially because the national government collects a tax on cinema receipts, which is meant specifically for flood control, while local government units (LGU) collect fees from residents and business establishments specifically for garbage services.

If littering is done with impunity, it’s because no one enforces the law against the misdemeanor and no one gets penalized for it. Even if we tried to emulate Singapore and imposed $200 fines for littering, failure to flush public toilets and chewing gum in public, we would fail in enforcement.

Industrial plants and commercial establishments are among the major polluters of waterways. With prodding from environmental groups, a number of these establishments have been penalized and forced to comply with anti-pollution laws.

I’m still waiting for anyone to be penalized for building structures over natural drainage systems, with no provision for alternative water routes. All over Metro Manila, residents now suffer from flashfloods because developers have made many waterways disappear. It’s not just climate change that causes serious flooding along Sucat Road and Ninoy Aquino Avenue in Parañaque.

We learned no lessons from the indiscriminate reclamation of the natural water catchment in Dagat-Dagatan, Navotas during the Marcos regime, which now turns many areas of Navotas, Malabon, Valenzuela and Caloocan into waterworld even during high tide. Now taxpayers must spend billions for a flood control project in the area whose completion has been much delayed.

Indiscriminate reclamation of natural waterways and drains can be seen even in cemeteries, with the one in La Loma now regularly hit by heavy flooding.

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Among the biggest sources of pollution and garbage clogging waterways are squatters. Let’s face it: informal settlers build shanties precariously along riverbanks for one practical reason – they need not worry about toilet facilities and garbage disposal.

These informal settlements are the most vulnerable to deadly flooding. We have laws, in existence for decades, requiring police and barangay personnel to dismantle illegal dwellings and other structures on waterways and public land as soon as there are signs of construction.

So why are slum areas in Metro Manila and other urban centers increasing rather than the other way around? The slopes of Baguio City, for example, have been stripped of pine trees and now look like the favelas of Brazil.

The answer to that question is the same reason why informal settlers were not driven out of Metro Manila’s riverbanks during summer in this election year: many political fortunes depend on squatter votes.

It’s interesting to watch public officials passing the buck on flood control. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority says it can only do so much in traffic management when waterways and drains are overwhelmed. Dredging is the task of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), according to the MMDA.

The DPWH says it can’t dredge and clean up efficiently until informal settlements are dismantled, which is the job of the Department of the Interior and Local Government. The DILG has jurisdiction over LGUs and police.

For its part, the DILG says squatters can’t be driven out until they get proper relocation sites. “Proper” means not only decent housing but also access to food sources and basic services such as education and health care. Most importantly, informal settlers need sustainable sources of livelihood, which is the main reason most people leave rural areas to try their luck in the cities.

Picking a relocation site can be tricky. Many years ago a large section of Laguna de Bay was reclaimed to make room for a relocation and low-cost housing site. As in Dagat-Dagatan, that bay reclamation area – and not the use of plastic bags, as politicians in the paper bag and fish pen business would have us believe – is seen as one of the biggest causes of serious flooding (compounded by an explosion of fish pens) around the Laguna de Bay floodplain.

The government may be able to provide mass housing for squatters evicted from Metro Manila. But the lack of sustainable livelihood opportunities is the problematic part.

Until “inclusive growth” translates into reality, informal settlements are here to stay, and are likely to expand with runaway population growth.

With more informal settlers clogging riverbanks, and with indiscriminate commercial and other real estate development, we’re stuck with worsening flooding.

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This is happening as climate change is bringing heavier rainfall across the country and even storm surges in Manila Bay. We must also confront the fact that many parts of Metro Manila are in low-lying areas and slowly sinking into the sea. Global warming can hasten this process.

I don’t know if it’s just people’s imagination, but recent downpours seem heavier and floodwaters seem to rise more rapidly. The weather bureau is supposed to now have the equipment for better rainfall forecasting and flood warning, but getting the warning to the public on time still needs fine-tuning.

In this rainy season, the impact of paralysis from worsening floods can approach the economic losses from the crippling power crisis during the first Aquino administration.

Yesterday, classes were suspended in several schools and may remain so amid reports that massive flooding is likely today and tomorrow. There were reports that work would also be suspended in Manila’s City Hall, which is located in one of the most flood-prone areas of the city.

Government officials have said major flood control infrastructure can take years to complete.

Yesterday at the Cabinet meeting, the focus was reportedly on doables. The government can start with traffic flow. Traffic management during floods must be vastly improved, and quickly.