EDITORIAL - Resettlement

From the flood-devastated communities of Marikina, 145 families have voluntarily moved to a relocation site in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. At the same time that this news came out, a government official dealing with the urban poor reported that thousands of families were returning to the Manggahan floodway, rebuilding the informal settlements that were swept away by the floods spawned by storm “Ondoy.”

The first lesson that must be learned by local government executives from Ondoy’s devastation is that lives are put at risk and natural drainage systems are clogged, aggravating flooding, when authorities allow informal settlements to be built along waterways and catchments. The Manggahan floodway in particular must be kept free of any obstruction and must be declared a danger zone for those who want to turn it into a residential area. A taxpayer’s suit can be filed against local government and barangay officials who allow squatting especially in flood-prone areas.

But local executives will need a lot of help if they are serious in their efforts to relocate squatters. Relocation sites must be prepared by the national government, and the sites must have sufficient facilities and services to discourage resettled families from returning to the cities.

A basic necessity, after water supply, food sources and new housing have been guaranteed in a resettlement site, is livelihood opportunity, the lack of which drives people in the countryside to try their luck in urban centers, even if it means living in a shanty along the banks of a creek. The residents of Marikina who voluntarily moved to Sta. Rosa are reportedly planning to start slipper and handbag enterprises. Unless resettled people are given jobs or livelihood opportunities, they will keep returning to the cities, even if it means risking their necks by residing in flood-prone slum communities.

A second necessity that can discourage resettled families from returning to urban slums is access to education. Many people migrate to the cities because of inadequate education services in rural areas. They will not stay long in a resettlement site where there is no school. Unless proper relocation sites are built, informal settlements will rise again, even with the knowledge that makeshift homes are on the path of killer floods.