Preparing Metro Manilans for earthquakes

As if traffic and flooding  problems heaped on him  23 hours a day were not enough, Metro Manila Development Authority Chair Francis Tolentino received in the morning of October 15, 2013, the earth-shaking report that a 7.2-magnitude earthquake had struck the island province of Bohol. In a matter of hours figures on dead and injured persons and collapsed structures were aired and broadcast on media outlets. But the chairman was not alarmed. Two days later, he sent 45 men from his office to the town of  Maribojoc, to help in search and rescue operations there.  That he would send such a contingent there is on account of public safety being a function of MMDA.

Aware of the deadly effects of high-magnitude earthquakes, Tolentino is gravely concerned about preparing people to cope with such natural disasters which occur without warning. Last February 14 — a Valentine’s Day — he had city engineers from Metro Manila  attend a seminar on earthquake readiness. Two years earlier, he  requested shopping mall operators to hold earthquake drills (actually taking only two hours), but his request was not granted, the wrong reason being the drill would cause panic among shoppers.

The chairman’s warning should be taken seriously by all of the metropolis’ residents.  A geohazard map shows that a magnitude 7 earthquake in Metro Manila would kill 35,000 in the first hour, flatten thousands of buildings, and start conflagrations.

Nor should one take the West Valley Fault, or Marikina Fault as mere myth. Tolentino confirmed that the fault breaking out is due any time soon. This fault stretches from Quezon City to Marikina to Mandaluyong-Pasig, then to  Taguig-Makati, and to Parañaque-Las Piñas, Muntinlupa to Laguna-Cavite to Tagaytay.

The chair’s  earthquake-readiness proposal calls for fielding of engineering students to inspect structures, and requiring residents to go to city hall for permits to refurbish their residential buildings.  Earthquake drills should be undertaken in all levels of Metro Manila. This will require the coordination of government agencies, from barangay captains to higher-level public and private office heads, and community and non-government organizations.  He has asked Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista to require residents to show compliance permits before they pay their real estate taxes. He also proposes that homeowners insure their structures.

Should  an intensity 7.2 earthquake occur in Guadalupe, Makati, Guadalupe bridge will be blocked off, and LRT-MRT lines shut down. Motorists should walk to the nearest of four major open spaces: Villamor Air Base golf Club in Bicutan; Ultra stadium in Pasig; Intramuros golf course in Manila, and the Veterans Memorial Hospital golf course in Quezon City. 

With the unprecedented natural and man-made disasters taking place all over the world, residents of the Philippines should prepare to avert disasters for  themselves and their families. This warning is not only because of the Bohol tragedy, but because earthquakes are due anytime, like a thief in the night.

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The second Laguna Blogging Summit (#2LaBS) will be held Nov. 14-15 at the Cultural Center of Laguna inside the provincial capitol at the municipality of Santa Cruz. This year, the organizers have invited different empowered and powerful influences from the mainstream media and online whom they tag as “social revolutionists for showing their advocacies without fear, conveying their voices effectively with action, influencing their communities, and by being representatives of social forces.”

Like last year, Gov. Jeorge “ER” Ejercito is supporting this important event.

Last year’s summit had 700 representatives from different schools such as Laguna State Polytechnic University (LSPU), AMA, STI and UPLB. De La Salle Zobel from Ayala, Alabang has indicated attendance at the summit which will tackle such subjects as  marketing,  effectiveness of social media in today’s business,  the Cybercrime Law, Anti Cyber Bullying, Blogging 101 and why 33 percent of Filipinos are online users.

According to former 2nd District of Laguna board member and now the new assistant secretary general of Philippine Red Cross Neil Andrew Nocon, “The first  Laguna blogging summit last year contributed to the Laguna influx flow of tourist.” He can very well make the same statement re this coming November event.

For more information, call Grace Bondad Nicolas, one of the summit organizer, at the summit official website, http://www/labsph.com; Twitter: @labsummit #21LaBSFacebook: Laguna Blogging Summit; Mobile: 0921-3191471.

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We took the early morning PAL flight to Cagayan de Oro City  which landed at the new Lagindingan airport. From there a friend took us to CDO, more than two kilometers away, then proceeded to Gingoog City where I had the opportunity to visit my father’s and sister’s  resting place. The airport facility is quite a remarkable structure, spanking clean and technically-compliant.  My husband and I had been invited by the late Press Secretary Cerge Remonde to visit the airport while it was still under construction some three  to four years ago, and even then, we were impressed by its features.  Foreign and local investors wishing to do business in Cagayan de Oro City will find the location ideal. But not so with ordinary flight passengers who will have to hire a taxi or private vehicle to get to Cagayan de Oro. This costs money, and discourages travellers on a tight budget from taking the plane from Manila.  I hope that public transport will be made available so travel to the city will not be so taxing for passengers.

We spent the three days we were in Gingoog chatting with a sister who’s not quite well, and her daughter, Jek, who is taking care of her so patiently and lovingly, and going around the city in a padyak (foot-pedalled, not motorized).  A must-see was the pahayahay,  the old pier converted to a park where the locals and Balik-Gingoognons took in the nice sea air and a splendid view of Mt. Balatucan. My husband had two tennis games with Atty. Guy Balsamo, Dr. Ed Mortiz, and the Guanzon cousins. I met an old acquaintance, Dennis Gomez, who shared his formula for successfully dealing with his diabetes: eat milled corn instead of rice, vegetables, walking, and no Coke. A simple diet, but sometimes hard to follow on my part. Maybe this time I should.

Jek and her charge, Chelo took us to the latest swimming resort in Libertad, about three kilometers from the city. It consists of two pea-shaped pools whose water comes straight from a stream, and several cottages.  The owner of the place, Joven Hisola, is a businessman. “IT’s my wife Tita, a school teacher, who insisted that we convert our farm lot to a small resort.”  If we had the time, we could have proceeded to Tiklas for a swim in three tiered pools , beneath a strong waterfalls.

We were treated to a Chinese lunch by our good friend, former RTC Judge Potenciano de los Reyes at Esland Restaurant. Still head of the city tourism council, he  said Gingoog has 30 waterfalls, which the city administration is developing into resorts slowly. Providing us some political and social tidbits was his smart daughter, Marilith, the city clerk of court, who brought along his son Miggy, an honor fourth grader.  

Talking about water, we are reminded of Odiongan waterfalls, just at the city outskirts, which could be developed into a powerful hydrothermal plant. I hope the new mayor, Marie Guingona, will consider this project one of her priorities in her socio-economic program for Gingoog.

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