Sustaining the environment

In a recent show over dzRJ, the panelists and I had a very interesting discussion with Secretary Sal Panelo on how this pandemic is teaching us to be both conscious and appreciative of our environment. In the middle of fear and uncertainty, people were, on the other hand, also noticing how the skies were much bluer and the waters cleaner. Nonetheless, and again, still in the middle of a pandemic, nature has its ways and acts of god are unavoidable. Our climate goes through specific changes and every year it is routine that we brace for floods and storms.

In November of 2020, for example, the Philippine Coast Guard were part of an extremely rigorous rescue that trapped residents in chest-deep floods in Marikina. It is not the first time that Marikina went through such a devastating experience, which is why Task Force Build Back Better began its dredging activities in Marikina River on Feb. 17. Under the leadership and TF BBB chair Secretary Roy Cimatu of the DENR, the pilot dredging took place in the portion of the river near Marcos Highway in Barangay Kalumpang, with a simultaneous bamboo planting activity in the banks of Barangay Industrial Valley complex, both located in Marikina City.

In an initial report, Secretary Cimatu explained that portions of the river have been illegally reclaimed, causing the inability of the waterway to contain excess rainwater during typhoon season. Using as basis official land records which dated as far as 1914 and 1961, as well as historical maps and satellite photos, and in a news release, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources NCR conducted aerial and ground verification surveys which confirmed encroachments made in the river as well as the designated legal easements. It is no surprise therefore to find how some have explicitly constructed permanent structures, violating Article 51 of PD 1067 which prohibits such acts along three meters of the banks of rivers and streams and shores of seas and lakes in urban areas such as Metro Manila, as these areas have been reserved for public use.

It is also good to note that, based on existing land records, 25 lot parcels with a total area reaching 27 hectares were reclaimed without necessary permits, either partially or completely encroaching into the Marikina River. A crisis has indeed caused to develop so much awareness to a point that when we are hit hard, we realize why we have also got to recover back harder by doing our homework. If you were part of those who have suffered such horrific events, information on the why and how we ever got here should inspire us to do our due diligence.

Participating in reforms headed by agencies such as the DENR is a way to ensure that this will never happen again, especially to the generations that ought to benefit from their communities as well as its natural resources. It is therefore not enough for us to simply appreciate the beauty of nature but also how nature responds to us when we do not become accountable for its sustainability.

Sustaining the environment is also everybody’s business. Now that the DENR has done its part and started yet another massive program to save our environment, sustaining all this becomes also the job of each and every inhabitant of their city. This again is what we mean when we talk about The Whole of Nation Approach. Government cannot do it alone. Civic society must respond.