While we were sleeping

After the President’s SONA last Monday, the local government units quickly responded to his call to reclaim all public roads that are being used for private purposes and to clear their streets in order to ease traffic.

Metro Manila Development Authority (or MMDA) led all the mayors in this clean-up campaign. Mayors were interviewed by media. We saw the mayors who quickly responded to the call and those who did not. Duterte ordered DILG Secretary Eduardo Año to suspend mayors who will not comply. The mayors were given 45 days to clear obstructions on public roads not only illegally-park vehicles but also illegal vending and illegal structures.

Nonetheless, I think that the MMDA should come up with a standard and clear cut rule on traffic and parking across the metropolis because it can be very confusing to the public. Traffic enforcers or highway patrol officers should be trained to handle citizens who feel entitled and all-powerful, thinking they can easily get away with the law. Those who have violated the rule, who continue to reason out and go out of hand should be arrested. They should be cleared from the streets and just do the explaining and further investigation in the precinct so as not to cause more traffic congestion. The real problem are those powerful bigwigs who show off calling cards or “traffic car passes” to indicate that they should be free from questioning. Are we still in the age of “palakasan” or patronage? Sanamagan!

By the way, in 2018, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) reported that the Philippines is losing P3.5 billion a day due to traffic congestion in the metropolis. In a later study JICA said that the country is also projected to lose P5.4 billion to traffic daily by 2035 if no interventions are made. I hope that both the MMDA and local governments sustain this move or else it may be another case of “ningas kugon”. Abangan!

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While we were sleeping we were awakened by sirens, alarms and a loud buzz coming from our mobile phones last Saturday at four o’clock in the morning. It was an alert coming from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (or NDRRMC) to inform us of MMDA’s 5th metro-wide shake drill to assess our region’s preparedness in the event of a coming earthquake. Little did we know that a real earthquake was already about to happen in Batanes at 4:16, a few minutes later in the morning.

The town folk of Itbayat, Batanes experienced the first quake with a 5.4 magnitude followed with a stronger one with a 5.9 magnitude. The third movement was recorded off Basco, Batanes with a 5.8 magnitude at 9:24 am and another one at 6:11 pm with a 4.9 magnitude. Several weak tremors had been already felt a week before this big one hit.

The irony about this Saturday’s MMDA exercise in the NCR region and the Batanes earthquake shows how our government works. We are not thorough in managing the affairs of the country. In fact, as we focus on Metro Manila, we tend to take the rest of the nation for granted. In this case, Batanes wasn’t prepared at all for a coming earthquake despite the fact that for years now all schools and offices in Metro Manila have been required to do earthquake and fire drills. What is happening to our national government? Talk about the NDRRMC! What have they actually done since their inception? Are they truly keeping the country safe and prepared from disasters?

By the way, the NDRRMC “is the agency tasked to prepare for, and respond to, natural calamities, like typhoons and earthquakes. It also monitors human-induced emergencies, such as armed conflicts and maritime accidents.”

Those who were killed by the earthquake died while they were sleeping. Their homes probably couldn’t handle the intensity of the quake. Several structures in Itbayat like the Sta. Maria de Mayan Church and many ancestral homes were damaged. Haven’t we learned from the heartbreaking earthquake experience three years ago that destroyed 10 national heritage churches in Cebu and Bohol? Are the city/ provincial engineers really doing their work? We are talking about lives wasted due to complacencies, inefficiencies and corruption of our public officials. Word has it that private groups are even sending all forms of help to Batanes because the government cannot handle it themselves. Yes, this is good. It is called “brotherhood” but what happened to the thousands of government officials who are getting paid from our taxes to do the job? What are the different branches of government and their merrily men doing?

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In his SONA the President also highlighted the protection of the environment. He mentioned the Manila Bay rehabilitation program which started last January 27, 2019 but nothing has been heard of this much publicized clean up in the past five months. I wonder what Secretary Cimatu reported to the President? I really want to be surprise with the results because this massive multi-billion rehabilitation of the Manila Bay has raised the hopes of Filipinos and foreigners alike. Has the Manila Bay Task Force (Administrative Order #16) led by Secretary Roy Cimatu come up with the strategic plan supposedly contained in the First Quarterly Report to the President?  Has the relocation of the several hundred thousand families living along the banks of the Bay and Pasig River started? How about the 17 rivers from the four provinces, the five cities in Metro Manila and the 1,918 polluted esteros in the metropolis that drains their trash and sewage to the bay?

Last I heard, the self-imposed one-year deadline of Cimatu has not even reached the middleground. What about the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan still being done by the Consultants from the Netherlands? What is happening? I hope Cimatu clears himself to the public and most especially to the President who thinks that “thy will be done immediately”.

The “Battle of the Manila Bay” can only happen when you put your heart and mind in the work. I think the key here is the new mayor of Manila who has the will (so far) to really get things done.