LLDA blames FVR for floods

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Fidel Ramos was not spared yesterday from the blame game that followed the recent flooding of Metro Manila and parts of Rizal and Laguna.

Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) general manager Edgardo Manda told the Serye Café news forum that Ramos should bear part of the responsibility for the floods and the destruction and deaths that they have caused.

In 1995, Manda said then President Ramos ordered the relocation of squatter families along the Pasig and San Juan rivers to the 208-hectare Lupang Arenda, a wide strip of land that surrounds a large part of Laguna Lake.

From a few thousand individuals spread over the land, settlers steadily increased to more than 5,000 families who occupied even waterways, trapping water in the lake and thus flooding communities around it, he said.

He said these communities would remain flooded for up to four more months.

Manda suggested that to prevent flooding in the future, the government would have to resort to forced evacuation of families along waterways.

In a related development, Cotabato Rep. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza proposed yesterday that cities and towns require the installation of rainwater collectors in all shopping malls, office buildings, factories, schools, subdivisions and farming villages.

“The rainwater we dread today on account of the death and destruction caused by rampaging floods and overflowing dams will soon be a lifesaver, given the weather bureau’s warning of a menacing drought once the rainy season is over,” she said.

“Once the dry spell sets in, our farmers will have to deal with scarce rainfall and lack of water to irrigate fields. Stored rainwater will prove vital to preserving harvests,” she said.

Taliño-Mendoza said local governments are in the best position to mandate the installation of water harvesting systems since they issue building permits for all construction jobs in their areas.

“We should encourage viable small-scale water collectors at the building, neighborhood or even household level,” she said.

She suggested that Congress should also require the installation of rainwater receptacles as part of a new “green” Building Code that is friendlier to the environment and more responsive to adverse climate changes.

“In America and elsewhere, rainwater is already being methodically hoarded and recycled to flush toilets and hose down parks and gardens in and around skyscrapers,” she said.

“But of course the best water collectors are trees. Nothing beats having trees in all open spaces, whether public or private. So we should still aggressively encourage the planting of trees,” she added.

Although not frequented by typhoons, Taliño-Mendoza’s home province and other parts of Central Mindanao have been hit by recurring floods. The heavily silted Mindanao River easily spills into population centers.

To address the problem, President Arroyo has established the multi-agency Presidential Task Force for the Mindanao River Basin Rehabilitation and Development, headed by Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo.

The task force has been removing silt from the river but its job has been hampered by lack of funds.

“We are definitely counting on the extra P12-billion calamity fund to help finance the recovery of the Mindanao River. Otherwise, Central Mindanao will be vulnerable to more flooding and destruction in the years ahead,” Taliño-Mendoza said. – Jess Diaz