Decongesting Metro Manila is one solution

In response to our article on why the floods of Metro Manila refuses to recede, I got this emailed reply from General Manager Edgardo C. Manda of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), here’s his letter in full:

Dear Mr. Avila, In your column Shooting Straight in The Philippine STAR which appeared today, Friday, October 2, 2009, we would like to correct impressions made by some sectors that the Laguna Lake Development Authority approves subdivisions or land developments along the lake shore of Laguna de Bay. This function is under the DENR and other clearances have been devolved to the local government units.

“LLDA has consistently opposed development within the 12.5 meter elevation of the lake. We have no records on file that LLDA approved any subdivisions plans around or at the fringes of Laguna de Bay’s lakeshore. Thank you and more power! Edgardo Manda Laguna Lake Development Authority.”

I already emailed my reply to Mr. Manda thanking him for this clarification. I mistakenly thought that LLDA would have been the supreme authority to control the lakeshores; apparently it is the DENR and the LGUs. But in last Monday’s editorial in The Philippine STAR entitled “Save the Lake” Environment Secretary Lito Atienza threw back to the LLDA the problem for their refusal to open the Napindan Hydraulic Control System to allow excess water to flow into Manila Bay. Why this is so, we don’t know.

For sure, both the LLDA (for the illegal fishpens) and DENR (for allowing subdivisions beside the lake) are answerable to the people who are still underwater more than a week after tropical storm Ondoy because their action or lack of it has caused the floodwaters to stay put when they are supposed to have receded by now. That the lakeside communities are overcrowded is a big understatement.

While there are only short term solutions to reduce the risk of flooding, however the effects of global warming which has resulted in record breaking rains not only affecting the Philippines, but also other parts of the world, should be our cue to think out of the box. For so long, we’ve always thought of everything within the box and you already know that this ended up with a very unprepared nation to tackle today’s global weather problems.

When President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared the entire nation under a state of calamity, despite the calamities happening only in Luzon, we had no choice but to concur with this pronouncement, after all, we submit to that old adage that the Philippines is Manila and Manila is the Philippines! The long-term solution has been on the table for so long, for this nation to shift towards federated states so that new centers of power would sprout amongst the federal states, which in effect would help decongest Metro Manila and yes, even us in Metro Cebu from those who really don’t belong in the urban centers, but live there because that’s where the jobs are.

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I’m truly elated by that indomitable Filipino spirit that comes together in the midst of a crisis like the recent natural disaster that Ondoy brought to Metro Manila and Northern Luzon, which spurred a lot of contributions from all over the country. I also asked my good friend, Fr. Jack Serate of Saitama Prefecture in Japan on what the OFWs were doing. Here’s his letter in reply to my questionnaire.

“Dear Bobit, Thank you very much for your email. Communicating with friends helps me keep my sanity especially during stressful times. Filipinos here in Japan are very much concerned and worried about the disastrous flooding in Metro Manila because most of them have families who are affected by it. The Bayanihan Spirit is always alive in the Filipinos because in every parish church here in the Diocese of Saitama, Filipino groups immediately asked and collected monetary and material assistance and the response is amazing. The Japanese people are very generous when it comes to extending help to victims of disasters. We also coordinated with the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo.

“But what is very heartbreaking are the testimonies of some Filipino OFWs whose relatives perished during the floods aside from the material possessions they labored for many years that also perished. I’m lost in words everytime they tearfully share their feelings with me. I asked my parishioners that we should always be available to comfort and assist them in any way we can. What is amazing is that Filipinos find comfort and hope in their faith and in each other. The comforting Word of God in the Gospel is our inspiration in our struggle to have a better life. We, OFWs, try our best to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this foreign land by journeying together in faith for the sake of our loved ones we left behind. We will surely miss our families this Christmas but we always keep them in our hearts. May our government officials do their share in helping the OFWs because they have done theirs. Daghang Salamat. God Bless our country!”— Fr. Jack Serate OFM.

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to v[email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.