A little more than a year ago, while the boat I was riding on from Maasin City, Southern Leyte was cruising along the Mactan channel, I noticed the staggering mix of structures rising along the shorelines of Lapu-lapu City. They were of different sizes, shapes and materials as if inhabited by neighboring paupers and princes. There were shanties visibly made out of discarded lumber, torn GI sheets and even cardboards. They had to be stilted so that their occupants would not be left at the mercy of the sea. Yet, they were built beside homes secured with reliable foundation and good concrete finish. It was quite easy to notice the vivid and striking disparity of the economic situations of the people living in one such close and compact community.
In a democratic country like ours, one’s growth is limited only by his imagination, skill and industry. Otherwise stated, anyone who hitches his wagon to the stars and work earnestly to accomplish his goal is likely to succeed. This theory applies even in such a community I described above, regardless of his modest background. That was why the neighbors there were of varied economic stations largely due to the amount of perspiration they shed. So, those who had lesser in life could only aspire more and work harder to attain the kind of life their neighbors enjoyed.
Upon viewing the sight, my initial reaction was one of indignation. What happened to legal easements? I was angry that government allowed everyone to snatch whatever space he could find and put up his abode sans any form of orderly regulation. To say the least, it was chaotic. And angrier that high officials were either callous or indifferent in which case they, by simply surrendering their well defined functions to the opportunistic, paved the way to the establishment of an inhuman environment.
Indeed, it was difficult to control the flux of people looking for a place to build their home. Most of those builders could not afford to buy a piece of land what with their earnings, if any, being barely enough to meet the basic demands of three daily square meals. Laws and other regulatory measures could not be strictly imposed upon a flock that refused to be governed or properly administered.
So, there apparently were no proper roads in the community. Ingress, as well as egress, was done almost exclusively on foot. And people who had to choose where to step.
My next reaction was of apprehension. Concerns for health and sanitation could, as they were, not appropriately addressed. Water, for instance, was not very abundant. As I learned later, some residents rationed available scarce water and health issues were least in the priority. Although nobody admitted it openly, it was entirely possible that some of the dwellers threw their waste directly to the sea below.
In that situation, I laid my article to rest.
Then, last Saturday, disaster came. Fire razed most of the “staggering mix of structures”. Attempts to put out the fire early were, by reason of less accessibility, emasculated. The fire was far too fast to spread than for firefighters to position their equipment. When there was no more house to burn, they realized that a human being was wasted.
At present, there is an understandable clamor for fire victims to be allowed to go back to the place they called home. It is most difficult, as it will appear to be inhuman, to stop them from scavenging materials from whatever is left unburned or to salvage whatever may be recycled.
But, the leadership of Lapulapu City must be quick to seize this golden opportunity. They are in the position to make sure that public lands like the shorelines be freed from the intrusion of informal settlers. Of course, there is where political will is needed and when the officialdom succeeds, grateful city residents will back them up in the May elections.
At the same time, city officials have to address the surge of emotions of the fire victims whose concern is an immediate housing need. If they have to make their magic wand to identify a habitable relocation site and help these fire victims restart their lives, this is the time.
How about it Mayor Boy Radaza?
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Email: avenpiramide@yahoo.com.ph