Water, water

Water, water everywhere. I guess that's as far as I should quote Samuel Taylor Coleridge's “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. We may not be in an ocean, but it's definitely starting to look like one in Metro Manila. For two days, the monsoon sucked in by Typhoon Maring, thank you very much, has dumped another record rainfall on the metro, flooding so many places, even those practically unscathed by Ondoy. Cities like Las Piñas and Sucat, Parañaque and Muntinlupa are now under water, getting much of the overflow from Cavite. Many are now under a state of calamity, a prudent move to freeze prices of basic goods and release funds for those in need. And I do mean those in need, and not in greed.

Rivers and dams have overflowed, causing residents to flee their homes and seek higher ground, if possible. Some roads have already become impassable before they overflowed. The government was not remiss in issuing warnings, but some residents are just too stubborn to leave, or probably just like the idea of being rescued. Typhoon Maring is traveling ever so slowly through the northern part of the country, which is why these monsoon rains continue to dump into the country.

The president himself said that there is no hard and fast solution to the perennial flooding we have in the country, despite the ongoing flood control projects being undertaken by the government. But I believe billions have been “spent” on the flood control projects that don't seem to help at all, especially those launched in the previous administration. They had nine years to do something. This is the result.

It is time to really have flood control projects, and it is time for the government to put its foot down on informal settlers who live beside waterways and rivers. The cities were designed in such a way that water would drain into Manila Bay. But that is not happening because most, if not all of the waterways, canals and even the Pasig River have become inefficient in doing so. Proper garbage disposal is another thing. It literally comes back to cause misery to so many, regardless of social stature.

We are in for another massive cleanup of the city once the weather improves and the floodwaters recede. I can just imagine the horrors that will reveal themselves when the waters are gone. Tons of garbage of every imaginable kind, including the unthinkable. Plus all the damage to property. This cannot go on every year, every time the rains come pouring down. I know that floods are inevitable, but at least they should drain into the ocean right beside us, knowing that we are above sea level. If The Netherlands can control their flooding systematically, then so should we.