Palafox saw it coming

In a recommendation, Filipino architect and urban planner Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr. said that the Philippines, being situated in a region within the Pacific Ring of Fire, vigilance in disaster preparedness is an absolute necessity. As an architect, protection of life and the enhancement of the built environment is a responsibility coupled with firm accountability to nature, God and country.

In the past, Palafox Associates prepared a brief list of recommendations on urban planning, architecture and engineering to address hazards towards safer cities, towns and communities. Such recommendations were made to help develop stronger and more resilient communities together with government, the people and experts. These recommendations were humbly submitted to the administration after Ondoy, which crippled most of Metro Manila. In the early onset of our current administration, the very same recommendations were reiterated. So why then is Metro Manila constantly flooded?

In an interview, Palafox said that the solution has been there since the 1970’s, when a project called Metro Plan Manila was crafted. Palafox was then the senior planner and team leader and in the long and short of things, Palafox remembered the situation at that time and that with a “do nothing” scenario, we would have catastrophic flooding, traffic, garbage problems and basically, everything we are confronted with today.

Palafox was only 25 years old then. He is now in his 70’s and has helped 40 countries. Among the list of recommendations that include long-term targets with a 10-20-year plan, it also sites an immediate plan of action. Yet having said this, the question to ask is, what has not been done all this time?

Architect Palafox explained that the dredging of Laguna Lake and the Parañaque Spillway is one. At some point, people were blaming God for the horrible events such as Ondoy but, contrary to that observation, Palafox said that it is not an act of God but rather a sin of omission of men and women who are running our country, especially when the solutions are there but these have not been fulfilled.

During Ondoy, 4,600 cubic meters per second of water fell from the denuded mountains, with the capacity of the Pasig River being only 600 cubic meters per second. With that, 4,000 cubic meters of excess floodwaters flowed into residential areas in Metro Manila. About 90,000 hectares of urban land in Metro Manila and around Laguna Lake and Marikina Valley were affected. Believe it or not, 90,000 hectares of urban land is bigger than Singapore.

There are currently 145 recommendations made by Jun Palafox and he has written all the presidents, including President Marcos Jr., as early as May 23, 2022 when Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin distributed the recommendations to government agencies concerned. The current back-to-back low pressure areas, rains and storms have left so many communities under a state of calamity and it is no longer amusing to see short video clips and memes of Filipinos enjoying themselves in pools of water which are actually main roads suddenly left impassable.

There are many issues and 100-year typhoons are happening every other year. Palafox’s recommendation includes an immediate plan of action that will take 100 days to implement, which comprises a 100-year establishment of flood lines, a master plan for flood control, funding, hazard mapping, sewerage and drainage, study on spillway options, zoning, land use, building type based on hazard maps and, most importantly, political will.

Sadly, it pains to say that after the PGMA administration, projects were cancelled – projects such as the dredging of Laguna Lake. And what about corruption? Palafox cited Mayor Magalong of Baguio, who said that corruption in infrastructure is as high as 70 percent and if 40 percent of funds, for example, were given to the corrupt so that the specifications containing essential components have been reduced, we certainly can expect to have worse problems drowning us. We need to have more transparency in government transactions, including the bidding processes so that we can make those in charge accountable. We need future-proofed communities, as Architect Jun says, and it is definitely high time to address the hazards before they become disasters. Fact is, while better planning is long overdue, it is also 90 percent less expensive overall. I was about a year old when the Metro Plan Manila was crafted and to date, I am 50. Exactly how much time do we have to make a better Philippines for all of us?

We need efficient urban planning where, as Palafox says, planning is about balance. We need to stop being Metro Manila centric and make the Philippines polycentric by encouraging more development in the countryside. The answers are already there. They have been there for a really long time.