Palafox saw it coming

(Conclusion)

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.