Good job, PAGASA-DOST

After spending several weeks following the trail, track or the path of four low-pressure areas (LPAs) growing into storms and at least two becoming super typhoons, my daughter Hannah commented that “the Philippines seems to be in an abusive relationship with Mother Nature.”I, on the other hand, am beginning to wonder if four typhoons in a row is just coincidence or is God trying to tell us something?

I really can’t say but with four typhoons one after the other, I definitely developed an appreciation as well as gratitude for the science and efforts of the PAGASA-DOST.

There was a time when storm tracking or weather forecasting used to be hit or miss calculations and unappreciated. But in these times of climate change and super typhoons, ignoring PAGASA and their warnings would be foolhardy. Perhaps it is about time that the agency PAGASA and the Department of Science and Technology got public and private sector recognition for the invaluable work they do.

In the case of the PAGASA-DOST, we should all start actively praising them, given the rise of pretenders on social media projecting themselves as “weather forecasters,” “weather channels” or people who opinionate on the typhoons but lack common sense.

Many of us keep our eye on “the eye of the storm” or, as the saying goes, “on the hole instead of the doughnut.” As a result, we are shocked when we get flooded by torrential rains. While anxiously watching the “possible track” of Typhoon Pepito, most of us were aware of its direction but did not “see” the cold winds pushing the typhoon that created variables.

What I appreciate with the PAGASA forecasts is that they try their best not to be sucked in or led by certain members of media who focus on what’s the worst-case scenario. A tropical storm or a typhoon entering PAR or Philippine area of responsibility is bad enough, actual wind signals above #2 will be destructive and if PAGASA forecasts worse, the media should restrain themselves from formulating more worst case scenarios.

Incidentally, we can do more than the customary “thank you,” Media should point out to the public that PAGASA’s reports save lives, provide information crucial to decisions of government which also save lives and help businesses and communities prepare, adjust and protect themselves from destructive storms and typhoons.

Alongside PAGASA-DOST, it also time for regional and provincial businesses, organizations, etc, to recognize the respective disaster response teams in their community, including the PNP and AFP. When people put their lives at risk to save our kababayans, the very least we can do is to show appreciation for them and to them.

Let’s not assume that they are already paid to do their job. Sorry but dying or being maimed to save others is not in the job description. In fact, all the risks come with the job, but they are probably not compensated for such work-related hazards. Besides which, you can’t pay enough for someone’s life or limb.

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Days before Typhoon Pepito hit the Bicol area, Congressman Joey Salceda shared that he reached out to the regional/provincial DENR office to allow the pruning, clearing or cutting of trees that pose a threat to life or property during a typhoon. That request was granted I believe, but it shows how laws and rules for a different purpose have ended up becoming counterproductive and bureaucratic.

From what I remember, the law that requires DENR clearance before any trees are to be cut was originally intended to stop property owners and developers from cutting down old or centuries-old trees, historical trees, as well as to stop unnecessary clearing of land which was recklessly done by property developers in the past.

There was also a time when coconut or copra prices were so that it became profitable for coconut plantations to cut down their old and under-producing trees and sell them as coco lumber instead. That was followed by the cocolisap plague that almost destroyed the entire coconut industry due to a coconut leaf eating pest. The DENR clearance certainly helped.

But over the years, the rule or law has become so ridiculous. I remember when I mentioned to former Barangay Kapitolyo officials that many old coconut trees in the barangay are a serious threat to pedestrians and cars passing under them.

During the COVID lockdown, we stayed in our farm in Lipa. While walking around, a coconut fell and missed my head by a foot. Since then, we have introduced the short and sweet variety from the Philippine Coconut Authority.

Old 30-footer coconut trees need to be removed from highly populated traffic areas and replaced by trees more appropriate to urban settings. Another thing that Congressman Salceda mentioned was the need to prune trees in advance of approaching typhoons. Unfortunately, the only company that undertakes pruning of trees in Metro Manila is Meralco.

Every barangay that has a sizeable population or traffic or has trees NEEDS to prune them and invest in the necessary equipment. If our friends at the Bureau of Plant Industry reads this, I hope they can organize pruning seminars among government agencies as well as property developers and owners.

One reason Metro Manila does not have a lot of trees is because we don’t have the right trees; most people don’t see the value in trees and don’t know how to take care of them. But if PBBM ordered a massive fruit tree planting program in Metro Manila, we can once again pick fruits from trees like we did 50 years ago.