In the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy, a certain Architect Palafox, an authority on urban planning and construction, went on TV to identify the clogging of Manggahan Floodway as the root cause for the unprecedented flooding suffered by Metro Manila and nearby Rizal towns. He even identified the new SM Marikina commercial complex as standing right in the artery and thus, blocking the pathway of the Pasig River onto the Laguna de Bay. From the SM photo above, one could see the entire area under the bridge/flyover which was the former bank of the river but was transformed into road and parking space of SM and was itself submerged under water during Typhoon Ondoy.
Then, there was also Edgar Manda, President of Laguna Lake Development Authority , directly under the Office of the President, showing aerial photos of the same Manggahan Floodway and pinpointing specific squatter houses that blocked the most crucial areas of the floodway that caused the build up and retention of flood water that rose to levels never seen before.
And then almost everyone was convinced what had to be done, knew it could be done, and the only thing needed was supposedly ‘ political will ‘ to do it. The Mayor of Cainta, former news reporter Mon Ilagan, also the Mayors of Taytay, of Taguig and of towns of Laguna and Edgar Manda himself, issued bold statements promising to fully address this big problem which lay under the jurisdiction of their respective offices.
However, today, barely two months after Typhoon Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng, nothing has been done. Instead, more construction are being done with new condominiums and other commercial buildings rising in pace with the increase in number of squatters. Rich and poor alike destroy the city and the environment. So rich and poor alike suffer when nature vents its rage.
No comments:
Post a Comment