Calamities have struck the frail Marcos administration right on the solar plexus. It is noteworthy though that President Bongbong Marcos remained firm and steady on his job, he also proved he is on top of the emergencies when he rejected the shady proposal to declare a state of calamity nationwide for a duration of one whole year.
Marcos threw out the proposal of the National Disaster Risk and Reduction and Management Council placing the entire country in a state of calamity. Earlier he made a personal survey of affected areas and likewise received reports from local government units on the impact of tropical storm “Paeng”. He came out with an assessment that a state of nationwide calamity is not necessary. The damage is localized, he rightly noted.
We, in Davao Region, just had a whiff of wind and evening drizzle. The same is true with other regions in Mindanao and Visayas.
Declaring a state of calamity nationwide will allow local government units and NDRRMC to access funds for emergencies with expenditures not subject to audit. This is like awarding billions of taxpayers’ funds to lotto bettors, the only difference is that this one is done overtly with a shroud of legality by government officials. Giving in to that suggestion would have been a calamitous calamity that would impact the coffers of local government units.
As PBBM pointed out, there was severe destruction in terms of infrastructures and private properties, and loss of lives and livelihood which can run to billions but in several places that were along the path of “Paeng”, the damage was not severe. Metro Manila for one was spared.
From what we read and saw on TV coverages, Central and Northern Luzon were pummeled and flooded. It’s a good thing that palay had been harvested earlier. But rice traders are quick to suggest “we have to import.”
Visayas and Mindanao appeared to have escaped the wrath of “Paeng”. The unfortunate disaster in Maguindanao caused by mud, rocks, and boulders slides due to non-stop rains was a freak. Several had perished in a place believed to be a safer ground from tsunami, earthquake, and flooding. Several families were relocated there, however, it turned out to be a valley of death. Nobody paid attention to the balding mountain top which had been over-logged years back. There were towns in North Cotabato that were flooded like Pigkawayan but again the barangays affected are too few to mention.
This brings us back to one simple mitigating solution: massive reforestation, not along highways but, in watershed areas. Bamboos, like what former Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol suggested, are perfect along slopes and riverbanks. Easy to propagate, faster to grow, multiply fast, and can be processed into various industrial products.
Our problem though is with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. In Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro, flagrant illegal logging had been taking place. A team dispatched by DENR head office caught the suspects red-handed but nothing happened after they turned over the case to their regional office. We do not even know where the impounded logs and logging trucks are now. Everything had been buried deep in oblivion.
Again, PBBM is correct in saying that the causes of floods should be addressed. Riverbeds, like those of Marikina and Pasig, have to be desilted and if necessary widened. In Davao City, for example, some subdivisions get flooded when heavy rainfall happens upstream. In 2011, the worst flood disaster struck with incessant rains taking place in the middle of the night. Rambling flood water inundated houses along the narrow and shallow riverbanks. Thirty-one victims died during the incident.
Later the Department of Public Works and Highways promised to dispatch dredging equipment to Davao City to desilt the riverbeds. Up to now, however, the machine has not arrived.