After IRENE in the US, MINA in the PH, What? - Third Part

The government, past and present, woefully lacks the political will to stop the illegal logging and rampant activities of "kaingineros". Powerful patrons are the principal beneficiaries of such illegal activities thus tolerated for decades and resulting to disasters everywhere. With the findings that the remaining ten percent of the country's dwindling forest reserves are under constant encroachment from greedy loggers and "kaingineros", widespread floodings and landslides will certainly worsen. As climate change has introduced unprecedented and unimaginable intensity of weather changes and earthquakes, it is of utmost necessity and immense urgency for the government, both national and local, to think and institute all possible measures to at least mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

The floods are here to stay, typhoon or no typhoon, where even many places outside the usual typhoon routes enumerated herein have as of recent developments been reported to experience frequent floodings even after an hour of heavy rains. For instance, low lying streets in Makati, Manila and Quezon City were inundated after some heavy rains due to "habagat" or the southwest monsoon. As many drainage systems in those cities were clogged with household garbage and other debris, then floods occurred causing massive traffic jams. Such incidence can be avoided if only the lowest local government units, the "barangays", are only doing their jobs of teaching and convincing their constituents to refrain from making.  

It's sad to note that even in our street in Provident Village, Marikina City, many of the residents still persist in haphazard disposal of garbage that eventually finds its way into the drainage system. Adding to the inadequately designed and constructed outlet of our street's drainage system, the clogged drains contributed much to ankle-deep flooding of some 150 meters expanse of St. Mary Avenue after an hour of heavy rains in the afternoon of September 4, 2011, a Sunday. After waiting for my son's fetching my wife and this Blogger with umbrella, from the village chapel we slowly and gingerly waded along the sidewalk leading to our apartment block. Safe at home, the waters in the street subsided after 2 hours or more as usual. Nevertheless, as I look at the dusty sidewalk, the horrible memories of Typhoon "Ondoy" keep coming into my mind, embedded deeply in my psyche.