Valle: Constantly under threat

Sunday, February 19, 2012

THERE was no heavy rain the night before, only some drizzle here and there. There were even portions in the city where no sign of downpour was evident, as the streets remained dry and dusty. That is why it was confounding to find Talomo river swelling and threatening communities living along the river banks, and subdivisions located along the path of the river.

The sight of the murky waters silently inching its way into some houses in our village brought back painful memories of previous experiences of flooding in our community some years back. The damages on our properties dealt on us by the flashfloods could not be measure anymore through the years, including the immeasurable psychological and mental pressures that we have to carry with us through the years.

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Yet, why are we still here? Many among our friends and relatives have, through the years has urged us to leave our abode where we have already collected not only friends and community life but also happy memories that our children would like to keep intact because they have grown to love and care for the only home they knew.

That is why leaving has never been an option, not only for us, but for the rest of the families who stuck it out through the years. Not only are we not in a position to find a new house or location where flooding is remote since like all other Filipinos, most of us are living on a one-day-one-eat situation. We also have other family members living in the community where we are, and we are not the kind who would only save our own skin.

Through the years, we have tried to seek assistance from our government since these things are supposed to be the government’s primary concern, when it comes to approving housing development proposals. Like it or not, the line agency tasked to regulate housing developments and make sure that nothing is left to chance had been remiss in their duties that is why the citizens of this country are suffering because of their negligence.

We need to be proactive. But then, we also need to support each other. We need to be ever vigilant so that the probabilities of a disaster like that magnitude brought about by Sendong may not happen upon us.

But how prepared are we? Are we ready at all for any eventuality? Or are we just waiting for disaster to happen?