IN THE midst of the calamity that hit Macabebe town, its residents have found a livelihood opportunity out of the almost three-foot deep floods they are experiencing nowadays.
Residents of Barangay Caduang Tete here have mobilized their bancas as an alternative to the usual transport system that has been paralyzed to transfer passengers who are stranded by floods.
Ric Viray, a banca driver, said that the Barangay Caduang Tete portion of the Apalit-Macabebe-Masantol Provincial Road is not passable to light vehicles while passenger jeepneys cannot access the area due to the ongoing construction of the Caduang Tete Bridge.
“There are tricycles that brave the floods but get stranded along the way because there are areas where water is waist deep. This leaves working people no choice but ride bancas,” he said.
Viray said that banca drivers like him charge P10 per passenger for a near kilometer ride from the Caduang Tete Bridge up to Barangay San Gabriel in the same town.
“This is a big help to us like if we earn P200, we already have money to buy food. Even if we are in an adverse situation like this, we find opportunity in adversity and help people who really need to get to their destination,” he said.
The situation is the same in the whole Macabebe and the adjacent town of Masantol, whose transport systems are almost paralyzed and are mostly reliant on either passenger bancas or free rides offered by the local government unit and generous private individuals.
Based on the most recent data of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the whole towns of Macabebe and Masantol are submerged in almost five feet or neck-deep floodwaters, including its major thoroughfares.
Being the catch basin of floodwaters in the region, the flooding in both towns, especially in the coastal areas, is expected to rise once the water from the upstream goes down and takes an exit at the Pampanga River going to the Manila Bay.