It wasn’t even a typhoon, just a heavy downpour. But it was enough to paralyze parts of Metro Cebu, leave commuters wet, stranded and angry, and cause flash floods as well as shallow landslides.
Last Friday’s rain from noon to early evening was our first serious downpour since summer ended. It brought familiar scenes. Vehicles were stuck in knee-deep water, pedestrians waded through flooded sidewalks and commuters were stuck in terminals, looking up at the sky and down at the brown floodwater, wondering how they’ll get around and get home.
We’ve been here before. It’s the same flood story.
This wasn’t a surprise rain as the weather bureau had warned of thunderstorms. We also know that the first rains after a long dry season tend to bring more runoff, more debris clogging drains and more flooding. But somehow, each year, we seem to forget. It’s like a case of “seasonal amnesia.”
The long summer gives everyone, officials and residents included, a false sense of calm. Until the skies open, the water rises and we’re back to blaming the usual culprits: the clogged drainage, garbage in our canals, unfinished roadworks and unresponsive traffic enforcers.
Last Friday, June 6, 2025, at Sudlon Riverside in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, soil erosion or a shallow landslide threatened to carry away a house. Major city streets and roads to residential areas in the suburbs were flooded. In parts of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu cities, stranded commuters had to be rescued and brought to where they could wait for transportation. Vehicles were at a standstill waiting for floodwaters to recede.
Pointing fingers won’t unclog the city’s arteries. Cebu’s flooding problem is no longer just a weather issue, it is a failure of governance.
Elected officials, new and old, made promises during campaign seasons. Several spoke of “resilience” and “climate-ready” planning. But the rains are here and the test has begun. People need real, visible solutions, now. We’re already ankle-deep in the consequences.
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STET – Women in Cebu Media has been holding a series of learning sessions for Cebu journalists, in partnership with International Media Support (IMS).
This initiative is co-funded by the European Union and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and the Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University.
So far, the sessions have included a forum on realigning journalism skills with opportunities beyond the industry, a discussion on the legislative agenda of women candidates for the House of Representatives and a wellness talk on coping with the emotional and psychological toll of covering the May 12, 2025 midterm elections. The fourth forum, focused on journalist safety, is scheduled for July.
It’s a rare opportunity to take part in a continuing education series addressing skills upgrading, wellness, safety and pushing women’s issues. The funding from international organizations is recognition of the vital role that community journalists play in enabling dialog and defending democracy.