By David D. Atkinson
Another rainy season has arrived, yet Cebu’s watersheds continue to shrink while meaningful protection remains delayed. This is no longer simply an environmental issue. It is becoming a public health issue.
National investigations into flood-control spending have documented allegations of ghost projects, substandard construction, and other serious irregularities involving billions of pesos. Those findings have understandably weakened public confidence in whether scarce public funds are consistently being used for their intended purpose.
Against that backdrop, many citizens have reached an obvious conclusion: if enormous sums continue to be allocated while flooding remains a recurring problem, then a significant portion of those resources may have been wasted, diverted, or otherwise failed to deliver the protection taxpayers paid for. That is a reasonable question for investigators, auditors, and ultimately the courts to resolve.
What is already beyond dispute, however, is the consequence of failing to protect watersheds. Forest loss and inadequate flood protection increase runoff, erosion, and the contamination of rivers and groundwater with sewage, chemicals, fuel residues, agricultural pollutants, and disease-causing organisms. Over time, deteriorating water quality can contribute to higher rates of waterborne illness, greater exposure to mosquito-borne diseases after flooding, and increased costs for drinking-water treatment and public health.
In that sense, corruption — wherever it exists — is not merely a financial crime. It becomes an environmental and public health hazard. Every peso that fails to become a functioning flood-control project or effective watershed protection is a peso that communities cannot rely on to safeguard their homes, their water, and ultimately their health.
The true cost is measured not only in damaged infrastructure, but in preventable illness, lost productivity, and diminished quality of life. A government’s first obligation is to protect its people. When that protection fails, the consequences eventually flow downstream — into every household.