Punchline
Geohazards?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
IT is Christmas and celebrate our Lord Jesus’ birthday, we must.
But the tragedy in Northern Mindanao is much too grave to ignore, so tragic that we cannot but feel the somber mood in faraway Mindanao. Somehow, I can sense that the Christians in that region are in despair and cannot but feel that our Lord Jesus has forsaken them at this time. Likewise, our brother Muslims there certainly would have their doubts about Allah’s plans for them, too.
So as we come together as family and as a community to celebrate Jesus’ birth to save and redeem us from our sins, let us pause to remember and to pray for the survivors’ plight that they may overcome their anguish, their grief, their angst, their sorrow and their pain. Nothing can be more painful than to lose members of the family and properties at a time when one is preparing for a joyous celebration that’s personal to families.
Let us also pause to count our blessings, no matter how small for we have been spared. Praise God for His infinite love and goodness.
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LEARNING FROM SENDONG. But even as we sympathize deeply with the losses of the families in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, we in Pangasinan, cannot regard the Sendong tragedy simply as one of those deadly calamities that we are not strangers to. Sure, we had our own share of fatalities and massive destruction of properties when super typhoons chanced upon us and the two Mindanao cities should bear their misfortunes like everyone else. However, it is this attitude that will precisely lead to more deaths in our own communities in the weeks or months ahead.
The distance between Pangasinan and Misamis Oriental can lull us into thinking that its occurrence here in the same magnitude is highly remote, that it might or could happen only in the distant future. The stark reality is what happened to the communities in Mindanao can happen to us tomorrow. To be in this state of mind will be disastrous if not even more tragic for Pangasinenses.
Our leaders in the province and in our towns and cities must heed the lessons that the Mindanao tragedy offers today before it’s too late. There are critical lifesaving lessons to be learned from the Sendong tragedy in Mindanao and learn from these, we must!
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LESSONS. The first, vital lesson is to fight ignorance.
I am certain many wondered, if not completely ignored, what DENR meant when it attributed the tragedy in Misamis Oriental to the failure of the local government units to read and be warned by the geohazards map. Geohazards?
I just wonder how many of our own local government officials understood or even cared to understand the seeming technical gobbledygook. In hindsight, geohazard meant everything to all the families in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan who didn’t have to suffer the loss of love-ones and/or their properties if only…..
In Pangasinan, how much do the provincial (and municipal governments around the San Roque Dam) know about the geohazards in the area? Which towns are naturally and easily prone to severe flooding once the dam releases water? Which of the rivers can be expected to cause immense flooding with continuous rains? Which towns/barangays are at risk for liquefaction, landslides, flash floods, coastal erosion, subsidence, over-pumping of groundwater, collapsing caves, etc.?
Guv Spines and the mayors (and yes…PUNCH readers) can take a quick easy lesson on geohazards by watching an instructive lecture by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7noZTOqgTtk)). It is a 20-minute, 2-part information that teaches the common types of geohazards that threaten communities in the country and where geohazards are expected to occur.
The high level of ignorance and or lack or no interest of the population in geohazards can be gleaned from the fact that when I last checked, only 505 had viewed the presentation. I strongly recommend that the material be duplicated for communities or schools that have no access to the internet, and possibly translated with images for reference by residents in far-flung areas.
Understanding geohazard is our only real protection against dramatic changes in climate and environment. I strongly recommend to Guv Spines to launch an information campaign on geohazards in all school levels and barangays.
The second lesson is for local officials to show some political will to do what is right for the long term. In the absence initially of a detailed geohazard map for the province, the experiential occurrences or empirical data of past calamities in the province/towns should already serve as a good indicator to know where to begin mapping with the help of geologists and engineers. The Philippines is already considered by one UN study as a high risk to climate change so it behooves upon our political leaders to prepare for the worst. Local legislators should begin amending zoning ordinances and building codes guided by their local geohazards map. It should include banning construction and or strengthening of existing structures in established geohazard areas. Informal Settlers should already be kept out of these areas early on.
The third lesson is for local governments to begin investing in geohazards risk mitigation or avoidance. This means to provide funds annually for the construction of structures to mitigate effects of extreme flooding, landslides, liquefaction, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. to minimize risks to geohazards.
Fourth, for LGUs to realize that while disaster response preparedness by government response teams is crucial for rescue and relief operations, it is simply not enough as proven by recent events. Our local governments should begin to plan and designate areas where people can be evacuated for a particular calamity, a situation that can be predicted by a geohazard map.
Alas, my serious misgiving about all these is, as a people we never value midterm to long term planning for safety and lifesaving purposes. We are more predisposed to being reactive and dramatic than to be proactive and efficient.
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LOOKING BACK. Finally, as I look back at how your PUNCH performed in its mission in 2011, I must confess I am impressed by what the provincial government, under the stewardship of Guv Spines, has accomplished and delivered to the province. Except for its refusal to order the PNP to stop the operations of the jai-teng (jueteng under the cover of jai-alai), the conscious and deliberate actions to improve the delivery of health services, to promote local culture and sports development and a clean environment are big winners in my book. I only wished though Guv Spines had done more for the environment, particularly on the province’s poor compliance with the law governing operation of dumpsites across the province. These present real danger to communities.
Sadly, I cannot say the same for the Dagupan City government under Mayor Benjie Lim. I had hoped that he would finally fulfill his vision and promise to serve good governance through “shared responsibility” but he didn’t. Instead, the city saw his administration constantly “plotting and operating” deals that clearly violate anti-corruption laws. Mr. Lim “operated” with such impunity and arrogance that his city hall activities bedeviled those who admired him as a Jaycee stalwart – and I was one of them. His hostile relationship with the city council was not surprising since the majority did not march with him yet I thought he was one who could easily win his political detractors. To my utter disappointment, he chose to be belligerent all because they didn’t come to terms with his highly dubious agenda.
Another sorry disappointment were the Mighty 8 councilors (led by Councilor Maybelyn Cruz-Fernandez) of the Dagupan sanggunian. They loudly proclaimed early on that they would not tolerate shenanigans in the city hall. Much to their chagrin, they blinked at the first sign of political intimidation by Mayor Lim and his son Councilor Brian. From a Mighty 8, the group instantly became Mighty Pfffft! I can only pray that for their own sake and for the city’s, they will soon take steps to redeem themselves, and decide to leave a legacy of their own in this crucial period.
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THANKS AND CONGRATS! To our loyal readers and supporters, thank you for helping keep the fire alive for good governance! Have a joyful Christmas with your family and friends.
I congratulate Raisa Garcia of Mangaldan for being chosen as the province’s most outstanding barangay SK chairperson! It’s a feat that her father, our Sports Eye columnist Jess Garcia, failed to achieve for himself at her age. The most he could do today is to end up as another star PUNCH columnist, after being a colorful singing cycling champ icon decades ago! Take a bow for Raisa, Jess!
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