SPECIAL REPORT (Part 1 of 2)
THE areas submerged under water a few days ago and now under meter deep mud in the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses, are the same places that were flooded when Typhoon Ondoy hit the country back in 2009 and Habagat three years after Ondoy.
As such, the National Housing Authority warded off tirades against them over the two-meter deep floodwater that literally submerged housing units of their agency, adding that they would not have built houses there in the first place if the local governments of Montalban and San Mateo in Rizal Province, didn’t issue permits.
Citing prevailing laws on liability, National Housing Administration General Manager Marcelino Escalada categorically blamed the Montalban and San Mateo municipal governments for transforming low-lying areas and catch basins into a settlement area – that despite knowing that these places are historically vulnerable to floods.
Escalada likewise admitted that there is no way that the local government could pass on the blame to the contractors since the one-year period in which the contractors could still be held liable, has already lapsed.
As it is, the local government chief executives are left to face the liabilities, he added.
Among the areas that have been perennially flooded [historically] is the Kasiglahan Village in Barangay San Jose, Montalban and all the residential areas along the river traversing Montalban, San Mateo in Rizal and Marikina City in Metro Manila.
Kasiglahan is where thousands of Metro Manila squatter families were brought after their colonies were demolished in the late 1990s.
Aside from Kasiglahan, real estate companies were allowed to construct a long list of private subdivisions along the river.
Geographically, most of the inundated areas in San Mateo, Montalban and Marikina City are those lying near the river.
“Ang liability ay nasa panig ng LGU dahil iyon ang nag-isyu ng permit para maitayo ang mga bahay,” Escalada said.
Aside from being flood-prone, earlier reports hinted that some of these housing villages are directly on top of an active Faultline aptly referred to as the Marikina Valley Faultline System.
Interestingly, experts from both the government and the private sector claimed that the Marikina Valley Faultline System may trigger what has been mothballed as “The Big One” anytime. “The Big One,” experts claimed, has the capability to level the entire Metro Manila and kill at least 30,000.
Experts have also called on the government to seriously consider a moratorium in the blasting activities at the mining areas in these localities.
There are over 100 mining operators actively scraping the upland portion of San Mateo and Montalban towns.
However, a check on the government records showed that only 10 mining companies were given permits to extract aggregate materials in San Mateo and Montalban.