SPECIAL REPORT (Part 2 of 2)
FROM how it looks, the perennial victims of the so-called “wrath of nature” are living a burden they don’t deserve – the fear of living in a place of uncertainty.
In the towns of San Mateo and Montalban in Rizal Province, thousands of families are learning the art of survival as they are compelled to stay in a place that is aptly referred to by the government as “high-risk” or those places that are not even fit to host a community.
High-Risk Places
According to the National Housing Authority, those residences under the bridge, along waterways, near railroad tracks, on the streets, atop faultlines, on slopes, low-lying areas, near a high-voltage power grid, those in condemned structures, among many others, are considered high-risk places.
With all certainty, these places are not advisable for human settlement as their lives are consistently under threat of harm or even death.
Interestingly, thousands of families in San Mateo and Montalban towns in Rizal are living under these circumstances for years, and may have honed their skill in surviving the worst scenarios as they did in 2009 when Typhoon Ondoy submerged their places under a two-story deep rampaging flood water coming from the upland, and duplicated three years after when Habagat did the same thing.
As if Typhoon Ondoy and Habagat are not enough for the residents of these towns, comes Typhoon Ulysses which yielded more fury than what Typhoon Ondoy and Habagat inflicted on the hapless folks living in the wrong place.
Wrong Impression
Families who lost their shanties in Metro Manila when the government opted to demolish all the squatter colonies in the National Capital Region sometime in the late 90s, they were made to transfer to government-designated relocation areas – including the Kasiglahan Village in Barangay San Jose, Montalban, Rizal.
Little did they know that they would be suffering far worse than what they faced as informal settlers in Metro Manila.
These people were relocated in a remote valley – or the lower level of slopes in between denuded hills, thus making their place a catch basin of sorts. Their place is surrounded by abandoned quarry sites, which makes it more vulnerable, as there are no more trees seen to hold off the water from the upland rushing downstream.
Aside from being a catch basin, they are also made to live directly on top of an active faultline, which experts fear may trigger a strong earthquake anytime soon. This earthquake, which is more popularly known as “The Big One” is seen to level the entire Metro Manila to the ground and kill at least 30,000 people.
The Big One
Most 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 on the blasting activities at the mining areas in these localities but the local government hosting these mineral extraction activities have stood firm against it.
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.
Expected Repeat
Since not much has been done to alter the geographical contour in Kasiglahan Village, people in this place have learned the art of surviving the worst – which may not be always the case.
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.
According to the National Housing Authority, which developed the Kasiglahan Village, they would not have built houses there in the first place if the local government of Montalban didn’t issue permits.
News reports even had NHA General Manager Marcelino Escalada categorically blaming the Montalban municipal government for transforming low-lying areas and catch basins into a settlement area – that despite knowing that these places are historically vulnerable to floods.
Aside from Montalban, likewise affected by the insensitivity of the government are those living along the Montalban and Marikina River, which both overflowed and spilled into the residential areas along the waterway.
And it has always been that way – yearly, at that.
Compelling Realities
There are compelling reasons as to why these places are flooded every year.
First, the entire area is a valley. In fact, that is the very reason why the active faultline deemed ripe and ready to strike any moment, has been named as Marikina Valley Faultline System.
Second, the places where poor families are taken are mostly in danger zones or what has been mentioned earlier as “high-risk areas.”
Third is the insensitivity of the local politicians who find these densely populated communities as an election bailiwick and evicting them from where these hapless poor live may not be politically advantageous for them as they stand to lose votes.
Fourth reason is the rampant corruption in both the national agencies [the Department of Public Works and Highways specifically and the local government undertaking what should have been flood-control projects.
And lastly, they have nowhere to go.