MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / June 24, 2013) – A Filipino youth group has criticized the Aquino administration for blaming Manila’s poor communities for recurring flood problems in the country’s metropolis areas.
The government has blamed poor communities for the tons of garbage that clogged canals and drainage systems across the metropolitan cities.
“Blaming the urban poor for Metro Manila’s flood problems is disgustingly un-scientific and elitist. They are trying to create tension between the urban poor and other Metro Manila residents to cover up the fact that the Aquino administration does not have a real solution to lessen flooding in the region,” Vencer Crisostomo, national chairperson of Anakbayan, said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
“Will floods end once the ‘estero-side’ shanties are demolished? Of course not, floods are multi-factorial in nature. Other factors include the massive deforestation of ‘upstream areas’, irresponsible releases of water from dams, and the poor urban planning of the Metro,” he said.
Crisostomo explained that with upland areas near the National Capital Region having lost most of its forests, most rainfall is no longer retained in the ground.
Instead, it swells rivers which head to the Metro Manila. Another factor is the policy by private dam operators in which they do not regularly release water, choosing to release only during emergency situations, such as at the height of heavy rainfall and typhoons.
“True to Aquino’s reputation for Noynoying, he finds it more convenient to blame someone else for the flooding instead of actually doing the necessary changes to address the problem,” he said.
“Noynoying” is term used by political activists to refer to Aquino’s lack of action on many issues confronting the country.
Crisostomo also criticized the offer of P18,000 for informal settlers to rent houses while awaiting relocation sites being promised by the government.
“What will P18,000 do? We dare President Aquino and the officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways to try finding somewhere to live in for only P1,500 per month,” he said.
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