EPCC NEWS
August 8, 2012

GREAT FLOODS HITS METRO MANILA, SUBURBS

Los Angeles—The whole of greater Manila region and its suburbs were hit by floods as high as one story building, caused by a 36 non – stop hours rain caused by southwest monsoon ( Hanging Habagat) from the south aggravated by three typhoons that brought torrential rains. Millions of people living in the National Capital Region (NCR) were affected.

According to the EPCC NEWS, It has been raining non-stop in the Philippines for more than 11 days due to the arrival of three thypoons and the presence of the southwest monsoon. Millions of people were affected in 20 cities and 9 provinces in the main island of Luzon. Electricty and water were cut-off aggravating the situation.

According to EPCC-LA Philippine sources, the floods were aggravated by 5 dams (like Angat, La Mesa, Ipo) around Metro Manila remained opened to avoid the dams from breaking. Add the high tide from Manila Bay, flood pronged areas like Malabon,Navotas, Quezon City and Manila became a lake and a part of the bay.

Even traditionally high areas never hit by big floods were flooded. All the rivers from Laguna Lake to Pasig to Manggahan, Marikina and Montalban overflowed its bank causing millions of people to rush to their roofs and asked for rescue. At as the press, the floods reached the 2nd floor of the UST Hospital in Manila causing an evacuation of patients and hospital personnel.

A fire started in upper floor of the Quezon City Hall when flood waters reached the electrical circuits. MERALCo cut the lines due of fears of electrocution due to the waters that is getting high. As of the press time, floods are still rising with the rains without letting up.

With the lack of potable water, electricity, food and transportation, the Philippines was again hit like a World War disaster. As usual, the government is asking for more donations for it reported being short of “more than 300,00 bags of relief goods”. Many Filipinos abroad are responding for this traditional relief giving when natural disasters come to the country.

Meanwhile politicians like Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte are hell-bent in changing the constitution called Charter Change (Cha-Cha) to accommodate the whims of foreigners to open up the Philippines to more mining and logging that cause thesis great floods.

President Aquino III is now tacitly supporting the call for Charter Change. We might as well expect more disasters like this and Ondoy in the future if Charter Change is affected.

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What proposed cha-cha being blamed for the flood?
Here is a more comprehensive analysis from PDI:

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Philippine floods a man-made disaster—experts

By Mynardo Macaraig

MANILA, Philippines—Deadly floods that have swamped nearly all of the Philippine capital are less a natural disaster and more the result of poor planning, lax enforcement and political self-interest, experts say.

Damaged watersheds, massive squatter colonies living in danger zones and the neglect of drainage systems are some of the factors that have made the chaotic city of 15 million people much more vulnerable to enormous floods.

Urban planner Nathaniel Einseidel said the Philippines had enough technical know-how and could find the necessary financing to solve the problem, but there was no vision or political will.

“It’s a lack of appreciation for the benefits of long-term plans. It’s a vicious cycle when the planning, the policies and enforcement are not very well synchronized,” said Einseidel, who was Manila’s planning chief in1979-89.

“I haven’t heard of a local government, a town or city that has a comprehensive drainage masterplan.”

Eighty percent of Manila was this week covered in waters that in some parts were nearly two meters (six feet and six inches) deep, after more than a normal August’s worth of rain was dumped on the city in 48 hours.

Twenty people have died and two million others have been affected, according to the government.

The deluge was similar to one in 2009, a disaster that claimed more than 460 lives and prompted pledges from government leaders to make the city more resistant to floods.

A government report released then called for 2.7 million people in shantytowns to be moved from “danger zones” alongside riverbanks, lakes and sewers.

Squatters, attracted by economic opportunities in the city, often build shanties on river banks, storm drains and canals, dumping garbage and impeding the flow of waterways.

The plan would have affected one in five Manila residents and taken 10 years and P130 billion ($3.11 billion) to implement.

But squatter communities in danger zones have in fact grown since 2009.

“With the increasing number of people occupying danger zones, it is inevitable there are a lot people who are endangered when these things happen,” Einseidel said.

He blamed the phenomenon on poor enforcement of regulations banning building along creeks and floodways, with local politicians often wanting to keep squatters in their communities to secure their votes at election time.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Manila, vital forested areas have been destroyed to make way for housing developments catering to growing middle and upper classes, according to architect Paulo Alcazaren.

Alcazeren, who is also an urban planner, said the patchwork political structure of Manila had made things even harder.

The capital is actually made up of 16 cities and towns, each with its own government, and they often carry out infrastructure programs – such as man-made and natural drainage protection – without coordination.

“Individual cities can never solve the problem. They can only mitigate. If you want to govern properly, you must re-draw or overlay existing political boundaries,” he said.

Solutions to the flooding will require massive efforts such as re-planting in natural drainage basins, building low-cost housing for the squatters and clearing man-made drainage systems, the experts said.

“It will cost billions of pesos but we lose billions anyway every time it floods,” Alcazeren said.

Meanwhile, with Environment Secretary Ramon Paje warning that intense rains like those this week will become the “new normal” due to climate change, there have been concerns about the city’s ability to lure and keep foreign investors.

However, American Chamber of Commerce president Rhicke Jennings said Manila remained an attractive destination.

“Companies will continue to invest in the Philippines for all its positive qualities,” he said, citing well-trained Filipino staff and pointing out there were key parts of the city with good infrastructure that did not badly flood.

Jennings highlighted the rise of the outsourcing sector in the Philippines as evidence that foreigners would not abandon the country because of floods.

Companies such as JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Accenture have all set up backroom operations in recent years, mostly in slick new parts of Manila where infrastructure is state-of-the-art and which did not flood this week.

From virtually nothing a decade ago, 600,000 people are now employed in the outsourcing sector and the industy is expecting that number to more than double by 2016 as more foreign firms move in.

A ring-road dike along Laguna de Bay. Embankments and catch basins in the Marikina River watershed. An 8-kilometer dike and pumping station in the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela) area.

President Benigno Aquino announced Thursday these three infrastructure projects that he said could be finished in two to three years to address the perennial flooding in the metropolis and nearby areas.

“It’s not in my nature to engage in flattery,” the President told the evacuees, vowing to complete the three antiflood projects before the end of his term in 2016.

“I won’t flatter you … but I can finish this,” he said, adding: “We already have a funding source for this.”

He made the announcement during his four-hour swing-through evacuation centers in Nangka, Marikina, Bagong Silangan, Quezon City, Gen. T. de Leon, Valenzuela and Poblacion, Navotas.

It was in Barangay (village) Nangka, his first stop, where Mr. Aquino started talking about his flood control projects.

The President said the public works department would soon construct embankments and catch basins at the upstream portions and tributaries of the Marikina River to slow down floodwaters cascading into Metro Manila during heavy rains.

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, who was with the President, said slowing down floodwaters from the mountains in Antipolo, San Mateo and Rodriguez, all in Rizal province, would allow the drainage systems to efficiently carry rain water into the sea.

“So what we could do it is impound water upstream, so that water levels won’t increase downstream simultaneously,” Singson said.

The President vowed to release by next week specifics of this project.

In his second stop in Barangay Silangan in Quezon City, he asked residents to be patient because the project could not be finished overnight.

P2.2-B project

In Valenzuela City, the President revealed a plan to build an 8-km dike and pumping station to be built in two to three years at a cost of P2.2 billion.

The dike will also benefit Obando and Meycauayan towns in Bulacan because it will be constructed along the Meycauayan River.

He expounded on this project when he was with Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian at a school, which was turned into a relocation site, telling evacuees that “we will explain this clearly by meeting all local government officials covered by this project.”

Laguna dike shield 18 towns

In the afternoon, the President was interviewed by the media at Oreta Sports Center in Malabon, where he disclosed yet another project, this time a dike to address floods in 18 lakeside towns in Laguna.

“There’s a body of water south of Metro Manila called Laguna Lake. And the plan was just to dredge it. It fills up with something like 4,000,000 cubic meters of silt every year. So what they wanted to do was move the mud from one section of the lake to another section of the lake, and that was supposed to enhance its water holding capacity, he said.

“Obviously, matter occupies volume and if it occupies the same space, the volume doesn’t decrease. That is going to cost us P18.7-billion. So, with all due respect, that’s what they wanted to do for flood mitigation and obviously, it’s a joke,” the President said.

Funds available

“So we’ve had to come up with new plans. For instance, for Laguna Lake it might be a ring-road dike, and the beauty of it (is) it will also be self-financing via the PPP (private-public partnership) project.”

He wanted all these projects to be completed in two to three years.

Mr. Aquino called on the people to support government efforts in addressing flooding.

“Let us help each other … so that we can overcome this,” he said.

He explained that he visited the evacuees to personally assess their situation and to let them “know that this government is ready for this (problem). We have a lot of resources to help you. Expect that we will not let you down.”

In a text message, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the government had the funds for relief, evacuation and resettlement of flood victims.

“For these we are adequately funded. We have not started receiving reports yet on damage,” he said.