Positive News Piece, Manila Flood Mitigation

[Old55]

A thoughtful factual even handed news piece on removing "informal settlers" and future flood control for metro Manila. If this plan works out it would provide jobs and save lives.

 

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - The government committed yesterday to relocate within the year 20,000 families living in eight esteros or waterways to mitigate flooding and traffic in Metro Manila.

Asked why this was not done during the summer, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson admitted that the relocation was delayed upon the request of some local officials due to the elections.

Similar requests for delays are again being made due to the upcoming barangay elections, but Singson said the requests would no longer be granted.

This time, President Aquino has also agreed to impose sanctions on barangay and other local officials who allow informal settlers to go back to the esteros after their relocation, Singson said in a press briefing together with Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office.

Singson said funding for the relocation is no problem and “we have all the resources available to implement the program,” but there were other factors that must be considered.

Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

 

The government has reportedly appropriated P50 billion spread over five years to relocate over 100,000 squatter families along waterways and other high-risk areas in Metro Manila. The first P10 billion was disbursed for this purpose in 2012, with another P10 billion appropriated this year.

“We have wanted to do this but there were many who requested not to do it before the elections, and now they want to delay it again because of the barangay elections, but we will no longer allow that. We will have to do something immediately,” Singson said.

Singson declined to identify the local officials who made the requests, saying his statement was based on “anecdotes.” He said there were too many local government units involved and advised journalists to “make your guess.”

He said he was not the one personally approached by the local politicians.

The eight waterways that will be cleared immediately are the San Juan River with 4,217 families; Tullahan River with 3,683 families; the Manggahan Floodway, 2,997; Maricaban Creek, 1,687; Estero Tripa de Gallina, 3,887; Pasig River, 1,484; Estero de Sunog Apog, 170, and Estero de Maypajo, 1,415 – or a total of 19,440 families.

Singson said the relocation areas had been identified by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the National Housing Authority.

At the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday called by President Aquino, Singson said they agreed that the national government would take the lead in clearing the eight waterways because local governments did not have the resources to undertake the task themselves.

Barangay responsibility

Singson said human settlements are prohibited along waterways under the Local Government Code (LGC) and the Urban Development and Housing Act, “the waterways are filled with people.”

The LGC provides that it is the responsibility of the barangay captain, with police assistance if needed, to ensure that waterways are not used for human settlement.

“The President has already given instructions that there will be sanctions,” Singson said.

Carandang stressed they were not blaming anyone in particular or judging local governments as he noted that waterways had been occupied by informal settlers for some time and dwelling on the past would not solve the problem.

“We will do everything we can – housing, livelihood, all of that – to make sure that they have no reason to go back,” Carandang said. “But moving forward, we will make them accountable if they come back.”

He said the sanctions would not be retroactive, adding they considered it pointless to run after former officials who did not do their job.

“I want to say also that based on the discussions (Tuesday), in particular, the local governments in Quezon City and San Juan have been very cooperative. The mayors there, the barangays, have been very cooperative,” Carandang said.

Blood compact?

Singson noted that there was some overreaction to his revelation that some local officials asked to delay the flood control plan. But he said there were “definitely” those who did not want estero squatters to be “touched” before the May elections.

“But that’s finished. I won’t go back to that anymore. We have to move (the squatters),” Singson said.

Asked if they secured a commitment from local officials for cooperation in the relocation, and not just in words, Singson shot back, “What do you want? A blood compact?”

“We’ve said they’re going to be held liable if they don’t fulfill their responsibility… Francis Tolentino is going to meet with the Metro Manila Council,” Carandang said, referring to the chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

“He’s going to tell them exactly what their responsibilities are after the national government has done its part, and then we’ll see what happens. We think that it’s in the interest of their constituents over the long term for them to participate in this and to cooperate,” Carandang said.

Singson said mayors had acknowledged to the national government that there should be no human settlements along waterways, but that LGUs did not have the resources to move out the squatters.

“That’s why the national government is stepping in. But after that, (LGUs) should perform the monitoring. So they accept it because they all get affected,” Singson said.

Singson emphasized that the relocation program did not completely stop but that social preparations were not easy to do.

Isolated projects

Aside from long-term solutions, he said the national government is also undertaking isolated flood mitigation projects such as the one along España in Manila.

The 2.6-kilometer-long Blumentritt box culvert or water tunnel from Dapitan to Tondo is under construction and is targeted for completion within 12 months to ease flooding in the flood-prone España area.

The problem is the water that will pass through the box culvert will go to the esteros so these must be cleared immediately.

Carandang said that as of 2012, the NHA had built 18,000 housing units for informal settlers in Metro Manila, with 29,000 additional units targeted for construction this year.

“The relocation can be fast. But it takes a while to talk to the communities. There is going to be opposition in the beginning and you need to convince them. Sometimes, if you tell them, ‘there is housing, there are jobs,’ they won’t believe. Sometimes communities are also organized and they are not willing to just believe what we say,” Carandang said.

But he said many of the communities are starting to agree to resettlement and the pace is expected to accelerate.

The officials noted that flooding problems resulted from decades of neglect and would also take decades to repair.

“But we have identified what we call high impact, high priority projects, which upon completion will provide big relief for NCR,” Singson said, referring to the National Capital Region.

Aside from the relocation of the informal settlers in eight priority waterways, also included are improvement of drainage capacity, clearing of other waterways and upgrading of water pumping stations.

Singson said other interventions such as Project NOAH or the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards, flood drills and other public information mechanisms had also been put in place to bring people to safety during floods.

 

 

 

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/06/20/956008/estero-settlers-must-go

[Bruce]

A thoughtful factual even handed news piece on removing "informal settlers" and future flood control for metro Manila. If this plan works out it would provide jobs and save lives.

 

But if it does not work out... there is still that old well used method. FIRE.

 

I am sure there are big money building plans for those areas once the squatters are gone and there is open access to change the drainage plan and then build and build and build offices or similar buildings.

[joeatmanila]

pffff...hypocrisy again to the maximum!!!

the one and only reason they want to relocate the dwellers is because of the price of land in these areas and the projects they plan to build so they make money.

See...not the best sale to sell a multimillion condominium just besides shanties...

Who here remembers what Fort Bonifacio was 10-15 years ago? A slum!!! Then the president announced they will take this land to make housing buildings for the nations military officers...LOL!!!!! Army took away the settlers at that time!!! (since was supposed to be their land, they got lied too)

LOOK WHAT IT BECAME!!!!! If you want to know how the settlers moved out of there? By force and threats of death, not even offered a relocation program.

Now the Serendra and all other multimillion establishments sit there...as for the nations military officers...mamaya pa!!!!

[Mike S]

Well this is indeed good news and about time too ..... asto what they plan to do with the land after they get the squatters moved ..... I could personally care less .... these people don't own the land they are squatting on and throwing their trash and using the river as their sewerage is reason enough to toss them out ..... JMHO ..... :mocking:

:cheersty:

[Old55]

Doh! I never even considered the simple fact that removing the shanties would cause adjoining property prices to rise. I honestly thought this a legitimate flood control project.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Doh! I never even considered the simple fact that removing the shanties would cause adjoining property prices to rise. I honestly thought this a legitimate flood control project.

 

It is legitimate if one would think a bit about this. Who cares what happens to the land in the future but common sense tells you that squatters over waterways are in danger and also adding to the flood problem by restricting flow and discharging wastes.

I have no idea why lately every post I read is subject to an inferior motive but no one could tell me that living on a river is good or safe.  :1 (103):

 

Is this safe when a massive flood comes though? 

 

 

[MikeB]

Seems the government is damned if they do, damned if they don't. If they take the necessary and responsible steps to clear out these families who are living illegally along these rivers and contributing to the flooding they are accused of making a cash grab, if they do nothing and another Ondoy comes and kills hundreds of people the same ones will be screaming that it could have been prevented. Squatters living on the rivers is just one of the factors: 

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/02/09/flooding-metro-who-blame