80% flooded

According to MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, 65 sectors of Metro Manila were flooded on Tuesday, thus paralysing traffic. Eighty percent of Manila was flooded.

Many are wondering why the water took a longer time to recede compared to last year’s Habagat rains and floods.

One good thing, all local executives were on the job attending to evacuations, dissemination of information, and providing needed rescue resources.

The rainfall as far South as Cavite and Batangas, as far North as Zambales, Pangasinan, and Ilocos Norte, with all areas in-between affected including the 16 Metro Manila cities and Pateros, and several towns of Rizal, Bataan, and Pampanga.

A good job handshake to Governors E.R. Ejercito of Laguna, Jonvic Remulla of Cavite, Nini Ynares of Rizal, Albert Garcia of Bataan, Lilia Pineda of Pampanga, Hermogenes Ebdane of Zambales, and the 17 local  executives of Metro Manila. Mayors Lourdes Cataquiz of San Pedro, Lenlen Alonte of Biñan, Arlene Arcillas of Sta. Rosa, and Timmy Chipeco of Calamba.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., and DILG Secretary Mar Roxas were effective hands-on leaders to cope with the 3-day situation.

Marikina with its typhoon Ondoy experience handled the situation very well, evacuating 5,000 families without any problem. Good job, Mayor Del De Guzman.

Vice President Jojo Binay and Mayor Junjun Binay supervised the evacuation in Makati City.

For 2 full days, television did not show any Congressman delivering relief or assisting flooded residents.

SM, San Miguel, Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP) Group of Companies, Globe Telecom, and Petron sent all-out help to the evacuation centers. SM opened its malls in Manila, Marikina, and Imus to refugees and allowed them to sleep in the malls.

Underground reservoir

This week’s Metro Manila floods brings into focus long proposed construction of reservoirs below buildings and highways to catch the excess water from the rains. Rotterdam has several of them and is building a much bigger one.

DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson had mentioned plans to build a big reservoir as early as 2011. But up to now, no progress has been achieved.

Again we say, use part of the Malampaya fund to build the water reservoirs for Metro Manila and for the dredging of Laguna Lake.

Remembering Ninoy

Thirty years ago we saw Ninoy Aquino off at the Logan International Airport in Boston. He was accompanied by Wakamiya and a Filipino friend on the first leg of their trip which would take him to Taipei and to Manila.

Ninoy had asked me to stay behind with the request “Maiwan ka na padre. Ikaw na bahala kay Cory at sa mga bata.”

Little did I know then that my first job was to arrange for their travel documents and their tickets for the return trip to Manila. I accompanied them on the trip back home with a stopover in Tokyo.

I had the privilege of spending 3 years with Ninoy at Boston. Every weekend I would take the Amtrak to Boston and stayed in a guest room at his Boston residence.

For weeks we discussed his plans to go home. He had finished his studies and research. He felt uncomfortable asking the State Department for another year visa extension.

He was well aware of the danger to his life if he went home as he was sufficiently warned about it.  But he was decided to go home and nobody could stop him.

The rest is history. Thank you Ninoy for the memories.

Way Kurat cleared

DBM Secretary Florencio Butch Abad issued a statement saying there was a “clerical error” in attributing a P3 billion DPWH release to Congressman Way Kurat of Compostela Valley.

Apologies should be extended by DBM and COA to Congressman Manuel Zamora. This incident shows how DBM can make a mistake or clerical error in the release of billions of funds. How many more clerical errors were made during the 9 years of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo? How was the P3 billion spent? For ghost projects? Who spent it?

There is a need to review and revamp the procedures of DBM. So much money is being handled.

We were told of DBM agents offering to release funds for a 20% commission.

Aug. 21, 1971

We also remember Aug. 21, 1971, the day when the Liberal Party (LP) rally in Plaza Miranda was bombed.

We remember it well because we were a candidate for the Senate on the Nacionalista Party (NP) ticket. The bombing created public sympathy for the LP ticket, who elected the top 6 candidates to the Senate.

We remember it well because we survived the bombing sympathy and came out No. 7 in the winning column. Thanks to the barrio votes that came out for us.

Abolish pork barrel

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), UP Professors, Akbayan, Bayan Muna, Partido ng Manggagawa, and an online signature campaign of one million people are pushing for the abolition of pork barrel or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for Senators, Congressmen, and the President.

President Aquino stands firm against the abolition of the pork barrel. He, however, ordered its suspension pending the result of an ongoing investigation.

Former National Treasurer Leonor Magtolis-Briones said the President has P1 trillion in discretionary funds. She is correct. The Malampaya fund, PCSO fund, PAGCOR fund, DPWH lump-sum appropriation for projects (P234 billion), the calamity fund, discretionary fund, intelligence fund, and all savings of the entire government are at his disposal to spend.

An accounting of the PAGCOR social fund, the PCSO allocations, the Malampaya fund, and all savings that are realigned must now be made public.  That’s the least the President can do to satisfy the widespread public demand for transparency.

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Correction, our item on then Budget Commissioner Faustino Sychangco requiring the marginal note of President Marcos should have read 1967, not 1957 as written.