Driving out the estero dwellers

The rains have tentatively stopped but the skies have not cleared. From sunrise to sunset a canopy of semi-transparent clouds has been hanging over metro Cebu. At times the clouds thicken then convert themselves into a shower, oftentimes gentle but at times in cascades of strong waters that inundate low laying places.

It’s a benight climate, however, neither hot nor cold, something that inspires composure and peace of mind. And were it not for the restless sea that smothers many a fisherman’s hut, one could be thankful for nature’s current mood.

Of course the victims of that recent flood are still trying to cope with their loss. And if they are among the dwellers along creeks, rivers and esteros their woes are not over yet. The city government is right now demolishing their houses to clear these channels of obstructions to prevent more flooding. Where are they to go? It’s an unanswered question for the moment. The authorities have no answer too. Relocation site? Perhaps, but it would take time to look for this and time is of the essence now for who knows when the heavens will open up again with its tons of rains?

In fact, right now there’s talk of Amang, the early bird of a typhoon expected to hit the country but hopefully somewhere else not in Cebu. And Amang could be followed by a B-named howler, perhaps to be called Buta or Bungol? Joke only of course.

But dislocation is no joke. We have been here for years, says one resident, and we don’t know where to go. We earn a living in the city, says another, and we can’t go back to the province. It’s a tornado for all of them, actually, and there’s bound to be casualties – physical or psychological. For them it’s not just a matter of getting uprooted; it’s getting sacked from livelihood. For them hunger awaits.

It’s hunger that drove them to the city, in the first place. Most of them come from rural Cebu where farming is the main source of sustenance. Unfortunately, the land is generally sparse and infertile and crops can grow only in stunted state. Corn, the main source of food, can grow only waist high and the yield is seldom sufficient to feed one’s family. Root crops like “camote”, banana and others serve as supplement but even these are hard to come by in some areas.

That’s why many rural Cebuanos, the mountain dwellers especially, flock to the city where most of them become squatters like those who inhabit the fringes of rivers and creeks. Now they are being driven away. Will these helpless people go back to where they come from? Chances are they won’t.

Life in the city may be difficult. But it’s more difficult in the backwoods and upland places. In the city one need not fry himself in the farm under the sun to eke out a living. Work no matter menial can be had in the city. Besides, misery in company with many is less painful. There’s comfort in numbers, something not found in remote mountain fastnesses. And if you add the glitz and glare of a metropolis, why, even river banks and esteros can be a come on to rustics.

Like other cities in many countries, Cebu City is hard-pressed with overpopulation. But this happened because people have outpaced development. Dynamically developed industrially and commercially, this place can support a population many times the present one.

To go back to squatters, once their shacks are demolished these informal settlers may stay for a time perhaps in some government lots in upland Cebu, but once the anti-squatting teams turn their backs, the squatters would be back as sure as the sun rises. Hence, those media-covered efforts of trying to clear the water channels in the city would amount to nothing. Unless guards are posted round the clock to shoo away the squatters the problem will remain unsolved. This would require hundred even thousands of uniformed personnel of course and it would cost a big amount of money.

The barangay leaders may be tasked as anti-squatting watch-dogs. But this will work only if these people won’t play politics. Politics, however, is what has brought them to their current status. Would they drive away potential voters like the estero settlers?

It’s a feather on the cap of the present city leadership that politics has not restrained it from pursuing its drive to clean up creeks, rivers and esteros. There are some 3,000 families affected, the report says. Translated into votes this number could mean from 15 to 20 thousand people who would not support the one who gave the command come 2013. But does he have another choice?

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