Passing the blame?

MANILA, Philippines - We refer to the news item: “LLDA blames FVR for floods” in the Oct. 16, 2009 issue of The Philippine STAR, wherein Jess Diaz reported that according to Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) General Manager Edgardo Manda “Ramos should bear part of the responsibility for the floods because in 1995, he ordered the relocation of squatter families along the Pasig and San Juan rivers to the 208-hectare Lupang Arenda, a wide strip of land that surrounds a large part of Laguna Lake.”

After all his years in public service, we thought that by now, GM Manda would know that there is no substitute for careful planning, determined implementation and sustained action. Indeed, we cannot find reason to disagree with what “The Freeman (Cebu)” posted in its website a few days ago: “Instead of focusing on the solution of the problem, they resorted (instead) to pinpointing the blame in order to deviate the accountability from themselves. xxx LLDA Chair is obviously covering up his lackluster performance.” Of course, we will not go as far as what “The Freeman” said: “If there are people who deserves to drown in the lake, it should be these two (one of whom is the LLDA GM) knuckle heads.”

If he did his homework well, GM Manda would have known that during the Ramos Administration only a few hundred families who were affected by the Government’s reduction of the fishpens from 25,000 hectares to 10,000 hectares at that time and “water expressway” project, were relocated temporarily in a limited area of some 15 hectares far enough from Laguna Lake and that informal settlers came in and occupied areas around the lake over the last 10 years, as authorized by some greedy, unscrupulous, uncaring local officials and politicians, long after the Ramos administration ended. With little diligence, GM Manda could have learned a thing or two from the Master Development Plan for Laguna Lake prepared by the Ramos administration, the main components of which included removing the obstructions to the free flow of water and enforcing users’ and polluters’ regulation fees by the LLDA. He should have also noted that FVR ordered and (personally supervised) the dismantling of some 15,000 hectares of fishpens in Laguna de Bay plus some portions of it as an alternative potable water source. By now, GM Manda should have taken a second look and realized that the unabated proliferation of illegal structures crowding the lake are continuously polluting the lake bed with enormous deposits of mud, dirt and garbage and obstructing the natural flow of water.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to make the foregoing comments and clarifications. — ATTY. NICK LAGUSTAN, FVR Spokesperson