Let the sunshine in

After many dreary days of rain and gray skies and – for many of us – floods, the appearance of the sun the other day was a very, very welcome sight. Indeed, as the song from the hit 1960s rock musical Hair! (I’m dating myself, but that’s OK; it was a very good time, the Age of Aquarius) goes, let the sunshine in!

Typhoons Egay and Falcon plus the southwest monsoon really did a number on us, particularly in Central Luzon, where many areas remain flooded to this day. Friends who live in Bulacan described rushing waters that left them with little time to evacuate, to try and save vehicles and household appliances by moving them to higher ground.

Even modern infrastructure was no match for Nature on a rampage. Flooding in parts of the expressway stalled traffic; a friend who flew in to Clark Airport shortly after noon thought she’d have lots of time to make it to a 7 p.m. meeting. Well, she got into Manila after 8 p.m.

As expected, everyone is blaming everyone else, and again as expected, the lawmakers are calling for a hearing to investigate why flooding of such magnitude occurred.

I hope they will invite – and really listen to rather than berate and scold – scientists and real experts who can dissect the situation objectively and scientifically. Why Central Luzon floods since it is a floodplain to start with; why dams have to release water; why floodwaters cannot flow out to sea since many waterways have been built over, developed into residential subdivisions and commercial centers…

Aside from being so destructive, all that water is wasted as it could have been impounded/stored to be used for irrigation when the dry spell of El Niño hits us, as it certainly will by the later part of the year and into next year.

Here in Metro Manila, it was the usual sad recurring tale of flooded roads, snarled traffic, stranded commuters. The stretch of Taft Avenue flooded because supposedly the outfall structures – I had to Google this – were not opened; who is in charge of this is one of those urban mysteries. Some areas though no longer flood, or if they do, the waters recede quickly, thanks to pumps installed over the years.

But all these are recurring problems; every year since time immemorial it rains like crazy, about 20 typhoons visit us yearly. I’m not an engineer or scientist, just an ordinary citizen who pays taxes – and I wonder what my government is really doing. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts, before the next typhoon comes around. So let the sunshine in! – Josephine Tan-Vasquez, Malabon