‘Unfortunate’

Last week, two of our colleagues went through hell.

Incessant rain had swollen a nearby creek and flooded their street. Like nearly all people, the couple thought the downpour would ease and the flood would recede soon enough, allowing them to go to work. After all, Metro Manila was under no storm warning signal, and Typhoon Carina was not even expected to make landfall in the country, according to the weather bureau.

As the hours wore on, however, there was no letup in the heavy downpour. A nearby creek breached its man-made embankment and water gushed into houses, rising at breakneck speed reminiscent of Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009.

The couple, their children and Golden Retriever found safety on the second floor of their newly renovated home. They could only watch helplessly as the flood rose higher and higher, inundating all their furniture, appliances and precious memorabilia such as photographs and letters in the living room, dining area and kitchen.

A large refrigerator, purchased fairly recently, was upended and carried away by the water, bumping against the floating sofa, appliances, stove and utensils.

The couple hoped the water would recede quickly. Instead they were stuck on the second floor the entire day. They had no ready-to-eat food on hand and could not cook, and the kids complained of hunger. Unable to use the toilet and bath on the submerged ground floor, they designated an area on the second floor as a replacement, which the Retriever also used.

No help arrived from the barangay, and of course no one was delivering anything in such a heavily flooded area. Food was brought by one of their relatives only at around 10 p.m.

When the water finally disappeared completely, the next challenge was the massive cleanup. There was mud, mud everywhere – on the floor, the walls, the furniture and appliances. The refrigerator and the electronic appliances may all have to be replaced. They retrieved the meats in the freezer, hoped the stuff had not spoiled and cooked everything into adobo. The other items needing refrigeration they put in an ice box.

Last Saturday, the husband became sick while at work and was rushed to a hospital, where he was treated for leptospirosis – a potentially lethal disease transmitted usually through rodent urine and common during floods. The other members of their household were given prophylactic medicine.

I’m sure there were many similar stories in the wake of the typhoon-enhanced, monsoon-induced torrential rain and flood. And I’m sure many underwent worse suffering, and even lost loved ones. In Bulacan, certain areas may have to be declared a permanent disaster zone and abandoned because the flooding will never go away.

People are depressed, frustrated and angry, especially because the entire government – from the national level all the way down to the barangay – was clearly caught by surprise.

It’s the kind of public anger that can simmer and affect political fortunes. In 2013, the slow, dazed response of Noynoy Aquino’s administration to Super Typhoon Yolanda became an albatross around the neck of his “anointed” successor, Mar Roxas, who was hounded by perceptions of elitist insensitivity and incompetence.

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President Marcos is trying to deflect flak by blaming climate change, and is no longer mentioning the 5,500 flood control projects implemented in the past two years. Now he wants a flood control “masterplan.” What this means exactly is as murky as his Bagong Pilipinas rebranding.

Our colleague said one of the 5,500 could be the creek near their house. It was supposed to be dredged. Instead, after minor dredging, a concrete embankment and concrete bottom were constructed, making the creek narrower and shallower.

Senators, who were furious that floodwaters reached the entrance to their current office building for the first time ever, are set to conduct a probe into the flood control program, which has been allotted P255 billion for 2024 alone. It would be interesting to see if there would be untouchable persons in this probe.

After his government was caught napping in the noodle house, at least BBM has made himself highly visible, distributing relief goods, assessing damage and announcing possible solutions to improve preparedness.

In contrast, in this emergency, Vice President Sara Duterte flew to Munich, Germany clearly for non-emergency reasons, leaving the country at the height of the monsoon onslaught.

It was “unfortunate” that the timing of the trip coincided with the Carina-enhanced deluge, according to a statement issued by the Office of the Vice President. The Disaster Operations Center of the OVP, it said, “is always ready to assist families affected by calamities.”

“The trip to Germany was long planned and booked. It was not a spur-of-the-moment decision to take a vacation,” the OVP said.

With the VP in her vacation are her husband Mans Carpio, their three children and her mother who is of German-American descent, Elizabeth Zimmerman.

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I can understand that such trips take time to plan and book. But I also know that it’s fairly easy to cancel the booking for one member of a travel group, especially if the person is the Vice President of the Philippines. No room accommodation will even be canceled, since the VP is surely booked in the same room or suite as her husband and kids.

How hard would it have been to remain in the Philippines for at least two or three days before joining her family for their vacation? Her rush to leave fueled speculations that the VP, said to be a Swiftie, simply wanted to watch Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Munich over the weekend.

The VP’s father would have immediately grasped the impact of being missing in action at the height of one of the worst calamities to hit Metro Manila and large areas of Luzon. But he probably wasn’t consulted by his headstrong daughter, or maybe he didn’t want to meddle in a trip that includes his ex-wife.

If he still hopes to see his daughter ensconced at Malacañang, however, Rodrigo Duterte may have to provide some fatherly advice.

He can start by telling the VP that there’s a difference between being seen as entitled to some personal time, and acting entitled.

A series of “unfortunate” events can prove unfortunate for the VP and her clan.