The old saying that “prevention is much better than cure” can also be applied in the area of preparedness for natural calamities such as heavy rains and floods.
And it’s a lesson that, somehow, local officials here in Laguna province failed to learn (again and again).
This June, with the onset of the rainy season, residents of San Pedro City, Laguna once again faced a recurring nightmare: heavy floods that stranded commuters and motorists.
Although the levels of flooding weren’t as severe as those faced during the onslaught of typhoon “Kristine” last year, the floods that some of us experienced last week should serve as a warning and a premonition of worse times ahead.
And the one question many affected residents had in mind, as evidenced by the barrage of comments on this newsmagazine’s social media spaces, is simple: Why didn’t government officials do something to resolve the issue during the two months of dry season?
Of course, we could all say that politics, politics and politics had all preoccupied our minds during the months leading to the May 12 midterm elections that many of our officials had given little thought to one of Laguna’s most pressing (and worsening) problems: our increasing vulnerability to heavy floods during the rainy season.
Which, sadly, points to the pervasive “short-sightedness” that had become part and parcel of governance in the Philippines, turning officials allergic to long-term programs and opting instead for “band-aid” solutions that, in the long run, cause even more hardship for us.
The floods of last week is just the beginning of harder times for us Lagunenses, unless our government steps in and innovate bold, concrete solutions for flood control.
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