Cebu City’s Disaster Preparedness


I can still recall bagyo ruping when I was little wherein trees were being uprooted and flying left and right…and now this disaster of bagyo ondoy in manila and the follow up of pepeng and another forecasted storm will be coming. Although there is an outpouring of International and local aid, desperation still exists in the area for more storms will definitely come. Nature does not care whether you’re rich or poor, moonlight shines on the guilty and the innocent alike. Now the question lingering in my mind is…will cebu suffer the same fate or worse? Are we cebuanos prepared for such things?

One might argue that cebu is no manila, true, but what about the garbage that each person generates? Do we put effort to segregate it before giving it to garbage collectors? Bare in mind that cebu too is a treeless city. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that our rivers are also covered in plastic and waste with primitive sanitation system. An hour of straight downpour in the city would send Colon and towards the south, basak under flood or underwater.

Unlike organic wastes that degrade in due time, non-biodegradable waste don’t decay. Rushing water carry them to drainage pipes and clog them. And there they will stay forever unless declogged or into the streets and homes, carrying with it mud, pieces of trash, and disease which in turn would cost more (One doesn’t have to be a math or accounting major to figure the cost of that out).

Affected heads of LGUs all agreed that when the squatters return to their homes beside the waterways, the whole rigmarole will start all over again. They agreed that local governments should relocate the squatters, but that’s easier said than done. Relocate them where? A place far from their means of livelihood so that the squatters will, in time, sell their homes to speculators and go back to squatting? In spite of billions of pesos spent and large areas of land allotted for relocation of squatters, these informal settlers increase instead of decrease. And what about this so called payment of squatters to leave the place by our very own government? Is this a long term solution? It’s like paying someone to squat to another area, not here!

And developments in cebu so far has been the setting aside of P10 million from the calamity fund for disaster preparedness, not only for Typhoon Pepeng but for any other weather disturbances this year by the Cebu City Council.

We too must do our part in preparation. The people as citizens must insist that reform must be done, that there must be a demand for innovation and that other pending projects be undertaken. They may add more budget, create more laws, but these things will be useless if the money is not spent properly and if a law is not implemented and upheld then it is just a piece of paper. And ultimately if the very citizens who inhabit the place are engulfed by laziness and apathy themselves, what you do now might be slow but collectively we can move this country forward!

Global warming or not, things happen because of cause and effect. Garbage on the streets = clogged drainage, clogged drainage = flood, flood = disease, disease = suffering, suffering = recovery, recovery = cost of time and money…why not use that thing called “BRAIN” and use the magic that is called DISCIPLINE which practically costs you nothing! thinking about that was not so hard now was it?

It is a pathetic situation and excuse wherein people die simply because of the lack of preparation and of slack public servants. It is high time that we stop saying..basta gobyerno tapulan, hinay serbisyu and so forth. We too should demand to our elected officials and also do our parts and our best for a better community, country and world. Unless we have informed societies, politicians will get away with gestures. Look good but does no good.

So, what do you think of Cebu City’s Disaster Preparedness?
Cebu City’s Disaster Preparedness Cebu City’s Disaster Preparedness Reviewed by Vernon Joseph Go on Friday, October 16, 2009 Rating: 5

3 comments

  1. idol! ng kamalay na d i ka atong bagyo ruping? unsa gani to na year? murag lo-oy pd mi kaau ato na tym ana ako parents.. hapt dw nlupad amung roof!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh I remember Bagyong Ruping. I was 5 years old! Our house became the "evacuation center" of our neighbors. Hehe. The worst part? Our house is somewhere in the north of Cebu. We all know that whenever there's bagyo, the Northern part is always luoy. But yeahhh. I am not sure if we're prepared enough. *crossing my fingers

    ReplyDelete
  3. i don't remember bagyong ruping but my mom told me it was the worst typhoon (or one of the worst typhoons) that hit Cebu. i just hope wlai ma.happen in.a2 balik. but if naa mn gni, i hope by that time, andam na ang mga taw. :|

    ReplyDelete