Why disastrous floods persist

Every year, the same story unfolds. As typhoons and habagat rains batter the Philippines, floodwaters rise and barangays are submerged. Many streets become rivers, homes are inundated, and countless Filipinos are forced to evacuate or suffer in silence.

- 

Last week's relentless rains and flooding have once again spotlighted a persistent bad habit among many Filipinos: the careless disposal of various kinds of trash, especially plastic wastes, that block drainage systems, disable pumping stations, and obstruct the natural flow of rainwater.

Despite repeated public warnings and environmental campaigns, improper waste disposal remains deeply ingrained in daily life. Littering, particularly of plastics, is so pervasive that canals, esteros, rivers, and drainage systems across Metro Manila and beyond are frequently choked with trash.

What ought to be manageable rainwater that should naturally find its way into Manila Bay have caused flash floods and widespread inundations that disrupt lives, damage property, and paralyze transport systems.

Of course, other reasons, besides the tons of trash clogging waterways, cause perennial flooding. Among them is the widespread notion of corruption, an issue that has defied solutions all these years.

So vexatious is the issue of corruption that no less than Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, and Sen. Panfilo Lacson have expressed renewed frustration over what many believe has been tainting various flood-control projects.