Why corruption deepens the Philippines' environmental crisis

True enough, it takes two to tango, but greed remains a powerful fuel for the climate crisis.

- By MAT T. RICHTER

The cost is devastating. Typhoons barrel through neighborhoods sweeping away infrastructure, claiming lives, and costing the country billions. They leave behind contaminated soils, stripping ecosystems of their ability to shield us from future disasters. And, as always, it is the vulnerable communities, those who contribute least to global warming, that bear the heaviest blows.

Flood control mechanisms must be implemented. Mature forests must be protected. Yes, those are urgent tasks. But there is even greater necessity to confront insatiable greed. In the Philippines, flood mitigation projects too often exist only on paper. The elephants in the room hide behind power poles; left unaccountable, they morph into crocodiles, feeding in plain sight and darkening what hope remains. Corruption, whether it thrives under the table or before the public eye, continues to soothe its unquenchable thirst while communities drown.

All talk no action

Take the example of Tropical Storm Ondoy (2009). Many meteorologists have argued that the amount of rain it dumped in Metro Manila was far from normal. This devastation was made worse by inadequate flood control structures in rivers and drainage systems, the absence of accurate flood forecasting mechanisms, and the lack of proper maintenance of flood warning systems.

Years have passed, yet this still angers millions of Filipinos who dutifully pay their taxes but get nothing but talk, and no real action, on flood management, again and again.