ON MMA FLOODS
A Layman’s View/ Summary Appreciation of
What has Happened to the MMA Built Environment and
Suggested Flood-related Policy for Its Future Transformation
(Armando N. Alli using material processed from various sources, August 2012)
A. Flood. A flood refers to the overflow of the huge amount of water onto land that has a higher elevation as compared to the normal level of water at a waterway, reservoir or body of water (natural or artificial), often bringing death and widespread devastation. Floods are possibly one of the most common natural disasters and is generally classifiable under three (3) types i.e. natural, man-made and catastrophic.
B. Natural Floods. Natural floods could be a) riverine (caused by rivers); b) estuarine (caused by a combination of sea tidal surges and storm-force winds); or c) coastal (caused by cyclones, hurricanes and tsunamis). Some of the common causes are:
1. Heavy to very heavy rainfall (brought by storms or by rain-laden monsoon winds such as the now considered deadly and destructive “habagat” coming from the southwest/ SW i.e. from the general direction of our West Philippine Sea) elevates the water level at waterways, water reservoirs and bodies of water, thereby causing flooding in their adjoining areas.
2. Flooding often occurs in lowlands/ low-lying areas since waterways in these areas flow more slowly due to the gentle slopes and the shallow depth cause by depositions over time. If the water volume in these areas increase abruptly and if the waterway depth is not maintained by periodic dredging, floods automatically occur as the carrying capacity of the waterways are exceeded.
3. Flooding always occurs in coastal areas where high tides or storms (short term) or sea level rise (long term) cause the water level to rise periodically, over extended periods or permanently i.e. if the water level exceeds the level of the coastal plain, flooding or longer term inundation occurs.
Note: Sea level rise is potentially mainly caused by the melting of heavy sheets of ice or large quantities of snow occasioned by global warming. The rising temperature makes the snow/ ice caps melt faster and continuously, raising the level of ocean/ sea waters, which in turn raises the level of water along the coast and at inland waterways/ water bodies worldwide.
4. Flooding caused by tsunamis is a rare extreme event but has already been experienced in some parts of the Philippines although mercifully not at the scale of what hit Indonesia, Thailand and Japan recently.
C. Man-made/ caused Floods. Man-made/ caused floods are those induced by man’s actions relating to the improper interference with nature, with little regard for the short to long term consequences. These are generally caused by:
1. Clearing of large areas of upland forests sited near waterways to make room for settlements, roads and farmlands cause flooding downstream i.e. at low-lying areas. Since there is less ground cover to protect/ hold the soil, the soil is quickly eroded and washed down to the sea, leaving a trail of organic debris (siltation) that is deposited along the waterways leading to the sea. The deposition (silt), if left un-dredged over time contributes to the flooding while the speed of the water rushing downriver causes deadly flashfloods. Recent extreme events that come to mind are the Ormoc, Iloilo City and Cagayan de Oro debacles.
2. Some farming techniques, over-grazing and over-cultivation damage both the ground cover and the soil, such that the soil is easily eroded and carried away by surface runoff.
3. Improper planning and execution of the reclamation of portions of waterways (including esteros), lakes and foreshore areas, mangrove forest areas and wetlands, which may cause massive hydraulic problems, including periodic to long-term flooding and possible liquefaction at the reclaimed areas.
4. Improper construction, operation or maintenance of water retention facilities e.g. reservoirs, dikes, dams, etc. which can also result in periodic or long-term flooding; sudden water release from retention areas such as dams is a major cause of flash-flooding;
5. Improper land conversion of areas such as floodplains found along the inner side of waterway bends (which should be left alone to perform their natural function as overflow/ spillover areas for rampaging floodwaters) to host large population concentrations. Many of the areas badly affected by storm Ondoy once served as the large floodplains of the Marikina River. To date, many floodplains along both the Marikina and Pasig Rivers are still being converted for high density habitations (many upscale ones at that) or large scale commercial uses and these may potentially result in much deadlier disasters in the future. Property buyers must always be aware (or be made aware) of the locations of such properties offered for sale or lease i.e. caveat emptor, as what they may be buying could be a one-way ticket to a disastrous water-related end.
Note: The reported minimum 450mm of rain falling within a 12-hour period on 29 September 2009 made storm Ondoy the deadliest MMA extreme event in recent memory. While the resultant flood was supposedly natural, many man-made causes contributed to its deadly effect and the resultant wide swath of devastation in eastern MMA.
6. In the case of the Metropolitan Manila Area (MMA) and elsewhere in the Philippines, the apparently deliberate violation of the following laws by the very officials tasked to implement and enforce the law at both the national and local government levels:
i) Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 1067 (The 1976 Water Code of the Philippines), particularly as regards the mandated legal easements along waterways and coastal areas;
ii) P.D. No. 1096 (The 1977 National Building Code of the Philippines/ NBCP and its 2004 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations/ IRR), particularly in regard to the preservation of legal easements (setbacks) along waterways, the limitations on foot-printing of buildings i.e. setbacks and yards, the limitation of the introduction of impervious surfaces at the grounds of buildings, etc.;
iii) R.A. No. 7279 (Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992) on danger zones; and
iv) R.A. No. 9003 on ecological solid waste management;
Notes: The non-preservation of legal easements along waterways by the concerned government officials has encouraged builders and private entities/ interests to illegally reclaim portions of inland waterways e.g. rivers, streams, creeks, lakes, etc., thereby reducing the carrying or holding capacities of these waterways/ water bodies and contributing to flashfloods or longer term flooding.
The NBCP limitations on foot-printing and impervious surfaces are intended to maximize the area of the soil or ground-covered/ vegetated portions of grounds surrounding a building so that these can help hold surface/ rain water (and thereby help retard surface water flow that cause flash flooding) and also to allow for larger amounts of surface water percolation.
Sec. 28 of R.A. No. 7279 expressly prohibits informal settlements in danger zones such as esteros, railroad tracks, garbage dumps, riverbanks, shorelines, waterways, and other public places such as sidewalks, roads, parks, and playgrounds.
Sec. 10 of R.A. No. 9003 mandates solid waste segregation and collection at the barangay level specifically for biodegradable, compostable and reusable wastes while the collection of non-recyclable materials and special wastes shall be the responsibility of the LGU (city or municipality).
D. Catastrophic Floods. Catastrophic floods are caused by some significant and unexpected events e.g. dam breakage caused by either natural forces or possible deliberate acts of terrorism/ sabotage or something akin to the biblical flood resulting from 40 days and 40 nights of continuous torrential rain.
E. Why MMA Floods. While force majeure (acts of God) is always convenient to blame for MMA floods, the fact is that public apathy, general lack of discipline, wanton disregard for the rule of law (due to lack of certainty of punishment), possibly officially-tolerated/ encouraged greed, potential official technical neglect, complacency and/or ineptness at quite possibly all levels of governance, and other causes, may bear a larger part of the blame, and may have largely contributed to the exacerbation of the effects of MMA flooding (originally arising from natural causes), viz:
1) much higher rain concentration in Luzon and the NCR occasioned by their location within the typhoon belt and by the effects of climate change in general; as demonstrated by the early August 2012 monsoon rains, rains from the West Philippine Sea which previously was not of storm proportions, have now far exceeded storm rainfall;
2) a vast portion of the MMA is a virtual floodplain, with elevations only slightly above sea level; surface water and cascading rain/ storm water from higher elevations i.e. mountains and hills sited east of MMA naturally flow down through parts of the MMA to find their way to Manila Bay;
3) MMA waterways and basins are already much too shallow from decades of deposition (including the heavily silted Laguna Lake with a reported remaining 2.5m deep pre-flood water retaining capacity);
4) the massive loss of esteros, wetlands and natural waterways to encroaches of urban development over the last 5 decades, notably the reclamation of the Dagat-Dagatan area in northern MMA in the 1970s and 1980s; note also that the Recto underpass in Quiapo District in the City of Manila apparently used to be an estero;
5) inadequate, inefficient, non-performing or under-performing drainage and flood prevention/ mitigation/ control systems; these systems were designed to convey water (not water and garbage); as many of these are dated, either they were overworked or unable to cope with the demand; in the case of Taguig last week, some pumping stations also had to shut down as these were short on fuel or were themselves in danger of being destroyed by floodwaters; a few years ago, there was a regular maintenance regimen for clearing garbage from the large drainage lines at the northbound side of C-4/ EDSA in Pasay City (using backhoes) but these have not been seen for the last several years;
6) illegal private structures at or along waterways i.e. makeshift to permanent homes, fishpens, mini-dams, etc.
7) dam release of water almost reaching spill level i.e. the La Mesa Dam at Quezon City and constant overflow i.e. at the old Wawa Dam in Rodriguez, Rizal Province can cause much flooding in many MMA areas proximate to the Marikina River;
8) from the City of Manila being regarded as the Paris of the Orient prior to 1945, the MMA now has the unenviable image of being a shantytown (due to its countless informal settlements), with garbage strewn everywhere (now even around the US Embassy and the Manila Yacht Club along Roxas Boulevard/ Manila Bay); the non-biodegradable garbage assembled from all over the MMA only shows that the MMA does not have a working solid waste management program i.e. nearly everything is apparently thrown by uncaring MMA dwellers into the waterways; the barangays have a lot to do with this situation;
9) while Laguna Lake is a major storm water retaining basin, a potential source of freshwater, and a potential tourism resource, it is apparently treated by many MMA LGUs and dwellers as their common cesspool; as a direct result, it has little utility or tourism value i.e. compared with other countries where developments are all facing the lake, developments around Laguna Lake tend to face the other way (possibly out of shame for what we have collectively done to this once beautiful lake and its immense potentials to make life better for MMA dwellers);
10) MMA roadways/ carriageways are developed or are redeveloped (like what is now happening around UST in Manila) like the “pilapil” surrounding low-lying erstwhile agricultural land (already converted to other uses); this practice creates a fishpond effect i.e. trapping water within the pilapil confines i.e. the roadways remain relatively dry until the trapped water tops the roadway; many new developments, particularly residential subdivisions and industrial estates are developed this way, giving rise to the need to import fill materials onsite (to make the buildings and grounds higher than the roadway); the fill materials are usually harvested from some far-off mountain or hill, thereby causing floods in those areas as well and are transported by trucks over roadways designed to carry lighter vehicles (thereby destroying the roadways as well);
11) concrete roadway-canal combine i.e. with too much impervious (non-water percolating/ absorbing/ retaining) surfaces surrounding buildings, the smooth surface of the concrete carriageway (roadway) makes it function as a high-speed channel (canal), bringing rain/ storm water to the lowest elevations nearby and readily causing flash-floods at such areas; asphalt is mainly used at MMA to correct concrete road deficiencies/ defects (as overlay) but not as the environmentally-advantageous material of choice (for roads in a tropical country, where it should be combined with the proper surface drainage features); we continue to be unable to use true asphalt roads in the MMA because of our unresolved drainage problem;
12) general lack of official political will to implement and enforce the laws that are already in place to protect both the natural and built environments e.g. the Water Code and its legal easement requirements, the Building Code with its building setback requirements as well as impervious surface restrictions on paving the grounds surrounding buildings, etc.; if only these laws could first be implemented at the barangay level;
13) the barangay is the basic political unit; if laws could not be enforced at that level, then there will be utter chaos and anarchy over large areas (as what we are presently experiencing in the MMA); the barangay elders interpret laws any which way they can, oftentimes possibly without properly consulting superior LGU (city/ municipal) legal officials; these barangay officials should be held administratively and criminally accountable for taking laws lightly and consequently, for possibly being the primary cause of many of the MMA problems, particularly flooding and garbage everywhere;
F. Why MMA Also Floods. Other possible but presently unquantifiable causes of MMA excessive rain and resultant flooding are as follows:
a) concrete and masonry buildings and metal roofing absorb and retain large amounts of heat, raising near-ground ambient temperatures in the MMA and making it an urban heat island (UHI); the pollution created by buildings and vehicles contribute to the warming of the MMA as their generated pollution blocks heat escape into the atmosphere (PDI article, 13 Aug 2012); the more heat is retained near-ground, the more these interact with the weather, with the UHI (as water cycle intensifiers and as weather system enhancers) apparently even affecting the monsoon winds/ rains; and
b) the UHI apparently unduly affects the heat balance, wind circulation and precipitation within and above the MMA; while UHI could generate oppressive heat during the dry season, it could help intensify monsoon rains during the wet season; depending on the season, UHI could also change wind circulation and the patterns of cloud formation, variables that affect rain clouds and thunderstorms (PDI article, 13 Aug 2012).
G. MMA Floods are Also Caused by What Has Become of (Is Still Happening to) the MMA Built Environment. The reported minimum 470 millimeters (mm) (some say as high as 10,000 mm) of torrential SW monsoon (“habagat”) rainfall over the MMA over the last 5 days (6 through 10 August 2012, invariably billed as the “storm with no name” and “Habagat 2012”) was not the sole contributor to the flooding and major inconveniences (even large-scale damage to property and loss of life), we collectively experienced. We may all be to blame (what we thought could not happen did happen, and it happened for the 2nd time around). What we just experienced was our penalty for countless years (nay, decades) of public apathy, monumental neglect and official complacency and possibly ineptness occasioned by apparently largely political considerations at the LGU level, viz:
1) The MMA has 619.5 square kilometers (sqkm), with the University of the Philippines System (UPS) Diliman and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Complex controlling approx. 500.0 hectares (has.) apiece; MMA has a year 2007 population of say 11.55 million; MMA was truly overcrowded as it had a 2007 population density of 18,650 persons per sqkm, increasing 16.3% from year 2000 population density data (NSCB); presently, MMA has a population of say 11.85 million (estimated by some sources at a high of almost 14.0 million, as daytime population); again, MMA is truly overcrowded as it has an estimated 2012 population density of 19,138 persons per sqkm (Inquirer.net.Opinion,Aug11,2012), increasing 2.6% from year 2007 population density data; the MMA accounts for 13% of the total PH population although it accounts for a mere 0.18 percent of the country’s total land area (with a population density of 269 persons per sqkm);
2) by year 2015, it is estimated that MMA’s 2.34 million vehicles (Manila Times, 2011)shall clog its streets by day and again by night (roadway overnight parking, a form of undeserved private use and enjoyment of the public domain, which is unlawful); by day today, MMA vehicles slow down traffic flow to an excruciating 5 to 8 kilometer per hour (kph), resulting in unquantifiable losses in productive man-hours, precious fuel and vehicle value (due to extensive wear and tear); when the floods do come, all these losses multiply as traffic grinds to a halt; combined with pollution generated by building and production places, the pollutants generated by these MMA vehicles (particularly tricycles with their dirtier mix of exhaust and engine oil) apparently interact and bond with water molecules in the atmosphere, making raindrops bigger and heavier;
3) The 619.5 sqkm land surface area of the MMA is definitely overbuilt i.e. with general estimates of MMA open spaces (RROWs, waterways and recreational areas) at quite possibly less than 25% and with foot-printing of the net land area at between 90% and 95%; even embankments of waterways are already crowded with informal settlements e.g. up to 100,000 families may already be living presently at both sides of the Manggahan Floodway running from Pasig City in eastern MMA through the towns of Cainta and Taytay (Rizal Province, considered part of the Greater Manila Area/ GMA); we only have very limited open spaces e.g. Luneta, Parks & Wildlife and the Quezon Circle (which has become a near-permanent “tiangge” or flea market and home to a few informal settlers possibly masquerading as tianggeand carinderia shop-keepers); this means that MMA has a very small surface area for surface water retention to help retard flash-flooding;
4) MMA elevation is sinking from the many decades of drawing groundwater which could not be replenished because MMA is overbuilt by the expansive footprint of its building population; without open ground to percolate surface water, the aquifers containing groundwater for the MMA could not be properly recharged; after a few more decades of incessantly drawing water from under MMA, 3 things are sure to happen: a) MMA shall continue to sink to possibly below sea level; b) the aquifers under MMA could eventually run dry and we shall need to use other sources (such as processed/ converted seawater or Laguna Lake water); and c) the vacuum in the aquifers will lead to greater saltwater intrusion below MMA and forever ruin the subterranean freshwater supply;
5) while life in MMA vertical communities is already widely accepted, MMA in all its expanse is still a low-rise development with only a few high-rise spots (Makati, Taguig, Pasig, etc.); low-rise developments mean a higher density in terms of building footprint, which means scant open land is left to take in rainwater or surface water;
6) MMA has too many illegal structures, particularly in areas which should not be built upon; jurisdiction over the planning and design of buildings is with the DPWH, whose supposedly Acting Building Officials (BOs) at the LGU level were put in charge of all the vertical components of the built environment; the ABOs (who are actually Municipal or City Engineers/ MCEs by virtue of Sec. 477 of R.A. No. 7160, the 1991 Local Government Code) are apparently not actually under DPWH control (but under the control of the LGU politicians); this situation puts MCEs (with possibly little or limited understanding of architecture, urban design and physical planning) in charge of reviewing and approving architectural plans/ designs of buildings and their grounds even while Sec. 35 of R.A. No. 9266 (The Architecture Act of 2004) already implies that registered and licensed architects (RLAs) should sit as Building Officials (BOs); Sec. 35 of R.A. No. 9266 has been in full effect since 10 April 2007 and yet, we still have to see RLAs appointed by the DPWH in discernible numbers to the position of LGU Building Official (BO);
7) compounding illegal structures are improperly sited massive commercial complexes, which are found along the major MMA arteries, causing massive traffic buildup and spewing tons of solid and liquid wastes daily;
8) MMA has too many visually polluting/ cluttering non-mobile billboards made of tarpaulin and similar non-biodegradable materials; ever wonder where these go after their short display times?; some of the bits and pieces of these billboard tarps could probably be already out there mixed with the garbage in Manila Bay;
9) the physical quality and character of our built environment is in an utterly dismal state with every conceivable violation of the Building Code, the Fire Code, the Accessibility Law, the Water Code, the Sanitation Code, etc., staring us in the face daily; while most MMA dwellers/ visitors may have accepted this as a fact of life, there is public accountability since all of the laws are being violated with impunity by the very agents of the State (and LGUs) tasked with the full implementation and enforcement of such laws;
10) MMA has too many informal settlements along waterways (embankments and on the water itself), floodplains, danger zones, etc. who pose a perennial contributor to the flooding situation as their illegal structures effectively impede water flow; generally, informal settling (squatting) is not considered a crime thus depriving legitimate property owners/ taxpayers of the beneficial use of their hard-earned properties; the Government also uses valuable land from which no direct benefit to taxpayers is derived; instead, certain unscrupulous private individuals and squatting syndicates benefit from the situation; many portions of the road-right-of-way (RROW) system, particularly sidewalks and portions of carriageways have been taken over by squatters, using said portions of the public domain for their illegal private use and enjoyment, a practice tolerated, if not directly encouraged by certain government officials;
11) many LGU have comprehensive land use plans (CLUPs, used as their bases for their zoning ordinances/ ZOs) when what they should probably have are comprehensive land/ water/ air use plans; (CLWAUPs) to cover all the possible developments at all planes of developments within their respective jurisdictions; we must plan for water all the time (where it is now, where it was and where it could be); at the very least, such plans should also be substantially based on sieved thematic e.g. geo-hazard and risk maps already prepared (and made available online) by national agencies such as the DENR MGB; and
12) physical planning for the MMA is a public responsibility; while in the 1970s, there was a MMETROPLAN (Metro Manila Land Use and Transportation Plan) for the entire 650.0 sqkm MMA, we have not seen its equivalent over the last 35 years, thus leaving physical planning at the hands of the competing LGUs and vested private interests; this has resulted in a vacuum situation i.e. where we now have a largely private sector-driven piecemeal physical plan for portions of the MMA (conveniently knitted in place by the LGU CLUPs) and where we now have large-scale anarchy whereby the urban poor set up illegal settlements whenever and wherever they want (with the nod of LGU officials, particularly at the barangay level).
H. Suggested Flood-related Policy for the Future MMA Built Environment. To effect its transformation and to make MMA a truly better (and possibly less flood-prone) place in the future, the following may need to be considered over time (hopefully over the short term), viz:
1) a inter-administration program to clear and deepen MMA waterways (such as the Pasig/ Marikina/ San Juan Rivers, Tripa de Gallina, etc.) and basins such as the Laguna Lake i.e. such a program could span 5 to 25 years (crossing political terms); if need be, the program could be passed as part of a law;
2) a inter-administration program to create a MMA stormwater management system possibly consisting of drainage channels, spillways and water retention structures (above and below ground); such a program could span 5 to 15 years (crossing political terms); if need be, the program could be passed as part of a law;
3) institutionalize a solid waste to energy program that shall allow the incineration of solid waste to generate power (using technologies already available); we have seen that banning incineration creates an even bigger solid waste problem and we should take a second and closer look at that law (the Clean Air Act) as well; if need be, the waste to energy program could be passed as part of a law;
4) program for the completion of the MMA elevated transit system (13 lines planned for the DoTC as early as 1983); new lines could be added to link up with emerging and new settlement and/or resettlement concentrations outside the MMA to encourage the exodus from perennially flooded areas and danger zones; if need be, the program could be passed as part of a law;
5) a program to fully revive the MMA waterways as public transportation arteries; in this way, eyes are always on the waterways to prevent these from becoming garbage dumps; if need be, the program could be passed as part of a law;
6) program for the development of additional water basins for MMA flood-prone areas i.e. to be sited at either naturally low-lying areas or artificial rain/storm water retention structures below ground; if need be, the program should be passed as part of a law;
7) development controls over air rights to the public domain, including air rights above waterways; if need be, this could be passed as part of a law;
8) incentives for reversion of built-up spaces into open spaces (whether for private or public use); if need be, this could be passed as part of a law;
9) a program of mandated waste buy-back i.e. producers/ manufacturers and distributors (particularly of highly pollutive or non-biodegradable wastes such as industrial or commercial packaging or containers) must either pay for, retrieve or be directly and heavily taxed for the environmental damage that they cause under the principle that direct/ indirect polluters of the environment must be held fully accountable; if need be, waste buy-back should be passed as part of a law;
10) a MMA-wide ban on certain types of non-biodegradable plastics, polystyrene, styropor and similar products/ by-products; if need be, this could be passed as part of a law;
11) passage of the National Land, Air and Water Use Act which should cover all the permitted principal, accessory and conditional uses for the land, water and air resources of the country, specifically the MMA/ NCR;
12) repeal P.D. No. 1096, otherwise known as the 1977 National Building Code of the Philippines (NBCP) to make it stronger, more sustainable and implemented and enforced by the correct State-regulated professionals i.e. mainly sufficiently-experienced architects who were trained (and tested by the State) for the physical planning and design of buildings and their settings/ environments; in repealing the NBCP for instance, the reckoning elevation for buildings (and building height limits/ BHL) should be the highest recorded flood level possibly within a 300.0 meter (m) radius of the building site over the last 50 years or more, and not the surface elevation of the sidewalk;
13) repeal Sec. 477 of R.A. No. 7160 (1991 Local Government Code) and/ or implement and enforce Sec. 35 of R.A. No. 9266 (The Architecture Act of 2004) by appointing registered and licensed architects (RLAs) to the position of LGU Acting Building Officials (ABOs);
14) require higher academic and professional qualifications and prescribe heavy penalties for LGU Building Officials who seem not to mind their most important responsibility i.e. implementation and enforcement of the NBCP; otherwise, fully professionalize the position of LGU Building Official (BO) by passing a law creating such a profession or by repealing Sec. 477 of R.A. No. 7160 (1991 Local Government Code);
15) amend the Water Code to institutionalize heavier penalties for both witting and unwitting violations of the mandated legal easements; there should be the summary removal of settlers or the demolition of buildings/ structures found on all legal easements as these are apparently the primary causes of flooding in urban areas;
16) transfer jurisdiction over buildings from the DPWH to the proposed Department of Housing, Settlements and Urban Development, which should be in charge of all the vertical components of the built environment;
17) promote new development approaches and paradigms to deal with flooding and the other effects of climate change e.g. a) building height limit (BHL) reckoning from high floodwater mark rather than from sidewalk level thereby allowing spaces for flexible, non-permanent occupancies; b) developments on large stilts/ pillars, platforms and rigs; c) controlled coastal and lake reclamation using depositions (silt) at Laguna Lake and lahar from Central Luzon; d) use of air rights over the public domain; e) floating houses (with moorings and life support systems similar to those proposed for New Orleans, USA);
18) the Government must eventually consider ways of depoliticizing informal settlers and of dismantling the potentially unholy alliance between politicians and informal settlers e.g. in some countries, informal “residents” may apparently not cast election votes because they are perceived as not having a direct stake in (or beneficial contribution to) their community i.e. as they do not pay income tax, real estate tax, etc.; yet in the Philippine (PH) setting, the informal settlers continue to demand and are accorded a disproportionately high amount of public spending (for free education, health, sanitation, utilities, transportation, etc.) which in turn translates into less public services for the legitimate residents and taxpayers; in fact, the private property owners of such squatted properties (and all private real estate property owners for that matter) are apparently forced by the Government to fund programs for informal settlers when these property owners are required to annually pay special assessments as part of their real estate property tax payments e.g. the Special Development Fund (SDF) which apparently already doubles the real estate tax; so it makes one wonder why some MMA LGUs are even passing new ordinances to raise real estate taxes to fund medium-rise housing for the informal settlers when property owners are already heavily burdened by the SDF levy on top of property taxes; if these LGUs want to keep the informal settlers in their present locations, then these LGUs should themselves fund their proposed informal settler housing projects and not unduly burden the tax-paying population; it is time to really look at squatting for what it really is – a form of apparently institutionalized land-grabbing tolerated by politicians, if not by the Government itself and State policies must now consider reflecting such a view (as it had done prior to 1986); as with many other places in the PH, the will of the actual residents in MMA towns and cities is often thwarted by the large informal settler election vote and this situation must change if we are to make the MMA a truly better place; remove the informal settler vote (i.e. only legitimate residents and taxpayers should be allowed to vote in a particular jurisdiction), and we could then all gradually work on solutions to finally rid MMA of excessive flooding; otherwise, it shall be completely useless to even try thinking of solutions that will just cost money and not solve the problem;
19) there must be a legal mechanism that allows the automatic filing of administrative and/or criminal complaints (even on a motu proprio basis by the Office of the Ombudsman) against local and national government officials and private professionals who tolerate, encourage or allow informal settlers on danger zones and portions of the public domain i.e. road rights-of-way (RROWs), legal easements, etc. or who allow other forms of illegal use of the public domain for private use and enjoyment; over time, the Supreme Court (SC) may even need to have a division (or several divisions) solely focused on administrative cases, particularly those against Government officials who contribute to the exacerbation of natural disasters by their neglect, complacency or ineptness (technical or otherwise) i.e. in some countries, there are Supreme Courts solely for resolving administrative cases with finality;
20) there should be a faster instituted legal mechanism to fully address willful violations of environmental, physical planning, building and professional practice laws. Lawyers, judges and justices who deliberately misquote or misinterpret the provisions of said laws (without benefit of expert technical advice and/or decent technical research) should also be summarily dismissed from their positions/ practices by their respective administrative bodies/ organizations. Agents of the Court should preferably not independently interpret such laws that are highly technical in nature;
21) a resident identification system for both MMA and Greater Manila Area (GMA) residents must be institutionalized i.e. each MMA or GMA resident must become increasingly aware of their responsibilities as metropolitan or extra-metropolitan citizens, particularly in the areas of flood prevention/ mitigation/ control and environmental management; apathy, lack of discipline and willful disregard for the law (especially environmental laws) and the welfare of the general public should never be rewarded;
22) the 1970s martial law slogan “sa ika-uunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan” speaks volumes of what still needs to be done for the PH, even 40 years later i.e. for about 3 years (1973 through 1977), there was discipline all around the present-day MMA for fear of the then dreaded Metrocom (and the certainty of the swift punishment that they can bring); countries like Japan (and more recently Singapore were founded on discipline i.e. citizens (or those who pride themselves as citizens of such states) follow lawful orders to the letter, without question (and in the case of Singapore, there is absolute certainty of punishment for violators i.e. walangawa-awa o palusot o human rights kuno); a culture of discipline must be truly institutionalized in the MMA (and elsewhere in the country) through various means, viz: a) drill students and government officials (particularly the less educated/ motivated ones at the barangay, municipal and city levels) more on governance, civics and citizenship and the effects of non-compliance with law (particularly on proper waste management and the correct use of the public domain, particularly the road rights-of-way/ RROWs and the legal easements); b) summary trials in special courts for offenses relating to violations of laws which have to do with discipline (like reckless driving, littering), etc. and the immediate imposition of fines or imprisonment for those adjudged guilty; and c) a large detention facility located well outside the MMA for discipline-related offenses (as these offenders should not mingle with other inmates charged with/ convicted of more serious crimes). Nothing follows.
