Nobody listened
Nobody listened
Updated 11:04pm (Mla time) Dec 05, 2004
By Neal Cruz
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the December 6, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
WHAT the people of Rodriguez (Montalban) feared and warned about has become a reality. For more than six years, they have repeatedly been warning of flash floods and landslides because of rampant quarrying in their municipality and in the neighboring town of San Mateo. But nobody listened to them. Now they have been proven correct. But at what cost? A number of people died, hundreds of homes were destroyed, swamped by the floods brought by the storms.
While the floods and landslides in Aurora, Quezon, and Nueva Ecija were caused by illegal logging, those in Rodriguez and Marikina were caused by quarrying.
The people of Rodriguez, led by Dr. Pastor Cruz, have been urging for years to stop the quarrying. They were guests a few times at the Kapihan sa Manila where they repeated their urgent calls. But national and local officials, from the President down, didn't listen.
In the Aug. 16, 1998 issue of the Inquirer, this column commented that while President Estrada sent Environment Secretary Antonio Cerilles to far-off Siquijor in the Visayas to investigate complaints of quarrying there, his administration was not doing anything to stop the quarrying in Rodriguez and San Mateo, both of which are only an hour's drive from the central office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Metro Manila.
I wrote then: "Experts have reported that the quarrying of gravel from the foot of the mountains has triggered soil erosion and that during heavy rains, the communities below them would be swamped with mud and water.
"A report by the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) said: 'When the rainy season comes, massive siltation of rivers and other tributaries are expected. Worst, these ensuing phenomena are expected to create a damming effect on the upstream areas which will eventually lead to flash floods that will devastate lives and properties in the low-lying areas.' The report specifically pointed to residents of Montalban, Marikina and Pasig as potential casualties.
"The residents of Montalban have complained against the quarrying for years to many government officials and agencies, but it is as if they (the officials) are deaf and blind. According to documents I got, they sought the attention of then President Corazon C. Aquino during her incumbency. 'They have gone through the proper channels, that is: from the office of Gov. Yto Ynares. They have sought the intercession of Sen. Orlando Mercado in his capacity as chair of the Senate committee on environment. They have touched base with practically all of those who served as environment secretary, all the way to the incumbent.'...
"All for naught; no definitive action has been taken."
President Macapagal-Arroyo, reacting to the recent tragedy that left hundreds of people dead and millions of pesos worth of crops and properties lost, has now suspended all logging operations in the country. What about quarrying? It is doing as much harm to the environment as logging.
This is what happens because of quarrying: Rocks and whole hillsides are blasted and ground into gravel which are sold for use in construction projects in Metro Manila. During the blasting, soil, stones and rocks are loosened. The rock-crushing sends soil and dust into the streams and rivers. The ensuing siltation makes these waterways shallower and narrower, reducing their holding capacity for water. Thus, during heavy rains, they overflow and inundate the surrounding areas. Worse, siltation has a "damming" effect on the water. When that "dam" breaks, a wall of water rushes down and swamps the communities below. That was what happened during the storms.
When will our officials open their eyes? Are they waiting for another Ormoc-type tragedy-where thousands perished-to happen?
Ironically, the local officials of the towns of Rodriguez and San Mateo, and of Rizal province, as well as of the DENR and Malacañang, are not sympathetic to the pleas of Dr. Cruz and his group. The LGUs collect fees from the quarry operators. Even their neighbors do not appreciate what Dr. Cruz's group is espousing. Many of them work for the quarry operators. Now, perhaps, they will finally listen.
* * *
In a sense, the people of Aurora, Quezon and Nueva Ecija-who were the worst hit by the landslides and floods-were in the same boat as the residents of Rodriguez and San Mateo. In interviews with media people who managed to reach their stricken barangays, many residents there admitted that they worked for the illegal loggers. Several even admitted they did their own cutting, justifying their actions as "the only way they can feed their families." So it is, as if they are being punished by nature for their sins.
Indeed, the photographs and video footage of millions of cut logs littering the beaches, rivers and plains of the three provinces, with the bald Sierra Madre Mountains in the background, prove that the people went on a massive tree-cutting spree. As if an "open season" had been declared against any standing tree there.
Even young tree seedlings, no stouter than a man's arm, are cut; and their roots, which hold the soil and water together, are dug up. They are sold to landscape architects and garden suppliers in Metro Manila. Television showed stacks of them beside the damaged houses.
The TV footage also showed children putting charcoal into sacks. For charcoal-making-which is even more harmful to the forests-is a common occupation in the hilly areas to supply the needs of sidewalk barbecue vendors, lechon-manok-liempo stands, and ihaw-ihaw restaurants in urban areas.
Updated 11:04pm (Mla time) Dec 05, 2004
By Neal Cruz
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the December 6, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
WHAT the people of Rodriguez (Montalban) feared and warned about has become a reality. For more than six years, they have repeatedly been warning of flash floods and landslides because of rampant quarrying in their municipality and in the neighboring town of San Mateo. But nobody listened to them. Now they have been proven correct. But at what cost? A number of people died, hundreds of homes were destroyed, swamped by the floods brought by the storms.
While the floods and landslides in Aurora, Quezon, and Nueva Ecija were caused by illegal logging, those in Rodriguez and Marikina were caused by quarrying.
The people of Rodriguez, led by Dr. Pastor Cruz, have been urging for years to stop the quarrying. They were guests a few times at the Kapihan sa Manila where they repeated their urgent calls. But national and local officials, from the President down, didn't listen.
In the Aug. 16, 1998 issue of the Inquirer, this column commented that while President Estrada sent Environment Secretary Antonio Cerilles to far-off Siquijor in the Visayas to investigate complaints of quarrying there, his administration was not doing anything to stop the quarrying in Rodriguez and San Mateo, both of which are only an hour's drive from the central office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Metro Manila.
I wrote then: "Experts have reported that the quarrying of gravel from the foot of the mountains has triggered soil erosion and that during heavy rains, the communities below them would be swamped with mud and water.
"A report by the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) said: 'When the rainy season comes, massive siltation of rivers and other tributaries are expected. Worst, these ensuing phenomena are expected to create a damming effect on the upstream areas which will eventually lead to flash floods that will devastate lives and properties in the low-lying areas.' The report specifically pointed to residents of Montalban, Marikina and Pasig as potential casualties.
"The residents of Montalban have complained against the quarrying for years to many government officials and agencies, but it is as if they (the officials) are deaf and blind. According to documents I got, they sought the attention of then President Corazon C. Aquino during her incumbency. 'They have gone through the proper channels, that is: from the office of Gov. Yto Ynares. They have sought the intercession of Sen. Orlando Mercado in his capacity as chair of the Senate committee on environment. They have touched base with practically all of those who served as environment secretary, all the way to the incumbent.'...
"All for naught; no definitive action has been taken."
President Macapagal-Arroyo, reacting to the recent tragedy that left hundreds of people dead and millions of pesos worth of crops and properties lost, has now suspended all logging operations in the country. What about quarrying? It is doing as much harm to the environment as logging.
This is what happens because of quarrying: Rocks and whole hillsides are blasted and ground into gravel which are sold for use in construction projects in Metro Manila. During the blasting, soil, stones and rocks are loosened. The rock-crushing sends soil and dust into the streams and rivers. The ensuing siltation makes these waterways shallower and narrower, reducing their holding capacity for water. Thus, during heavy rains, they overflow and inundate the surrounding areas. Worse, siltation has a "damming" effect on the water. When that "dam" breaks, a wall of water rushes down and swamps the communities below. That was what happened during the storms.
When will our officials open their eyes? Are they waiting for another Ormoc-type tragedy-where thousands perished-to happen?
Ironically, the local officials of the towns of Rodriguez and San Mateo, and of Rizal province, as well as of the DENR and Malacañang, are not sympathetic to the pleas of Dr. Cruz and his group. The LGUs collect fees from the quarry operators. Even their neighbors do not appreciate what Dr. Cruz's group is espousing. Many of them work for the quarry operators. Now, perhaps, they will finally listen.
* * *
In a sense, the people of Aurora, Quezon and Nueva Ecija-who were the worst hit by the landslides and floods-were in the same boat as the residents of Rodriguez and San Mateo. In interviews with media people who managed to reach their stricken barangays, many residents there admitted that they worked for the illegal loggers. Several even admitted they did their own cutting, justifying their actions as "the only way they can feed their families." So it is, as if they are being punished by nature for their sins.
Indeed, the photographs and video footage of millions of cut logs littering the beaches, rivers and plains of the three provinces, with the bald Sierra Madre Mountains in the background, prove that the people went on a massive tree-cutting spree. As if an "open season" had been declared against any standing tree there.
Even young tree seedlings, no stouter than a man's arm, are cut; and their roots, which hold the soil and water together, are dug up. They are sold to landscape architects and garden suppliers in Metro Manila. Television showed stacks of them beside the damaged houses.
The TV footage also showed children putting charcoal into sacks. For charcoal-making-which is even more harmful to the forests-is a common occupation in the hilly areas to supply the needs of sidewalk barbecue vendors, lechon-manok-liempo stands, and ihaw-ihaw restaurants in urban areas.
posted by Dante at 3:15 PM
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