POVERTY, high prices, jobs and livelihood, and access to food and shelter are not the only important issues that government should handle in the aftermath of typhoon “Carina” which has just devastated large swathes of land in the Philippines. There are also environment-related problems that the typhoon brought, such as the oil spill from a sunken vessel off Limay, Bataan, the onset of red tide in certain areas, and the destruction of large mangrove areas in many bays.
Losses sustained by the agriculture sector due to heavy rains and floodings all over the country in the aftermath of Carina and the southwest monsoon or “habagat” have breached P1 billion.
‘The President expressed sadness over the fact that Filipinos have been very careless in their management of household waste…’
The Department of Agriculture said the natural disaster hit hard on rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock, irrigation facilities, and fisheries in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western and Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen and Caraga. Losses in crops and livestock were estimated at P1.17 billion with volume of production loss at 18,086 metric tons and 42,708 hectares of agricultural areas.
With the extent of the typhoon damage assessed, the government is expected to start rehabilitation efforts right away, and this should include environmental concerns that have become visible with the debris and flotsam that surfaced during the floods.
Foremost of these environmental problems could not be hidden from the public — mountains of silt, debris, sticky soil and mud left in the streets by receding flood waters. Even President Marcos Jr, in his ocular inspection in the northern Metro Manila areas could not help but notice these mounds of garbage and debris. The President expressed sadness over the fact that Filipinos have been very careless in their management of household waste which end up in canals and esteros, and then on to the rivers, clogging these waterways and causing floods.
The floods also put to the fore the problem of informal settlers who have constructed their shanties on the riverbanks, endangering their lives and contributing to the river’s pollution. The long-range solution to this problem is still comprehensive land use plan and in-city relocation of squatters.
Exacerbating the already catastrophic situation brought about by typhoon Carina was the oil spill caused by the oil tanker which capsized in Manila Bay, off the coast of Bataan, sending the Philippine Coast Guard and the Navy to contain the spill.
At the NDRRMC meeting on the second day of the typhoon, President Marcos expressed genuine concern over the environmental impact of the oil spill, and particularly ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Science and Technology, and the Philippine Coast Guard to lead the assessment.
As the activities to contain the oil spill are ongoing, the Department of Social Welfare and Development has been dutifully doing its mandate to assist typhoon-affected families during this recovery phase. Spokesperson Irene Dumlao said they are using an assessment tool, the Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (RDANA), to ascertain what other inventions the agency can do because “after the response phase, we go to the recovery phase wherein we assess the support needed by those affected by the disaster for them to recover.”
It is well to remember that while the nation recovers from typhoon Carina, the Filipinos are left with important lessons on proper disposal of garbage, caring for the environment, and disaster readiness to be put into effect in the next tropical cyclones, because for sure, several storms are still forthcoming this year.
