What's the Solution to Flash Flooding Problems in Cebu?

In the aftermath of flash floods in Cebu, dozens of scientists and experts have chimed in or have been interviewed and asked 𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗮𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶 𝗺𝗮𝘂𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘆𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗿𝗶. 

The most common answers from them are:

1. Plant trees. Reforestation should be implemented on barren hills and mountains. 

2. Stop destructive activities like logging, open mining, quarrying, etc.

3. Land-use planning and strict implementation of zoning regulations. 

They rarely mention flood-control projects like dikes as solutions. In fact, Mahar Lagmay, a geologist and a resilience expert from the UP Resilience Institute said that dikes are the last option. 

The Philippine government spends billions of pesos every year on dikes which scientists and experts say are not very effective and not sustainable solutions to flash floods and other disasters.

Etag Polvoron and Etag Biscuits/Cookies

𝙀𝙩𝙖𝙜 polvoron? 𝙀𝙩𝙖𝙜 cookies?  

These home-made snacks are being sold by the Mountain Province booth at the Cordillera Festival of Festivals Exhibit in Malcolm Square, Baguio City. 

Bought a few just to give them a taste. The 𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙜 biscuits taste just like regular biscuits. Or maybe it was just my taste buds.

But for the 𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙜 polvoron, you can actually taste the 𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙜 flavor. It has a unique smoky taste. It tastes good. Give it a try if you happen to pass by their booth in Malcolm Square. The exhibit will run until tomorrow only.

𝙇𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙏𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙖𝙜: 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙔𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙜 𝙉𝙪𝙚𝙫𝙖 𝙑𝙞𝙯𝙘𝙖𝙮𝙖.

This is the Nueva Vizcaya that most people don't see. I got this book in Kayapa about two years ago. It's a travel guidebook featuring the natural wonders of the province. These are the natural wonders that will be at stake if corporate mining is allowed to take root in the province. 

Mining companies have already entered the municipalities of Kasibu and Quezon. Now they're trying to enter Dupax del Norte. Actually, they have already entered Dupax and have started exploring there. They've already done some physical damage in the area. If you follow the pages and updates of residents there, you will see pictures and videos of the damage to the landscape.

These are just a few of the sites featured in the book. There are dozens more. Name of the book is 𝙇𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙏𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙖𝙜: 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙔𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙜 𝙉𝙪𝙚𝙫𝙖 𝙑𝙞𝙯𝙘𝙖𝙮𝙖.

"Ayaw niyo ma-improve ang ating merkado publiko?"

"Ayaw niyo ma-improve ang ating merkado publiko?" 

This is a very common question being thrown to those who are against the proposed partnership between SM and the city of Baguio in redeveloping the public market. 

The people who were at the Save the Baguio City Public Market solidarity event last Sunday at the public market made it very clear that they are for redevelopment. Everybody wants a better and improved market. What they are questioning is the method in achieving that goal. They are opposing the modality of the redevelopment. And that would be the proposed public-private partnership (PPP) between SM and the city. 

The public-private partnership (PPP) modality is not inherently bad when it comes to public projects. Local government units don't always have the capacity to pursue expensive projects on their own. So it makes sense that sometimes it's necessary to get help from the private sector. 

However, if you read the terms and details of the proposed partnership between SM and Baguio, there's a lot of red flags. From the time that SM submitted to the city their unsolicited proposal five (5) years ago to the city council deliberation last week, there's a lot of questions in need of honest and transparent answers. 

Everybody should at least watch the city council deliberation last week on the proposed project. The video is still on the city council's Facebook page. Watch it then read articles and reports about the proposal from the last four years. Then come up with your own opinion if the SM and Baguio proposed partnership is a good idea.

Everybody wants a better and improved public market. Nobody is opposing the redevelopment of the market. That's clear. 

If you read the history of the PPP proposal, you will learn that there are other options on how to redevelop the market. There are other modalities that the city can potentially pursue. These are options that don't include leasing out huge sections of the market to a corporation for half a century. However, these didn't seem to have been been explored and studied as deeply as the PPP modality.

Save Baguio Market

Conversations about the proposed redevelopment of the Baguio City Public Market mostly revolve around the market itself. Not as many people are talking about the construction of a 7-level parking building and a 3-level commercial center beside the market as part of the proposed redevelopment project. 

According to the proposed project, the parking building and the commercial center will be developed by SM and will be leased to them by the city for 50 years. This means the shopping giant will manage and control a huge piece of critical city infrastructure for half a century. 

Let's talk about the commercial center. It's huge because it has 3 levels. What goods and services will be sold in this commercial center? Will these goods and services be the same as the goods and services being sold by vendors at the public market? 

It was revealed at the city council deliberation about the project last October that the non-compete clause in the redevelopment plan has been removed. This non-compete clause basically assures vendors that the commercial center won't be selling goods and services similar to those being sold at the market. Why was this non-compete clause removed?

Save the Baguio City Public Market

The proposed redevelopment of the Baguio City Public Market by SM won't just affect vendors that are already within the market. 

It will also effect the hundreds of small businesses and shops from nearby streets and communities. Many of these businesses rely on the foot traffic going in and coming out of the market's multiple entrances and exits. 

If the SM and Baguio City partnership pushes through and SM goes on to build the multi-level commercial center and the multi-level parking building beside it, what do you think will be the net effect not on just market vendors but on nearby shops like grocery stores, bakeries, etc.? 

Remember that SM will be managing and controlling the commercial center and parking building for 50 years. You can bet that the parking building will be designed in such a way that there's an easy transition from the parking building to the commercial center. 

Many people seem to have been fed the idea that the proposed public-private partnership is the only way to move forward in redeveloping the market. That's not the case. If you listen to the deliberation by the city council last October, it was pretty clear that there are other options but these weren't studied and explored as deeply.

Build Forests, See Less Flash Floods

Build forests and you'll see less flash floods. If you dig into the root cause of flash floods in this country, 99% of the time it's because the trees in the area (and nearby areas) have been significantly reduced or completely wiped out due to human activities like logging, mining, quarrying, and clearing to transform previously forested lands into agricultural or residential areas.

If the trees are no longer there to stop water run-offs, every drop of water goes rushing to the valleys below. Barren hills and treeless mountains are a recipe for disaster. 

Flood control projects can help reduce the impacts of floods. But these projects are often band-aid solutions not to mention the fact that they are often sub-standard which means they cause more harm than good. 

Imagine if those billions of pesos wasted on unnecessary and sub-standard flood control projects are used instead in reforestation projects.