As a balikbayan, when I am in the Philippines (which is almost every year in February), I always read the Inquirer on paper, not online as I do abroad. These days, the Inquirer is full of news and commentaries on the “Fallen 44.” I deplore the incompetence that killed them.
Incompetence is also why until now the survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” are still living in tents, and corruption is still rampant and traffic a mess; why the MRT has become a dangerous ride but still an option for commuters; why air pollution is worsening, and peace and order remains a wish, and health-threatening garbage dumps are proliferating.
Garbage affects me most because while I’m here, I’m based in a friend’s house in a subdivision whose perimeter fence is also the boundary of a “garbage mountain” in Quezon City. At certain times of the day, we suffer the foulest of smells.
When we went to this new resort hotel in Manila, we happened to pass by Pier 18 and found out that it is another version of the Smokey Mountain, which was already closed before I left for the United States long ago. Now, a new Smokey Mountain has risen right at the mouth of Manila Bay!
In our trips to the homes of batch mates who invited us for get-togethers, we passed by portions of Quezon City, Valenzuela, Malabon, Navotas, Caloocan, Manila and Pasig. Along the main thoroughfares, we saw garbage mounds, but that one in Navotas is really big and it is beside Manila Bay!
Who is in charge of garbage management in Metro Manila? From websites, we are informed that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-National Capital Region issues permits and clearances to garbage dump operators, and a Solid Waste Management Commission provides the directions. The Quezon City government boasts of having won an award for best management of garbage—but why do I smell foul odor from the dump which I can also see from the subdivision I am staying in?
How about the city of Manila, how come it harbors that garbage mountain in Pier 18, which now would be more aptly called Basura Pier? Why are the DENR and the local government authorities not doing anything about these violations?
Crime, disaster, filth and the like breed where peace and order is greatly wanting; surroundings become polluted and dirty and people’s lives are exposed to danger. Eventually, many of them get sick and get killed, according to one of our doctor-classmates. And their number could be much more than those killed in armed clashes. All because of incompetence.
My friends and I keep coming back home for we love our country, and we have loved ones here to whom we send money that they may spend for their immediate needs or save up for future use and, yes, for paying their taxes. Yes, we do contribute even though modestly to help keep the Philippine economy going.
However, we hope the incompetents in government will not keep coming back, albeit with different faces and names—for obviously they don’t love or care for their country.
—PATRICIA M. SOL, patrimsol@gmail.com