IN THE aftermath of the recent landslide tragedy in Antipolo City, a local official said that they have been offering alternative safe housing to the residents of the danger zone, but they did not take the offer, and they just stayed where they were.
I think that it is only in the Philippines where people in authority would stand down in an impasse like that, even if it is already clear that the uncooperative residents were already facing certain death.
The Antipolo City official said that they actually had housing units that were ready for the residents to transfer to, but they nevertheless refused to move.
I do not doubt what that official said, but I am very much curious to know the reason why those people refused to move. Was the housing offered not to their liking? Was it substandard? What was wrong with it?
More often than not, the prospective transferees would refuse because the housing offered does not have power and water or does not have opportunities for livelihood.
Putting it the other way around, they would not want to leave their means of livelihood where they are now.
Whatever the reasons are, I think that forced evacuations are already in order if the local government unit (LGU) could really prove beyond reasonable doubt that the location in question is really a danger zone, as determined by reliable scientific research, and as shown in official hazard maps.
Otherwise, it is the duty of the LGU to convince, if not force the said residents to move to move, under threat of some penalties.
In a manner of speaking, that would not be too much different from forcing residents around active volcanoes to leave the perimeter zones.
In fairness, however, to the prospective refugees, the government also has to do its part in ensuring that they would be well provided with the resources that are either equal to, or greater than what they have left behind.
Truth to tell, the government is not famous in providing not only the basic necessities but also the other needs such as access to transportation and of course, mobile and internet signals.
As we already know it, the danger zones are not just the sites near the mountains where landslides could happen. As a matter of fact, flashfloods could also happen in those areas.
Just to make everyone safe, let us not forget the coastal and island areas where tsunamis and storm surges could still happen, as well as rising sea levels that could swallow entire villages.
By the way, who is really in charge of making the hazard maps? Is it the LGUs? The Department of Interior and Local Government? The National Mapping and Resource Information Authority? The Department of Environment and Natural Resources?
We should know who is in charge, so that we will know who is responsible./PN
