WHEN it rains Iloilo City’s streets turn into instant swimming pools. Yes, flashfloods are a perennial problem in the city.
The clogged sewers are the main culprits. The city government dredges them every now and then but this is not enough. The challenge is how to keep people from making sewers their trash bins. The indiscriminate dumping of trash must stop.
No doubt that stubborn litterbugs as well as inept public officials are responsible for the constant flooding in the city. Uncaring people clog the waterways while our public officials sleep on the job, particularly in enforcing local and national laws against the illegal dumping of garbage.
There must be an ecological management of discards. The callous practice of some citizens to dump their discards wherever they please, from cigarette butts and other tiny litter to bagful of mixed refuse, is a major cause of rapid flooding after heavy rains.
Discards thrown in streets, canals, creeks and rivers ultimately end up clogging the watercourse, disrupting the flow of rainwater, and turning low-lying areas into filthy pools that can harm and even kill humans and animals, damage properties, spread water-borne diseases and lead to economic losses.
The routine clearing and dredging operations are essential steps to mitigate flooding during the rainy season, but will be pointless if littering and dumping remain uncontrolled. The ecological management of discards is a critical component in any complete flood prevention and management program. Individual, family and community participation is the key to its success.
We call on all barangay councils to exercise effective leadership in educating and mobilizing people towards the environmentally-sound management of their discards for tidier, healthier and more vibrant communities.
