August 7, 2001   *   vol. 1 (6)

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vol. 1 (6)   *   August 7, 2001

     Typhoon Feria, which is considered "the second most incredible typhoon in three decades" to have heavily battered most of the Northern Provinces of the Philippines, had left 184,848 families or 829,476 people either homeless or displaced after their houses had been damaged by its burly winds and heavy rains, or were buried under thick mud. Not to mention the 121 people dead, 130 injured and 44 still missing. It also destroyed P1 billion worth of infrastructure, agricultural products, and private properties.
     Feria's wrath may have been so wanton, but what caught all of us surprised was the massive flooding that was spawned by the typhoon in majority of places including highlands, which refused to subside immediately, and the extent of the landslides. What went wrong? One likely culprit in the flooding was the accumulation of garbage in the drainage systems. Second was the blocking of drainage systems and water paths by numerous and some seemingly perpetual construction projects. Third were the population boom and the needed development that led to indiscriminate deforestations to make way for subdivisions, or even shanties and makeshift houses.
     Garbage has been a growing snag that has become a national crisis. We perceive and feel real concerns cropping up from the barren slopes of these stink and eyesore, but we do nothing. People are morbidly reminded of this gripping problem whenever refuse clogged our drainages producing floods, or caused diseases, or like when 230 people died in an avalanche of garbage at the open dump in Payatas, Quezon City last year. We hear, read, and see the solicited solutions broadcast in almost all forms of media encouraging our participation, but we seem to care less. It sounds difficult, but a drastic attitude change and self-discipline are essen

tial. A proper waste disposal program starts in the homes of every individual citizen. Zero waste management is an ideal arrangement, but a three-point suggestion of proper waste segregation, recycling, and composting would be beneficial and is the answer to the garbage menace. These steps would even reveal a seminal point in our concern for the environment. If we find trash segregation at home too much of an effort, we should at least learn the decency of putting our garbage in a sealed bag instead of discarding the garbage in the nearest corner of the street turning it into an open dump. Let us not get used to the bad habit of, or stop tossing crumpled tissue paper, plastic materials, or simply anything out of our car or public vehicles' windows whenever we are traveling on the road. Smokers should cease flinging cigarette butts anywhere they please, or better yet, quit smoking so as not to have litters at all.   
      Concern and self-discipline are key factors to solve the main cause in the flooding. Anyone who would demonstrate these worthy traits should be a good recruit for Rotary. After all, if my perception is lucid and right, these are expected traits embodied by already Rotarians.