Author Topic: Philippine floods a man-made disasterâ€”experts (Read 1875 times)

islander · « **on:** August 10, 2012, 09:13:54 AM »

Philippine floods a man-made disasterâ€”experts

By Mynardo Macaraig
Agence France-Presse
Thursday, August 9th, 2012

MANILA, Philippinesâ€”Deadly floods that have swamped nearly all of the Philippine capital are less a natural disaster and more the result of poor planning, lax enforcement and political self-interest, experts say.

Shanties built along the bank of the river are submerged under flood
water as a river overflows in suburban Cainta City, east of Manila, Philippines,
Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. A government report released in 2009
called for 2.7 million people in shantytowns to be moved from â€œdanger zonesâ€
alongside riverbanks, lakes and sewers. But squatter communities
in danger zones have in fact grown since 2009. AP /PAT ROQUE

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islander · « **Reply #1 on:** August 10, 2012, 09:16:56 AM »

Damaged watersheds, massive squatter colonies living in danger zones and the neglect of drainage systems are some of the factors that have made the chaotic city of 15 million people much more vulnerable to enormous floods.

Urban planner Nathaniel Einseidel said the Philippines had enough technical know-how and could find the necessary financing to solve the problem, but there was no vision or political will.

â€œItâ€™s a lack of appreciation for the benefits of long-term plans. Itâ€™s a vicious cycle when the planning, the policies and enforcement are not very well synchronized,â€ said Einseidel, who was Manilaâ€™s planning chief in1979-89.

â€œI havenâ€™t heard of a local government, a town or city that has a comprehensive drainage masterplan.â€

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islander · « **Reply #2 on:** August 10, 2012, 09:18:04 AM »

Eighty percent of Manila was this week covered in waters that in some parts were nearly two meters (six feet and six inches) deep, after more than a normal Augustâ€™s worth of rain was dumped on the city in 48 hours.

Twenty people have died and two million others have been affected, according to the government.

The deluge was similar to one in 2009, a disaster that claimed more than 460 lives and prompted pledges from government leaders to make the city more resistant to floods.

A government report released then called for 2.7 million people in shantytowns to be moved from â€œdanger zonesâ€ alongside riverbanks, lakes and sewers.

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islander · « **Reply #3 on:** August 10, 2012, 09:20:57 AM »

Squatters, attracted by economic opportunities in the city, often build shanties on river banks, storm drains and canals, dumping garbage and impeding the flow of waterways.

The plan would have affected one in five Manila residents and taken 10 years and P130 billion ($3.11 billion) to implement.

But squatter communities in danger zones have in fact grown since 2009.

â€œWith the increasing number of people occupying danger zones, it is inevitable there are a lot people who are endangered when these things happen,â€ Einseidel said.

He blamed the phenomenon on poor enforcement of regulations banning building along creeks and floodways, with local politicians often wanting to keep squatters in their communities to secure their votes at election time.

more at http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/246867/philippine-floods-a-man-made-disaster-experts

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islander · « **Reply #4 on:** August 10, 2012, 09:24:30 AM »

He blamed the phenomenon on poor enforcement of regulations banning building along creeks and floodways, with local politicians often wanting to keep squatters in their communities to secure their votes at election time.

this, more or less, explains it all. a dire warning for tagbilaran. someone is said to be encouraging those squatters there.

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #5 on:** August 10, 2012, 12:29:25 PM »

this, more or less, explains it all. a dire warning for tagbilaran. someone is said to be encouraging those squatters there.

isles, who is encouraging the squatters in tagbilaran?

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hubag bohol · « **Reply #6 on:** August 10, 2012, 12:38:01 PM »

this, more or less, explains it all. a dire warning for tagbilaran. someone is said to be encouraging those squatters there.

Hmm, "encouraging"? What an understatement...

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islander · « **Reply #7 on:** August 10, 2012, 03:48:27 PM »

isles, who is encouraging the squatters in tagbilaran?

allegedly a local politician who courts their votes and is successful in his suit.

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islander · « **Reply #8 on:** August 10, 2012, 03:49:45 PM »

Hmm, "encouraging"? What an understatement...

i cannot say that it's being done at the point of a gun...

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JellyBean · « **Reply #9 on:** August 14, 2012, 04:44:13 PM »

I was read a post by a native in here that the squatters were an attraction for the tourist to see how people really live here....Lorenze things are very expensive here in Bohol as business's here are with out a doubt cashing in on the tourist industry here...Ga is up, food commodity up, cost of living up but not the salary of the people here and there is no welfare here to help people how there is back home in the states...

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #10 on:** August 15, 2012, 02:43:33 PM »

I was read a post by a native in here that the squatters were an attraction for the tourist to see how people really live here....Lorenze things are very expensive here in Bohol as business's here are with out a doubt cashing in on the tourist industry here...Ga is up, food commodity up, cost of living up but not the salary of the people here and there is no welfare here to help people how there is back home in the states...

he he he, ah yes, the Philippines has yet to become a 'welfare' state like the united states.

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #11 on:** August 15, 2012, 02:50:05 PM »

I was read a post by a native in here that the squatters were an attraction for the tourist to see how people really live here....Lorenze things are very expensive here in Bohol as business's here are with out a doubt cashing in on the tourist industry here...Ga is up, food commodity up, cost of living up but not the salary of the people here and there is no welfare here to help people how there is back home in the states...

As it should. The financial trends that are manifesting in the Philippines, which is actually the 2nd highest performer in Asia; second only to China, is testament to the firm capitalist trends for the country.

If you read your history, the United States experienced the same during the turn of the 20th century when commodities went up, due to the industrial revolution's effects on the population. Later on, the standard of living and the pay did increase.

The Philippines is a modernizing nation, despite that, it still remains a third world nation. So it's wrong to compare standards of living with those in the United States or in other western nations. If you look at the economic performance of other modernizing nations per se Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam etc, you'll notice that the Philippines is actually performing quite well. Our GDP per capita is increasing, as well as GNP. This fiscal year, the Philippines is enjoying an annual growth rate of 6.5% (incredible when nations like Japan are growing only at .3% this fiscal year).

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vrglguapo · « **Reply #12 on:** August 15, 2012, 02:53:03 PM »

The outcome of welfare states ,it will make the people lazy.

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #13 on:** August 15, 2012, 02:54:16 PM »

The outcome of welfare states ,it will make the people lazy.

he he he yup!

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #14 on:** August 15, 2012, 03:01:52 PM »

This is why the United States is so much in debt. Because of this attitude some segments of the population have in regards to government subsidies and government aid. They EXPECT it.

If I go to the hospital, I'll see patients coming in with no health insurance and using Medicaid (government program to cover health costs for people who have no jobs or are considered in poverty), these people also enjoy monthly unemployment checks (Uncle Sammy mails them $1,000 a month for those), then also get food stamps (worth about $300 a month for food), and many of them also enjoy monthly "disability checks" of $1,000.

Ang tawo nga way trabaho nga lazy kaajo, will get some $2,500 in federal aid a month. Who pays for this? Government. And where do you think Government gets this money?

1. Taxes
2. Loans, Loans, and more Loans , by the way, which CHINA provides the United States.

Within Obama's first term, the United States accumulated over $3 Trillion in debt. Despite his failed policies, unemployment rate still is at 9%, the economy's performance is still sub standard. He is not engaging hard issues to correct this spiral deficit we are in. Instead, he relies on acquiring more loans from China.

It is obvious that socialist programs do not work. The European Union's current situation -- is testament to that. The Greek, Spanish, Italian, Irish economic recession is testament to that.

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JellyBean · « **Reply #15 on:** August 16, 2012, 02:46:00 AM »

Sounds like your referring to what was known as the Great depression back in history...Grandma lived during those times and she made sure we knew it by telling us that a drop of water from the tap was a penny 5 years later it went to 5 cents for a drop of water from the tap...she made a mire 10 cents a day cutting hair and giving head massages with that during that time and she was a child working at the time as no child labor laws had been made up during those days....ha ha ha ha ha Lorenzo you cannot say you do not have a welfare system he he he he what about the pocketing of money known to be done by some politicians here? They get their self help of welfare off from others who have paid dearly for something that cost more than it should have....he he he he..

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #16 on:** August 16, 2012, 03:08:52 AM »

Sounds like your referring to what was known as the Great depression back in history...Grandma lived during those times and she made sure we knew it by telling us that a drop of water from the tap was a penny 5 years later it went to 5 cents for a drop of water from the tap...she made a mire 10 cents a day cutting hair and giving head massages with that during that time and she was a child working at the time as no child labor laws had been made up during those days....ha ha ha ha ha Lorenzo you cannot say you do not have a welfare system he he he he what about the pocketing of money known to be done by some politicians here? They get their self help of welfare off from others who have paid dearly for something that cost more than it should have....he he he he..

You're right, the great depression was a prime example, my dear. But we also had some issues recently -- per se the 1970's petroleum price hike and the subsequent increase in prices of consumer goods (which was the catalyst for congress to increase the minimum wage). The current financial fiasco that is happening now in the United States is testament to changing economics. The US dollar is losing its value , inflation rates are high. The point of the matter is that the United States, a modernized state, also experiences its own economic pitfalls, why should that not be held true for modernizing states per se most of the nations in south east asia, per se the Philippines.

You're right that there are outright graft and corruption activities in government. This graft and corruption, the practices therof, may be seen as a form of 'welfare' for those said politicians, however. You can say that in context, however, there are no official policies of a welfare system as compared to the level that is seen in the United States, where it is a policy to have welfare systems.

The welfare system was enacted during the great depression to help americans at the time, who were experiencing financial difficulties, still remain enact. Despite the fact that the great depression effectively ended in 1941, the policy of perpetual welfare provisions is still intact.

That , my dear, is the very reason why this country has over $15 Trillion in debt. The very reason why the United States is in this situation is because of the this welfare system.

The Philippines, officially, does not have a nationalized welfare system as compared to the level and size as that of the United States.
The Philippines may be a third world nation, but at least its national debt is only at $88 Billion (about 1/170th the amount of the United States')

Gastador ra kaayo ang America. She spends more than what she earns.

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #17 on:** August 16, 2012, 03:18:45 AM »

Sounds like your referring to what was known as the Great depression back in history...Grandma lived during those times and she made sure we knew it by telling us that a drop of water from the tap was a penny 5 years later it went to 5 cents for a drop of water from the tap...she made a mire 10 cents a day cutting hair and giving head massages with that during that time and she was a child working at the time as no child labor laws had been made up during those days....ha ha ha ha ha

Wow! Your nana really was a survivor during the depression, eh? I really admire and respect the generation who lived during the depression period.

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hubag bohol · « **Reply #18 on:** August 16, 2012, 06:59:36 AM »

"Third world"? Gigamit pa diay ni nga terminilohiya?

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JellyBean · « **Reply #19 on:** August 17, 2012, 04:12:55 AM »

Welfare was also a financial aide as well for American farmers who suffered in times of bad crop production but it was homeless single mothers who also ate into the system many babies are from that welfare tide-pool of support....The gas shortage in the 1970s I was a child witness to extremely long lines at the gas stations...that wound around the block at times...It was figured later on to be a hoax some sort of political gimmick.....and many were panicked I think I am about third grade elementary at the time...Thank you for the sweet compliment of my Nanay....She was a total kick in the pants when she was alive.....Same as I am!! Ingat Palagi ka!! =D

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JellyBean · « **Reply #20 on:** August 17, 2012, 04:16:15 AM »

Note Please that I do not get upset or take things personally when a Foreign person makes comment about my USA...I believe everyone has a right to voice freedom and expression I often learn from what others have to say...I do not necessarily have to agree but try to asses how others see things from their point of view....

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