IT happened again…the wrath of nature bringing so much pain and suffering.
Typhoon Ulysses brought back the horrors of the massive flooding and devastation caused by Typhoon Ondoy in September 2009 in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Many experts—and even those living in areas that bore the brunt of both typhoons—are saying that Ulysses was worse than Ondoy.
I don’t mean to be a pessimist but in all likelihood, we are doomed to repeat the deadly calamity, especially if the approach of the local governments and concerned national agencies to mitigate flooding will continue to be on a piecemeal basis.
Let’s not overcomplicate matters.
There were improvements made in the drainage system, and the LGUs and national government—ably assisted by civic organizations—are constantly cleaning up the rivers and creeks.
But one important ingredient is missing, and it is right there in our decades-old laws, particularly Presidential Decree (PD) 1067, or what we call the Water Code of the Philippines, and the Civil Code.
Article 51 of PD 1067 states: “The banks of rivers and streams and the shores of the seas and lakes throughout their entire length and within a zone of 3 meters in urban areas, 20 meters in agricultural areas and 40 meters in forest areas, along their margins, are subject to the easement of public use in the interest of recreation, navigation, floatage, fishing and salvage. No person shall be allowed to stay in this zone longer than what is necessary for recreation, navigation, floatage, fishing or salvage or to build structures of any kind.”
Article 58 adds: “When a river or stream suddenly changes its course to traverse private lands, the owners of the affected lands may not compel the government to restore the river to its former bed; nor can they restrain the government from taking steps to revert the river or stream to its former course. The owners of the lands thus affected are not entitled to compensation for any damage sustained thereby.”
Relevant provisions of the Civil Code, particularly Articles 457 to 463, clearly do not allow manmade accretion or erosion that will lead to a private entity or person owning a portion of the bodies of water.
Taking into consideration all these, what should we do?
Let’s recover our rivers and creeks!
Is this still possible? Of course! We have the legal grounds while the National Mapping and Resource Information Authoria, or NAMRIA, has all the cadastral surveys and other records that the government can use as solid reference materials in determining the boundaries that should be set for manmade structures near rivers and creeks.
Right now, with all the manmade accretion and erosion, the rivers and creeks are becoming narrower, with some even completely cut off from the river systems.
What good will the drainage system improvements, cleanup campaigns, and pumping stations do if the flow of waters is being impeded by manmade structures, most of which are for commercial and personal use?
Using the original titles, cadastral surveys and other records, the government should start measuring again the riverside and creekside properties. Those structures standing on areas that unduly encroached on river banks and creeks should be immediately dismantled and the owners penalized.
This will take political will and the current administration has an abundance of it.
Again, we have the legal basis, pertinent records, and strong government to launch this campaign to recover our rivers and creeks.
Let’s do it now or we would just be literally shouting “encore” to Ondoy- and Ulysses-like catastrophes in the future.
Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza is the chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries and Fight Illicit Trade; a broad-based, multisectoral movement intended to protect consumers, safeguard government revenues and shield legitimate industries from the ill effects of smuggling.