Cimatu’s lament
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu finally said what we have been pointing out all along. Talking about his decision to lift the order to temporarily stop quarrying operations in the country, Cimatu noted how most of those victimized by storms, landslides and flooding had lived in geohazard zones even if geohazard maps have already been distributed to local government units (LGUs).
This only means that despite the effort on this regard in the past by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), many local government officials failed to get the drift, reducing the act of distributing the geohazard maps and posting these online into one that is merely about compliance. It didn’t change governance or the manner disaster risks are reduced or minimized.
It would be interesting to find out how many local government executives in the country know that these geohazard maps exist--or for those who do, how many of them know their importance or how to use these as guide in governance. The release of those geohazard maps could have, for example, influenced their zoning decisions. Danger zones could have been clearly delineated.
Unlike in the past when technology was primitive and guesswork mainly guide the effort by local government executives to reduce disaster risks in their jurisdictions, government agencies like Cimatu’s DENR (for geohazard maps), the Department of Science and Technology (together with Pag-asa and Project NOAH, with their studies on storms and storm surges) can already provide relatively precise information.
On this note, disaster risk reduction management for LGUs should be a continuous concern and an important aspect of governance instead of an on-and-off process that is only given attention when weather disturbances threaten their jurisdictions. Policies on danger zones, specifically residential areas vulnerable to, say storm surges, landslides and flooding should be laid down.
The time for wondering why most of those who died when storms lash or landslides and flooding occur live in danger zones has to end.