Bencyrus Ellorin
A FEW days after Malacanang announced the rise of Cagayan de Oro City and neighboring areas as the 4th biggest economy and eventually a Metro Cagayan in 2025, the City of Golden Friendship was hit by flood after a few hours of blinding rains.
Welcome to the club!
A low-pressure area coupled with the tail-end of the cold front, two weather systems that concocted widespread flooding last Jan. 16, and also in January 2009, is the country’s 4th biggest economy’s version of the Habagat which had been inundating Metro Manila and Metro Cebu.
Floods in the eastern lowland Cagayan de Oro, roughly 10,000 hectares, are mostly caused by heavy rains in the uplands–the northern Bukidnon plateau and the Malasag watershed in the east, and in the coastal areas itself. In western lowland, floods are mostly caused by the overflow of the Iponan watershed which stretches up to the mountains of Lanao del Norte.
The Cagayan River which cuts through the middle of the city poses greater flooding hazard. The 90-kilometer river reaches up the skies of Mindanao’s second and third highest mountains–the Kitanglad and Kalatungan.
Since forever, because of its topography, experts have warned of deadly floods hitting the city. The recipe for disaster–the above-described topography–plus heavy rains form two of the major ingredients. Add to it denuded forest cover in the watershed, unsustainable agriculture practices, outdated drainage system, high population density, and high vehicular traffic–the city’s flood hazard is spiced up. Make climate change the cook and we should get ready to swim or sink.
That explains the deadly “Sendong” (Washi) and the nameless LPA-tail-end of the cold front-induced flood on Jan. 16, 2017.
The emerging 4th metropolitan area of the country has no other choice but develop resilience. First, it has to make disaster preparedness part of the metropolitan culture. Second, government should institute disaster risk reduction intervention across the themes of forest and watershed management, sustainable agriculture and soil conservation, improve urban planning and climateesilient infrastructure.
This is a tough challenge. Mayor Oscar S. Moreno in his message before the City Hall bureaucracy last Monday acknowledged the opportunities and threats of the rapidly urbanizing Cagayan de Oro and the rest of Northern Mindanao. The mayor looks up to better Philippine-US relations to continue what has been started by the “Surge” (Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity) project of the USAID. He too is optimistic that Japan through the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) would be development partners. He shared this optimism after personally meeting no less than Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan at an Asean Event in Davao City the other week. The European Commission is also intent in providing development aid to the city.
At city hall, the local government unit is shaping up, and fast. Bickering between the city council and the mayor is a thing of the past. Although, like in the past, flood and other disasters would be politicized, it is worthy of note that despite some loose ends, city hall responded better in last Monday’s disaster.
The challenge for the city hall bureaucracy of over 5,000 people is now to walk the talk. How to make the city’s P4.5-billion budget work wonders–service never before experienced by the people.
Metropolization, ‘M’ in Mayor Moreno’s “Primehat” platform rolled out in 2013 should make a difference. (Peace and order and Poverty alleviation; Revenue generation; Infrastructure, Metropolitization, Education and Environment; Health and Hospital services; Agriculture productivity; Traffic, Transportation and Tourism)
Two of the things, I think it should make a difference in Metro Cagayan are 1) traffic management, and 2) watershed management.
These two are transboundary in nature. Vehicle traffic in Cagayan de Oro involves adjoining towns and cities. Iligan and western towns in the east; Butuan City-Gingoog and the western Misamis Oriental in the east; Bukidnon and the rest of Southern Mindanao in the north. At least with Metro Cagayan administrative authority, highway traffic policies for Cagayan de Oro City, Laguindingan, El Salvador City, Opol, Tagoloan, Villanueva, Jasaan, Balingasag, Manolo Fortich, Libona, Talakag and Baungon can be harmonized.
In terms of watershed management, a Metro Cagayan administrative authority can facilitate the harmonization of forest and watershed management over the 135,000-hectare Cagayan de Oro Watershed which includes reforms in the agriculture practices of plantations in northern Bukidnon. Studies have revealed that heavy siltation of the rivers that drain in the Macajalar Bay via Cagayan de Oro is caused by bad agriculture practices. These aggravate the denuded condition of the forest watershed.
Discussions on payment for environmental services, as a mechanism for harmonized and rationalized watershed resources use has been hampered by the absence of a common platform. Archbishop Antonio Ledesma has facilitated the Cagayan de Oro Riverbasin Board as a common platform, but until now there is still no legal mandate to make agreements in this forum binding to all local government units. A Metro Cagayan administrative authority can provide that legal and institutional framework.
Yes, even in a climate changing world, things look rosy even if at times we are faced with a sink or swim situation.
E-mail: bency.ellorin@gmail.com
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