Build or no-build

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor CHERYL CRUZ Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The death and destruction wrought upon the vulnerable coastlines of Visayas by the power of Super Typhoon Yolanda has forced President Aquino to order Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje to issue a memorandum circular that will identify “no build” zones, pursuant to the Water Code of the Philippines issued way back in 1976. Article 51 of the Water Code bans structures and people in urban areas within three meters from rivers, streams and shores of lakes and seas. For agricultural areas, structures are prohibited 20 meters from shorelines.

Such a directive could lead to the evacuation and resettlement of millions of Filipinos who have already set up homes near bodies of water, and Malacañang admits that it will have a lot of convincing to do, as a cursory look at any shoreline in this country will show that generations of local officials have basically failed in enforcing the Water Code.

Unfazed by the before-and-after satellite images of seaside communities erased from the map by Yolanda’s storm surge, militant fisherfolk group Pamalakaya is saying that if the government enforces this law, it would be disastrous for the estimated 9 million families living in these areas as they would most likely lose their livelihood. Both government and Pamalakaya have convincing arguments that have to be considered, but what is painfully clear at this point, is that the status quo cannot continue.

The extensive coastlines of a densely populated archipelago, such as the Philippines, have traditionally been regarded as more of a blessing than a curse and the lax enforcement of laws regulating structures at those vulnerable areas has attracted millions of impoverished Filipinos in rural and urban areas alike. But the changing climate that is spawning storms of unprecedented power with every passing year is increasing the risk to those communities and Super Typhoon Yolanda has forced our government to reevaluate the way we have allowed such communities to flourish.

Our bountiful seas may be able to provide a means of livelihood for millions of Filipinos, but after our experience with Yolanda, government cannot afford to continue looking the other way when it comes to how our coastal communities haphazardly develop and grow. Resorting to no-build areas might sound like a kneejerk reaction, but it does not take a genius to see that there are many vulnerable areas that need tighter regulation to ensure the safety of the community, and to protect the environment from all the human activity that often mitigates the situation when nature refuses to cooperate with man.*