Nature, not politicians,   causes Iloilo City flood

By Alex P Vidal 

“My friends, whoever has had experience of evils knows how whenever a flood of ills comes upon mortals, a man fears everything; but whenever a divine force cheers on our voyage, then we believe that the same fate will always blow fair.” —Aeschylus

EVERY time flash floods happened, incumbent public officials—not only in Iloilo City but also all over the country—historically have been always blamed and crucified in public like they were the ones who caused them.

Even if they have nothing to do whatsoever with the sudden overflow of water onto land that is normally dry caused by heavy downpour, politicians—the incumbent officials in city hall—almost always absorbed the brickbats and denunciation from irate residents affected by flooding.

When a flash flood nearly inundated the hollow portions in Zamora, Rizal, and General Hughes Streets in the City Proper in Iloilo City after a heavy rain one afternoon sometime in 1987, impatient motorists and residents threw expletives at Iloilo City OIC Mayor Rosa “Tita” Caram “for being in cahoots with the corrupt contractors in charge of the road repair.”

“Saligan nio lang permi buyayawon si Tita (Mayor Caram) kay babaye. Sadtong tiempo pa ina ni Tuing (former Iloilo City Mayor Luis “Tuing” Herrera) ginparepair ang kalye wala nio man sia gin yawyaw kay man nahadlok kamo (You always took turns in lambasting Tita because she’s a woman. The repair of that corner roads was started during the administration of Tuing, but you didn’t blare at him simply because you were afraid),” Gen. Hughes Punong Barangay Tobin Nava hit back at Caram’s critics in the radio program of dyRI Radyo Agong anchorman Felix “Bukog” Gumban.

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The late former city councilor Melchor Nava, an active radio commentator during the administration of the late former Mayor Rodolfo “Bagyo Roding” Ganzon in the late 80s, blamed the top city hall official for the widespread flood around the Iloilo City Terminal Market or “Super” during heavy rains.

“Amo ina kay saku ikaw sa pagpamigos sang mga vendors pati baha sa Super indi mo na ma solusyunan (It’s because you were so busy persecuting the vendors that’s why you failed to solve the flood problem),” ex-councilor Nava hollered in the now defunct dyRP Radyo Tagring. 

“Super” was always surrounded by dirty water emitting a foul odor that stagnated for several days in Mabini, Rizal, De Leon, and Fuentes Streets in the City Proper. DPWH and city hall officials had pointed accusing fingers against each other, and the problem lingered for so many years.

“Ikaw Melchor indi ka gani ka pugong sang mga querida mo kon mag waras kay wala mo gina sagod maayo, madasig ka pa pag basol sa akon. Sinverguenza. Ang baha ara na ina dira bisan pa sadtong sa prisohan pa ako (You Melchor can’t even stop your mistresses when they run berserk because you failed to feed them well and yet, you are so quick to blame me. Scoundrel. The flood had been there even when I was still in jail),” Bagyo Roding blasted Nava in dyBQ’s “Kapehan sa Budyong” hosted by the late Leo Dumagat.

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The late former Iloilo City Mayor Mansueto “Mansing” Malabor also didn’t escape the wrath of Ilonggo taxpayers who thought he didn’t take seriously the almost regular flash floods in many parts of downtown area in the City Proper.

“Imbis nga mag sagad siya patindog gymnasiums tani unahon ya ang road widening and sidewalk repair projects,” complained Malabor’s “kumpare’ and critic Leonardo “Nardong Damak” Grande.

Even without the politicians, flood can happen during heavy rains, when ocean waves come on shore, or when dams or levees break. Damaging flooding may happen with only a few inches of water, or it may cover a house to the rooftop.

Floods can occur within minutes or over a long period, and may last days, weeks, or longer. Floods are the most common and widespread of all weather-related natural disasters.

Like in other parts of the Philippines, flash floods are the most dangerous kind of floods, because they combine the destructive power of a flood with incredible speed.

Flash floods occur when heavy rainfall exceeds the ability of the ground to absorb it. They also occur when water fills normally dry creeks or streams or enough water accumulates for streams to overtop their banks, causing rapid rises of water in a short amount of time. They can happen within minutes of the causative rainfall, limiting the time available to warn and protect the public.

This was what happened in Iloilo City and in other parts of Negros on July 17 when over 50 barangays were flooded caused by a low-pressure area (LPA).

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I found Martin Oswald’s book, the best version of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, in a mini bookstore maintained by Hispanic librarians on 80th St. Roosevelt Ave in Queens. It is perhaps the best version.

The philosophical inquiry into the nature of the good life for a human being is what Nicomachean Ethics is all about.

Aristotle begins the work by positing that there exists some ultimate good toward which, in the final analysis, all human actions ultimately aim.

The necessary characteristics of the ultimate good are that it is complete, final, self-sufficient and continuous.

This good toward which all human actions implicity or explicitly aim is happiness in Greek called “eudaimonia” that can also be translated as blessedness or living well, and which is not a static state of being but a type of activity.

Of Aristotle’s works, few have had as lasting an influence on subsequent Western thought as Nicomachean Ethics.

In it, he argues that happiness consists in “activity of the soul in accordance with virtue,” defining “virtue” as both moral (courage, generosity, and justice) and intellectual (knowledge, wisdom, and insight).

Aristotle also discusses the nature of practical reasoning, the different forms of friendship, and the relationship between individual virtue and the state.

Featuring a lucid translation, a new introduction, updated suggestions for further reading, and a chronology of Aristotle’s life and works, this is the authoritative edition of a seminal intellectual masterpiece.

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PATOGSILING (Ikaduha-0002, nga binalaybay, sa serye nga Pamatasan nga gin sulat ni Ambassador Leo Tito L. Ausan, Jr. sa Dhaka, Bangladesh, sa kaagahon sang ika-17 sang Hulyo, 2024.)

I

Mangabuhi, nga may patogsiling sa iban,

Nga sila nga  aton mga isig ka tawo, indî pagkalimtan,

Pag tahâ kag paghangop lang sa ila kinahanglan,

Ang dapat mga basehan sang aton pagsinalayo sa sining kalibutan,

Ang pagsulundan nga bulawan,

Indî naton pagkalimtan,

Kon indî naton luyag nga sa aton man buhaton,

Indî naton pagbuhaton sa iban,

II

Magpatogsiling kita sa aton mga Kasilingan,

Ini mabakud nga paagi, agud magtawhay ining Kalibutan,

Madamu ang sahî sang maayong pamatasan, nga mahimo naton hakson,

Kag ikabuhi sa sining Kalibutan,

Sang Makaako, libre kita nga sini ginbugayan,

Ang pagkabuhî kag pagpalapnag sang mga ini diri sa Kalibutan,

Nasandig sa kamot naton tanan,

III

Ang patogsiling isa sa sining mga pamatasan,

Kay libre man lang, ngaa indî pa natun pagpanginpuslan,

Kon luyag gid man naton nga maangkon ang sa palibot, Katawhayan.

Magpatogsiling kita sa aton mga Kasilingan!..

Kinamatarong sang iban aton hatagan sang kabilinggan!..

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)