Waterproof

Awesome Blog Challenge #02: Waterproof

The rainy season has started. For what it's worth I already had two flood-wading experiences, much thanks to the consistently terrible Espana drainage system. And just this morning I tried heading to the office since I left my laptop for safety, since it was raining last night. Let's just say a gushing river, Araneta Avenue in normal days, stopped me from continuing in my quest. Treading through murky waters provide the much needed sense of mystery that breaks the banality of everyday life.

I remember a motto printed onto a shirt, right after (if I am not mistaken) typhoon Ondoy almost five years ago:

"The Filipino spirit is waterproof."

Convincingly halted by Araneta Ave. River 

I am not certain if the shirt was being sold for a cause. I think it was. It's nice, actually. The motto, I mean. Sounds nice, feels nice. Oddly enough, it's always relevant, as the country is a usual client of torrential rains and of typhoons (around 20 per year according to studies). Being an active participant and observer in disaster operations after the super typhoon Haiyan, all I can say is that those who help, sacrificially, are worthy of commendation. And those who survive profoundly find some semblance of joy despite the deluge. It is as if, they are waterproof.

Yet something is off. I think I will not find myself alone in sensing that something is a bit off. All this fine-sounding one-liners feel like a consolation prize. To be sure, character is tested, tempered, and tried in desperate situations. Twenty typhoons a year is not a joke. But there is such a thing as capacity building, risk mitigation, and all sorts of preventive activities. The sense of mystery returns: just what is it that keeps us from failing to learn from previous tragedies? Why are there close-to-nothing improvements? If there is, it is devoid of any discernible system. The improvements in Espana, for example, has made our situation worse. Since they tried to augment parts of it, our location has become the flood basin. Apparently, no one has taken into account that into the plan. (Or was it the plan all along?)

The country should not be surprised if the people keep on complaining about the flooding situation. However, if those in rule would want to change things they must remember that doing the same thing, or nothing at all, over and over again and expecting different results is insanity. The Filipino spirit may be waterproof, but hopefully, foolproof as well.