The Municipality of Masantol is a peaceful and prosperous town. Fishing and fishpond ownership are the major sources of income for the Masantoleño. This place is well-known for its seafood, and dealers from other places come here to buy seafood to sell. Whereas, despite this abundance, the town has suffered a calamity, the flooding.
The Flooding in the Municipality of Masantol: Cause-Effect-Solution is the emphasis of this Final Report. I was able to interview five random citizens, two educators (one from a private and one from a public school), one business owner, and two officials to gain a better knowledge of where the floods originated, how they affected them, and what solutions they believe would address the situation.
See the respondents profiles below.
Respondents | Age | Gender | Barangay |
Citizen | 17 | Female | Sto. Niño |
Citizen | 18 | Female | Bebe Anac |
Citizen | 20 | Female | Alauli |
Citizen | 20 | Male | Cambasi |
Citizen | 29 | Male | San Isidro |
Business Owner | 22 | Female | San Nicolas |
Educator | 24 | Female | Sto. Niño |
Educator | 33 | Female | Sta. Lucia (Currently living in neighbor town) |
Masantol being surrounded by water, particularly it is near the Pampanga River, low and weak land caused by continued usage of hand water pumps or "poso," poor drainage system resulting in flood water becoming stuck, typhoons, high tide, and climate change are among the causes mentioned by the respondents.
Masantoleños are impacted in various ways by the flooding. Citizens' daily lives and work have been affected as they face this flooding every day, and it consumes their time and energy. For the business owner I communicated with, transportation costs are high as drivers are having difficulties pedaling resulting. For educators and students, there is always a class suspension, reducing the amount of time available to teach children and students to learn.
When I asked the respondents what remedy they believe would solve the problem, the majority of the responses I received were to deepen the river since rising ground level isn't helpful and will only make the situation worse, clean and restore the drainage systems, put a filler in canals, establish a ring dike, appropriate waste management, plant trees to absorb the flood, citizen's discipline, and the government's appropriate and long-term plan.
Municipal Councilors on Flooding Issue
I had the opportunity to interview two of our municipal councilors, current and outgoing Municipal Councilor Ronald Flores and current and re-elected Municipal Councilor Ruperto "Bobot" Viray.
Municipal Councilor Ronald Flores believed that the cause of the Flooding in the Municipality of Masantol is that it is located in one of the low-lying areas of the province of Pampanga. It becomes a catch basın of water whenever it rains and when it is visited by typhoons. High tides also add floods whenever triggered.
Floods heavily affect our town economically, especially Fishermen. They can hardly harvest and make a profit due to this never ending problem.
As outgoing Municipal Councilor, Hon. Ronald Flores says that a strong political will to address the real concern of the problem helps solve it. Like spending much funds to deepen and widen more waterways so that water will not stay long.
The cause of the flooding in the Municipality of Masantol, according to Municipal Councilor Ruperto "Bobot" Viray, is the high tide, which resulted in massive damage.
He noticed that the flooding had an impact on the Masantoleño's major source of income, which is seafood dealing, and stated, "mga naaapektuhan, mga fishpond minsan lumulubog, may ibang fishpond d'yan sa bayan natin, hindi sila makaani lalo na sa left bank."
As per his observations, the flooding in the Municipality of Masantol has gotten so bad that it will require a huge amount of money to resolve. As a result, he believes that the plans will be possible with the assistance of the national government.
Respondents may have differing perspectives on the cause of the flood, how it affected them, and what solutions they feel are possible, but there is only one cry and aim shared by both sides: to restore the town's old happiness and success.
HOPE IS COMING!
You may see the documentary and the flooding management plan created by Governor Delta Pineda, the Climate Change Commission, the Department of Public Works, and the Capitol on the link provided.
WHAT A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!
- Sharing my journey in accomplishing this activity -
This may be the end of my flooding series writings, but my hope for a solution to the situation continues. Babangon tayong muli, Masantol!
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