“The Potential Helpfulness of Pasig River During Calamities”

     The recent typhoon submerged the entire metropolis and rendered most of its roads impassable and utterly useless and even dangerous. However, there is one particular road, designed for bikes and pedestrians, the construction of which, is still ongoing, that withstood the lash of the storm and the volume of rainwater the raging storm mercilessly poured on the unsuspecting cities in the metro: It is none other than our beloved Pasig River Esplanade. Although some of the leaves of its plants drooped; in total, the esplanade looked like it just had a thorough shower. It looks fresh, exciting. It's so exciting to me. One can see the deplorable road conditions from its platforms on both banks, interchanging through the Jones Bridge. And the water of the Pasig River turned muddy brown of, course, as is to be expected.

     So what am I trying to say? Imagine the entire length of the Pasig River having esplanades on both banks and is actively going on loops. One can assess the deplorable road conditions of the metropolis submerged in flood which would be brought by future typhoons of, Nature forbid, diluvial proportions such as the most-recent one. And people can buy their basic necessities and even some fancy foods and drinks from the shops in the esplanade that normal shops and malls won't be able to provide because they'd be inaccessible.

     It proves once more that the Pasig River, though still in the condition of being living dead, is ever our friend in time of need as he once definitely was during the typhoon Ondoy.

     I was a student back then. The prolonged flooding brought by Ondoy rendered the roads in the metropolis totally useless, including the main thoroughfares that the jeepneys I ride ply as their route. Land transportation in the aftermath of Ondoy was a total mess. So I as well as others had no other choice but to take the ferry, and it's during those times that the ridership of the ferry system went through the roof especially during what we would call on land as rush hours.

     People who would walk and bike along the banks of the Pasig River through its esplanades can still experience a normal life in the aftermath of a diluvial storm that they won't be able to do while the flood lasts on submerged city. There, they would still find that all things are still bright and beautiful.

     However, this picture of the resilient Pasig River won't be realized if its capacity to catch and hold tremendous amounts of water from typhoons such as the recent one would be diminished by a thousand gigantic concrete stakes that are planned to be pierced into the base of the river to serve as supports for the wide concrete road for cars and not bikes and pedestrians. Because why would I walk and bike up there? I run the risk of being hit by fast cars or falling over into the river with that kind of setup. The planned expressway would also be useless to its limited users. Because somehow, they would have to go off-ramp to access the usual roads which would probably be submerged. So how's it gonna be? They're gonna get themselves stuck up there?

     The point is simple. The planned expressway over the Pasig River is not environtally-friendly at all but definitely environmentally-destructive. It's a lousy concept even at face value. There is nothing beautiful and functional in it, not even a single bit. I would have to undertake a tremendous amount of mental acrobatics to find anything useful in such a stupid project. Unfortunately, it would be an exercise in futility.

by: Marven T. Baldo