It has been raining non-stop since last night. Expectedly, with the city's poor drainage system, it will not be hard to conclude nor will it take lots of brain power to foresee that streets in the following morning will be flooded, and traffic will be horrendous. The most inconvenienced victims are often school children, like the one you see in the photo above. These kids wake up early, some as early as 4am, to prepare going to their schools. If authorities will give an announcement of suspended classes at around 7am-8am, it will already be too late. They would have reached their schools by that time.
But this inefficiency happened again today. Classes were suspended too late. School kids are therefore exposed to rains, cold weather, and unnecessary aggravations. Some of them might even get sick in the process. You would think that local leaders would have accumulated enough sense from experiencing the same scenario over the years. No, sir. They have grown callous to the welfare of those who need them to decide fast and early. They need to wait for a storm announcement before deciding to suspend classes. Knee- and waist-deep floods, non-stop torrential rains, and whorled traffic cannot budge them to wake up early and give announcements.
And what about office workers? Much as I abhor work absences, I think heavily inundated streets (think of Venice without gondolas) constitute a valid reason to send office workers home. If they didn't want to suspend work or classes, they should have invested in improving the city's drainage systems many years ago. Alas, they are all bereft of common sense and foresight!
Who is more stupid than a moron? The moron who pretends to be stupid? I do not know. I am growing tired of being sarcastic everytime this happens. I think sarcasm works only for those who have a brain capacity to understand what it means. Arrrggh.
But this inefficiency happened again today. Classes were suspended too late. School kids are therefore exposed to rains, cold weather, and unnecessary aggravations. Some of them might even get sick in the process. You would think that local leaders would have accumulated enough sense from experiencing the same scenario over the years. No, sir. They have grown callous to the welfare of those who need them to decide fast and early. They need to wait for a storm announcement before deciding to suspend classes. Knee- and waist-deep floods, non-stop torrential rains, and whorled traffic cannot budge them to wake up early and give announcements.
And what about office workers? Much as I abhor work absences, I think heavily inundated streets (think of Venice without gondolas) constitute a valid reason to send office workers home. If they didn't want to suspend work or classes, they should have invested in improving the city's drainage systems many years ago. Alas, they are all bereft of common sense and foresight!
Who is more stupid than a moron? The moron who pretends to be stupid? I do not know. I am growing tired of being sarcastic everytime this happens. I think sarcasm works only for those who have a brain capacity to understand what it means. Arrrggh.
UPDATES: [17:45hrs] A Great Example of Density - according to Tito Rolly, a city mayor failed to suspend school classes because he thinks there is no typhoon, and mere rains do not constitute a valid reason to announce class suspensions. Density, in Physics, is defined as mass per unit of volume. In life, a similar analogy exists. The fraction of sensitivity per unit of common sense also resides in the hearts and minds of people. Some are really "denser" than others.
6 reactions:
Doc, this inefficiency is also what I posted today. I don't know what the DepEd is trying to be careful about. Be criticized for having made a hasty decision to call off classes only to be met afterwards by a good day? So what? Better to prevent the loss of lives and be sorry than being taken for a fool for having suspended classes on what will prove to be a fine day later.
the mayor must be in an airconditioned room that he does not know what's happening outside.
T.ROLLY - that's common sense on your part...something those responsible seem to be highly deficient of.
CATHY - and he may have already forgotten what it means to get up early, prepare breakfast while still dizzy, get wet, waddle in knee-deep dirty floodwaters, only to find out later when you reach school that classes were suspended. empathy is an unknown term for them
After so many years of floods, whether these are categorised as flash floods or not, the authorities should have the cow sense to invest in an efficient drainage system. Deepen and enlarge the water ways. Remove the rubbish that is clogging the system. Educate the public. Be bold in finding solutions, unlike the mayor and the DepEd officers resting in their comfort zones. It's time to do something urgent and extraordinary.
I say all these in frustration not just for the Filipinos, but also for the Malaysians as Kuala Lumpur is also flooded from time to time after heavy rains, and also for the people in all the countries where floods have now been such a regular feature that they have resigned to the fate of inaction by the authorities.
The waether pattersn have changed and the usual solutions may not work anymore. If we can't control the weather, we have to look at what factors we can control and work on these.
I share your frustrations, Dr Emer and Rolly!
Only in the Philippines. *sighs* I pity the kids who wade in dirty waters just to go to school and attend classes which will eventually get suspended after an hour or so. Our system is so flawed.
Awfully denser, Doc Emer! Sad stuff. By the way, your photographs truly captured what you are trying to convey.
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