If Only We Let Nature Do Its Job

Let’s be honest — at this point, the Philippines should be on a first-name basis with floods. We don’t just get flooded; we bond with them. They come for a visit, stay for weeks, leave us traumatized, and then promise to come back soon.

But here’s the part that’s hard to ignore: we kind of did this to ourselves.

Once upon a time, we had forests — thick, lush, rain-absorbing forests that hugged our mountains like protective blankets. The soil was rich, the rivers were clear, and the air didn’t smell like panic every time the weather forecast said “a low-pressure area is forming.”

Then came “progress.”
Suddenly, trees became “lumber opportunities.” Mountains were shaved for subdivisions. Concrete replaced greenery because, apparently, gray is the new green.

And now, we’re here — watching rivers overflow faster than you can say “signal number three,” while people ask, “Why does it flood so easily now?”

Well, maybe because we told Mother Nature to take a backseat while we built resorts on her shoulders and parking lots on her lungs.

Don’t get me wrong — even with perfect forests, floods would still happen. We live in a typhoon-prone country. But what used to be manageable has turned into a full-blown aquatic lifestyle.

If our natural resources had been preserved — the forests, wetlands, and mangroves — we’d at least have a fighting chance. Trees absorb water, roots hold the soil, and rivers breathe better when not suffocated by garbage and illegal structures.

But hey, maybe this is karma reminding us that you can’t out-engineer nature.
She’s patient… until she’s not.

So the next time someone says, “Baha na naman!” maybe we should reply,
“Yes, because we built it that way.”