When you abuse your nature and its environment by satisfying your own immediate needs; one day, the nature and its environment that you raped and abused will turn its back to you, and the prosperity that you first enjoyed will certainly result to a tremendous misery at the last.
This is what happened in Mindanao, more particularly at the places where flash floods have sustained its cruelty to the people who were either responsible for the abuse the environment or are victims of the abuse of a few moneyed people.
As I learned before, during the early days of civilization in Mindanao, the supposed public lands were turned into private properties. And these private individuals who owned private properties are the ones holding now the reigns of government. I can say that ordinary people are as submissive as they should be. They have no choice, neither those already in power.
As deaths have been counted and still increasing, I have come to a reflection, as I was in Mindanao for 16 years. My parents brought me there when I was 1 year old. My family have lived the life of what they commonly called as “loggers”. My father told me the story that Mindanao was known to many people in the 1960s as the “land of promise” because of its vast resources from virgin forests and precious metals, and other natural resources. Employment opportunities were high as long as you can work as a lumberjack or skills in repairing machines. Education then was not a requirement for employment. Thus, people from Luzon and neighboring Visayas regions are flocking in Mindanao with the dream of prosperity brought about by its vast resources.
Most of the companies owned by politicians or relatives take the opportunity to enjoy the richness of nature in Mindanao. Even ordinary people who are prudent, business-like attitude and inclinations, or have its own capital invested in any business would certainly prosper. I learned that laws of the land was far effective as people there were living like the West-like cowboy shows that I’ve seen. You will survive when you have the guts of doing the thing that others have done before you. In fact, when I graduated in college, I planned to go back to Mindanao and test my luck there. But the plan did not come around as I already decided to stay in my home province of Camarines Sur.
I know that typhoons have no place in Mindanao. Before.
Today, as radio and TV reports have piled up documentary shots recording the misery that the people residing in a lot of places in provinces of Davao, Cagayan De Oro City, Surigao del Sur and other provinces in Mindanao ravaged by Typhoon “Pablo” (International name: “Bopha”) tagged as the first super typhoon that hits Mindanao, a lot of surprised communities of people have surprisingly incurred multiple deaths because some of them don’t really have that experience of typhoons. And besides, typhoon in Mindanao was never familiar until just recently. But flash floods were common knowledge for everyone and they know why---the rampant illegal logging operations in spite the fact that there is mandate of “total log ban” imposed by the government throughout the Philippines.
But, what are laws anyway when people framing it, planning for it, and passing it in the Congress are the very people who are engaging in it. I even heard that moneyed people before have engaged in land grabbing more particularly at places known for richness of natural resources like forest and minerals. These rich people used their money to buy rights of the land and even law enforcements were at their grabs.
As I saw the gruesome deaths that a lot of people in the communities have suffered just recently, I have only two things to think about blaming---greed and poverty.
Greed because a lot of moneyed people in Mindanao still sustain what was left by their ancestors who came to Mindanao for such opportunities. Politicians who were not original in the place are the ones in control of government. These politicians are maintaining private armies and use them during election times. There are a lot crimes, cases of deaths and missing, that are not actually recorded in the books of events in some places, because the family of the victims refuse to report it to authorities for fear of reprisal.
Poverty because people from other places flocked to Mindanao with the belief that their lives will prosper but then, they were lured in to join on certain groups that justifies criminalities as a way of life. I believe that the perspective in the 1960s is all the same as in the modern day today. But, the only difference is that education and employment opportunities outside the country have uplifted some people who gallantly ventured in taking education as their first choice to survive. However, some who've taken the ways of education prefer not to stay in those places where poverty has been the sustaining event of their lives. They would choose to venture to Manila or Cebu to find while collar jobs, in the office or anywhere else they could find.
What the government can do for those victimized by the typhoon?
I believe nothing. For as long as politicians holding power in the government offices remain engaged in their unscrupulous activities of raping the environment and cut trees for their own profits, the small people would have to stay dependent upon them. These ordinary people will be forced to work at the risk of environmental reprisal, because they believe that these are the only ways and means for them to survive or even send their children to schools and colleges.
I’m thankful that we survived such onslaught of nature revenge. Now that I’m away from Mindanao which was coned as the “land of promise”, I still have this desire to come back there one day to witness again the “dog eat dog” situation believed to have sustained by people in power. But some of my classmates in high school would say that the situation in Mindanao is quite different from when I’ve known before. People are now educated and are aware of the effects of abusing nature and its environment. However, to a few places only. There are other places that remained infested by rebels and private armies. Though government have a strong stand against these, who can stay on with such situation when people who are imposing the law and the very ones violating it because of political dynasty and patronage.
Finally, I would say that Mindanao still remains as the land of promise when people try to reflect what they have done to nature and its environment; and of course, the government is really serious in imposing the laws of the land. If this would be so, there is still hope, else, deaths come rushing through their homes and villages to exact what is due.
Today, these are just disturbing stories of nightmares.
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