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| Majestic Maria Cristina Falls |
Hello! Welcome back. I’m presenting a very important piece of writing from a distinguished and multi-awarded international art director and member of the academe of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Professor Steven P.C. Fernandez. He wrote a piece about water in Iligan City and published it on Facebook.
I took the liberty of presenting it here since it is so relevant to Green Issues. We thought that the presence of water makes everything alright, and Iligan prides itself to the fact that it is the City of Waterfalls, but sad to say its presence does not guarantee its availability to people, much more its equitable distribution. There is much more than water availability than meets the eye as shown in the article of Professor Fernandez.
Iligan Today
By Steven P.C. Fernandez
It's a disaster here. Where in the world have you experienced being in a major city without running potable water for three weeks now? But this is without saying that we've lived here in the last 40 years WITHOUT running water delivered by an adequate system as all urban centers should provide. Not this city, hard hit by parochial politics, inefficiency, and a mindset as narrow as its politics.
This is Iligan, a city in Northern Mindanao touted as the City of Waterfalls. Water resources do abound in breathless beauty in its peripheries but this is as far as the city can pride herself with. The central district is perhaps the slowest developing city in the region.
Now, local hospitals already reeling from inadequate facilities have to cope with an endless stream of diarrhea cases. As of today, no solution has been in sight. There are accusations of anomalous transactions surrounding the building of a multi-million water system during the previous administration. But for Philippine politics, such negotiations are not surprising.
We make do with expensive bottled water from the groceries. Our water is sucked from deep wells that expend much power from electric pumps, water which is rust-colored and highly mineralized.
Iligan, my city, has gone through bad times. It spirals downward hit by misfortunes after misfortunes, a 'hamartia' (as the Greeks would refer this to) perhaps plagued by a 'hubris' (pride) when once being Mindanao's 2nd richest we displayed our glory in the robust industries that have now disappeared.
A tragic story to recall. TKRJ
