Politicians, especially in areas walloped by Tropical Storm Sendong, must be facing a huge dilemma these days. They are now faced with the challenge to prohibit their voters from setting up homes along the riverbanks. Or if the voters are already living there, the challenge would be to demolish their homes.
This move would affect many families living along the Banica and Ocoy Rivers in Dumaguete City, as well as the other major rivers in Negros Oriental.
No doubt, this would be an easier task if these settlers were not voters. Indeed, there are some residents who aren’t, but a great many are. They can easily threaten to vote for someone else if they were displeased by the politician’s actions.
The reality is that people reelect politicians who have something tangible to show at the end of his or her term. They don’t vote for candidates who instituted disaster risk reduction measures — they vote for politicians who braved the floods to give them assistance when their homes were washed away because they insisted on living on a riverbank.
But moving these settlers away from harm’s way actually serves a greater common good — not just to the settlers but also to the many other constituents of the Province of Negros Oriental.
If the riverbanks were free of settlers, the damage to life and property would have been greatly minimized.
If we have leaders who only think of the next election, we will not see any positive change. American politician James Clark (1854-1916) said it well: “A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman, of the next generation.”
We need statesmen. We need leaders who see beyond their short three-year terms, and who do something to make that vision a reality. We look forward to living in a community where weather disturbances would not have to mean a sacrifice in terms of lives and property.
Or is this asking for the moon?
