THE VIEW FROM RIZAL

“What’s the obsession with water?” That was the question I recently got from one of our readers who emailed me to ask why I have devoted some of our past few columns to expressing our shared concern regarding the current state of our country’s water supply and to air our support for the President’s move to create a Department of Water Resources Management. My reply was, I cannot help it. “Water” is a subject matter close to my heart. Two reasons: first, I once served as assistant secretary at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The stint, although short, opened my eyes to the sad state of Mother Nature in our country and the urgent need to do something about it. Second, part of my childhood was spent in a lakeshore town – Binangonan, Rizal. I have memories of my childhood joining cousins and friends in spontaneous excursions along the shores of Laguna de Bay. On those occasions, I got to appreciate the beauty and the bounty of the waters of this lake – the biggest in the country. I remember seeing fishermen coming off small boats, hauling the catch of the day, often consisting of ayungin, tilapia, and the lake’s famous kanduli. They were the main fare in our picnics, and as I joined our boodle fights, I would occasionally pause and think of how generous this lake is. When I was elected to various local government positions in the province, I came to realize that food is not the lake’s only gift. It can also be a source of potable water and water for household use. The east zone water distribution concessionaire showcased this gift when it set up a water treatment plant along the shores of the lake in the town of Cardona. Water drawn from the lake is now distributed to thousands of households, proving that this body of fresh water is, indeed, life-giving. A few years ago, we also wrote a piece about one more wonder that the waters of the lake bring about. We asked, “What power do the waters of Laguna de Bay possess that the towns along its shore had been the birthplace of some of the greatest Filipinos who ever lived?” We pointed out that many of our best artistic minds were born and raised in the lakeshore town of Angono: the illustrious Maestro Lucio San Pedro; the muralist national artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco; national artist-nominee and muralist Jose Blanco (who depicted the life-giving nature of Laguna de Bay in his works); painter and sculptor Nemesio Miranda, and many more. On the other side of the lake, in the province of Laguna, the national hero Dr. Jose Rizal was born, raised and first learned to ponder on the potential for greatness that we possess as a nation. There was one more thing that captivated us about the lake – the island in the middle of the Laguna de Bay which resembled a sharp dagger. It must have been its shape that led people to call it “Talim.” Part of Talim Island is under the jurisdiction of the town of Binangonan. The other half is under the jurisdiction of the town of Cardona. Talim Island is home to folks who live off the bountiful waters of the lake. With the passing of years, many of its residents have become professionals and have landed jobs off the island. For some reason, they opt to continue living on the island. It must be the island’s mystique or the simplicity of life it affords them that makes them call it home. Perhaps, when one lives in the middle of a beautiful lake, one enjoys its life-giving powers to the fullest. The lake has another side to it. Recently, it dawned on us that its wrath can bring about death. Last week, at the height of strong winds and waves which came with the passing of Typhoon Egay, a boat that was attempting to cross the narrow channel to Talim Island capsized. The tragedy left 27 people dead while 41 survived. The tragedy has left the province of Rizal in grief. As we mourn, we can only wonder if the tragedy could have been prevented if maritime authorities had done their job well. The word is that the boat was overloaded because maritime authorities had allowed several more people who were not listed in the manifest to board. The provincial government of Rizal has called for an investigation. National government agencies and the Senate have announced that they will be conducting their own probe. We hope that the results of the investigation would result in stricter implementation of rules by maritime authorities tasked to do just that. Meanwhile, with sadness, we will continue to gaze at the lake with awe, conscious more than ever of its life-giving nature, as well as of the risk to life that its wrath can bring about. Perhaps, that is where the mystique and beauty of Laguna de Bay springs from. Perhaps, that is a reminder she has given us that she, too, commands respect. We offer our prayers for the families of the people who perished in the tragedy. We call on our readers to do the same. ([[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]))