IT FLOODS, BECAUSE IT RAINS

IT FLOODS, BECAUSE IT RAINS

Many years ago, I interviewed an MMDA official on my radio program. Right there on the air, he told me—without batting an eyelash—that “it floods, because it rains.” At first, I thought I had misheard him. Surely, he must have meant something else. But no—he explained that he really meant what he said.

That moment has stayed with me, not because it was profound, but because it was profoundly wrong. Floods don’t happen simply because it rains. Rain is a natural part of life, a gift of God that nourishes the earth. Floods happen because we fail to manage the water that rain brings. By saying otherwise, the official was, in effect, blaming God for our mismanagement.

Let’s be clear: it is not God who created the conditions for our floods—we did.

How We Made Floods Worse

First, God gave us forests. Trees in the mountains absorb water, slow runoff, and release it gradually into rivers and streams. But what did we do? In just seventy years, we cut down what took God thousands of years to build. Without trees, water rushes down the slopes unchecked, overwhelming lowlands.

Second, God created watersheds—nature’s funnels that channel rainfall into rivers, lakes, or seas in a steady, manageable flow. Watersheds are not just lines on a map; they are living systems that regulate water, sustain biodiversity, and protect communities from floods. Yet we paved them over, built subdivisions on them, or clogged them with garbage. Once watersheds are destroyed, rainwater has nowhere to go but into our homes and streets.

Third, God created clean lands and waterways. We turned them into dumping grounds. Plastics and trash block esteros, rivers, and drainage canals, so that even a modest downpour now causes knee-deep floods. In Metro Manila alone, the MMDA estimates that 600 truckloads of garbage are pulled out of waterways every single day. That’s not rain’s fault—that’s ours.

Finally, God gave us the intelligence to design dams, canals, and levees to control water flow. Yet how many times have we heard of flood control budgets disappearing into the pockets of corrupt officials? We don’t just suffer from natural floods; we suffer from man-made ones, engineered by greed and neglect.

Why Watersheds Matter

A watershed is more than just an area where water collects. It is a living infrastructure for survival. Take the Marikina River Watershed and Laguna de Bay Basin. They are supposed to act as buffers for Metro Manila, regulating rainfall and serving as natural holding ponds. But when forests upstream are cut and garbage downstream piles up, these watersheds fail—and millions of us pay the price.

Healthy watersheds mean less flooding, cleaner water, more fisheries, and greater resilience to climate change. Destroyed watersheds mean more of the same headlines we see every rainy season: stranded commuters, submerged neighborhoods, and schools forced to close.

What Should We Do?

The answers are not new, but they are urgent:

  • Bring back the forests in our uplands through massive reforestation.

  • Restore our watersheds by cleaning and protecting them from further encroachment.

  • Clean our lands and waterways by enforcing anti-dumping laws and building a real culture of waste management.

  • Build flood control infrastructure honestly, ensuring budgets go to projects, not to pockets.

But beyond these technical fixes, there’s a moral one. We must stop selling our votes. Every time we elect corrupt politicians, we empower the very people who sabotage our flood control projects and environmental safeguards.

From Personal to National Transformation

Yes, we can change the world around us, but the transformation begins with us. If each of us decides to stop littering, to support reforestation, to hold officials accountable, and to vote responsibly, the floods will no longer feel inevitable.

So, please tell me again: why does it flood? Not because it rains. It floods because we failed to take care of our forests, our watersheds, our rivers, and our politics.

National transformation must begin with personal transformation. Only then can we stop blaming God for what we, ourselves, have broken.

Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres

iseneres@yahoo.com, senseneres.blogspot.com 

01-08-2026

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