Megacity Of Decay

Yesterday afternoon, amidst heavy rain, two billboards collapsed on top of a bus terminal in Quezon City. This is with just a mild gust of wind. Some two years ago, there was a similar incident that claimed the life of a cab driver. The previous incident prompted the authorities to give directives to the public works department to check on the integrity of these colossal structures dotting the whole metropolis. Nothing was heard of a report about that directive or news of billboards being taken down in the last two years.

The last incident did not result in death, but several have been hurt and there was massive damage to private properties. The incident though leaves a big question about how safe these billboards are- as there are thousands and thousands of them all over Metro Manila alone, and there could be thousands more outside of the metropolis. That may be one freak accident and may happen only once in a while, but still that leaves a possibility of it happening again. Coming into consideration also would be that very often than not, these structures (or most other structures in the metropolis, for that matter- blame it on corruption in our system) are built using sub-standard materials and that most have been built sometime ago.

If you would look around this megacity, you would notice that many structures and buildings are quite old already. These posts danger to the citizens without a question as of course integrity of materials lowers as it ages. There are many buildings that are dilapidated and by international standards may be unfit for occupancy, and even some are dangerous to be close to for humans. Yet, these are still occupied and used. There has never been an incident before in the Philippines of a collapse of a building on its own without factors such as earthquakes or storms. However, it may only because we have been lucky so far and it will just be a matter of time before such a thing happens.

In the crossing between Ortigas and EDSA, just right across the POEA building, a massive hole has been dug for a building construction several years ago. The construction though was stopped when it was found that it was causing some problem to the foundations of the nearby elevated metro rail. The excavation was just a few feet away from the foundations of the rail system and just inches away from the curbside of the highway. It has been a source of anxiety for me every time I pass by the excavation on my commute to and from work, which is four or five times in a week. The hole has not been filled up back and has been widely agape for several years already. A wall made of G.I. sheet has been put up around the excavation to prevent any accidents of falling off into the hole, but it doesn't address the possibility of the sides of the excavation collapsing. If that would be the case, it could bring down with it a portion of the elevated rail system and the highway.

I tried to search for at least information about what are the steps taken or being taken by the government about such hazards in the metropolis, however I did not find any. With such a big risk to safety of the people, there should have been reports available to the public about government undertakings to tackle this issue. As if living with the constant threat of crime is still not enough, city life is further made stressful by these things that are otherwise resolvable.


Photo lifted from http://www.inquirer.net/