BDRRM KWENTUHAN

(Picture: Oregano Street)

My area is bound in between the subdivisions of San Lorenzo and Robinsons Homes. What separates the two is a short cement bridge that towers over the sewers. One of the benefits of living in Antipolo, a mountain city, is the lower risk of floods. since the area is a slope, all the water from rain flows directly down. According to one of the guards in San Lorenzo, Edward Larioza, the bridge in between the two areas is often subject to certain disaster. Firstly, in the years prior, people have often fallen (unfatally) from the bridge or items have fallen and got swept away by the sewers. There are also instances wherein kids would dare each other to climb over the bridge to the ledge. Since then, the heads of the subdivisions have decided to put up a fence in order to prevent any injuries or malicious acts, however, the fence itself can easily be climbed. The two areas are also prone to thieves and burglars since it is a private subdivision and rules for non-vehicle visitors are very lenient. There is no proof needed for entering the subdivision. Nor is there any way to patrol the entire place at all times. The only time that there are patrols within the area is during curfew hours (10:00 pm – 5:00 am), wherein other guards patrol the area with a tricycle. That being said, the entire subdivision is a very massive place and assurance of protection at all times is minimal. According to the two guards in Robinsons Homes East, Oic Malakad and Romito Dangkalan, the bridge is also a significant problem. As stated, Antipolo city is a lower risk for floods, however the sewers underneath the bridge is not as low as you’d want it to be and can therefore build up the rain water and other matter within the sewer to cause a flood. While we are not often at risk for floods, we are then prone to landslides. The area shown above (Oregano street) is a downward slope much like a lot of other streets in the area.  According to Larioza “yung mga nakatira diyan nagrereklamo na yung mga [speed bumps] nakakaharang ng tubig pag may bagyo, bale dumadami ng dumadami yung tubig hanggang di na sila nakakaalis sa bahay nila. Pag sobrang lakas naman, malakas yung agos ng baha pababa, nahihirapan yung mga tao dun maglakad paakyat kasi natatangay sila o nadudulas sa sobrang lakas.” [“The people living there have been complaining that the speed bumps block the water when there is a storm, what that means is the water accumulate to the point that they cannot leave their homes. When the rain gets really hard, the flow of the flood gets faster downward, and they find it difficult to walk uphill because they get whisked away or they slide down.”] These are some of the problems within the area, it being a downward slope, from Robinsons Homes East to San Lorenzo, some of the major problems it has is water accumulation and landslides as well as the bridge.

(Picture: Edward Larioza)

(Picture: Oic Malakad and Romito Dangkalan)

(Pictures: Playground)

Some of the issues within the community is the lack of security, often burglaries happen due there being little to no patrol in certain areas. There is also the playground, often visited by kids and their parents. The playground is not often inspected, the metal on the play areas have become rusty and the fence is climbable. The kids, as seen with the issue in the bridge, often dare each other to climb it, resulting in injuries. The rides also sometimes result in injury because of certain pointy rusty metals. Being a subdivision, there is also the issue of double parking, which a lot of the inhabitants are guilty of, as well as the problem with the tricycle terminals. These terminals are spread across the subdivision, with their own associations for the subdivision, however, there is no official designated located for them. The terminals are parked in the middle of the road, and the tricycles take up two sides, making it difficult for drivers to pass. I think a simple solution for all of these is regulation. The subdivision is often criticized for its lack of understanding of its inhabitants and their problem, however, simple regulation rules would allow these problems to disappear. New equipment for the playground, safety protection or allowing a guard to patrol the playground in order to minimize the damage, evenly distributed patrols, and allocation for the area of the tricycles would greatly benefit the area.

This is also a problem with the country, we have certain areas we do not guard or take care of because we simply either do not care or do not find the time. Robinsons Homes is a place wherein there is often events, people often book the streets for street parties, there are people coming in for some of the food available here, and there is an area where there is no food, not much events are there, and we just do not care. Since it is less seen, it is less protected. And that notion is wrong. We have the “squatter” areas in the Philippines that we do not care for or give attention to because we just simply want to think that it does not exist, but it does. When we have foreign delegates that enter the country, we show them the pretty side and not the areas that actually need work. We like to just hide it under a rug. And that is what we need to fix, starting with this subdivision.

I’ve slowly realized how messed up our subdivision is. I live in the area of this place wherein there is little to no danger, other than the landslide, and little to no burglaries. I’ve often known that when I go outside at night I am protected because someone is out there patrolling for my safety. And it is unfortunate that it is not the same for everyone, even if they are living in the same area. If it isn’t the same or equal here, how about everywhere else? What I think I can do, no matter how limited my powers as a student is, is to simply not be complacent for everyone else. Not to be comfortable with everyone else’s situation, even if I am comfortable for my own. The key to bettering a community, or even a country, is understanding that there is inequality, and knowing that being complacent is not an option.