By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
We were putting this issue together when some of the kids called my attention to an earthquake that just happened. It was magnitude 6.3 in the Richter Scale and its epicenter was in Batangas. I was having a meeting downstairs and I did not feel it but my staff told me it was quite strong and was not just a shaker. It was a real s….h….a…..k…..e…..r…. It took longer than the usual jolt.
Everybody’s thought was it is getting nearer and nearer to Metro Manila where the East and West Valley Faults—long asleep for centuries and was long overdue in releasing accumulated tension in between their plates—could unleash temblors that can cause tremendous damage to properties and the death of many.
While there are modern ways of constructing buildings to be almost quake-proof, there is no guarantee these can adequately protect us from tremendous damage. Look at what happened in Dagupan City, Pangasinan during the 1990 killer quake that caused thousands of deaths here in Baguio City. Not so many buildings collapsed in Dagupan due to structural breakdown or weakness. Many got damaged because the ground underneath liquefied. Once solid terra firma became gooey mud.
A few years after that, a temblor with almost the same intensity happened in Kobe, Japan. Japan was supposed to be the most modern when it comes to anti-earthquake building techniques but that quake caused unbelievable damage with railways collapsing and buildings crumbling to the ground. It was not because the construction of these were substandard. It was because the ground liquefied.
Can this also happen in Metro Manila? The chances of it occurring in the Metro is very high. Metro Manila is almost at sea level so the water everywhere can readily inundate cracks underneath the ground caused by a real shaker. In a few minutes liquefaction can occur. With the high density of the population there, hundreds of thousands can lose their lives.
I guess any earthquake is to impress upon us by our Creator that anyone can lose everything he has, including one’s life, in a split second.
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What is lacking in the legislative agenda of PDu30 is the passage of a law on freedom of information (FOI). While he issued an executive order mandating the executive department to release information to the public and outlining the process therefor, it would be better if this is embodied in a law passed by Congress. That would be institutionalizing it. An executive order can be readily changed by the next president through another executive order.
Along with an FOI law should be a whistle blower act. This is to protect and reward people, especially those in government who would risk everything to expose corruption. Corrupt practices are everywhere in all strata of government. If a good whistle blower act will be passed, perhaps some people can make a living exposing corrupt acts in the bureaucracy.
The problem is, there might not anymore anybody to do government functions.
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A very good bill which is considered a priority by the present Congress is the divorce bill. We are the only country or state aside from The Vatican which does not have a divorce law. This is closing our eyes to reality. There are so many unhappy marriages out there destroying the spirit of the couples involved but they are helpless about it.
The annulment of marriage as provided for by the Family Code is quite difficult and expensive for ordinary Filipinos.**
