Picture this: Excessive rain–massive flooding–bayanihan–charity works–rescue and recovery efforts–call for climate change action–back to everyday lives–forgotten issues–excessive rain again–repeat cycle.

Is this how things will always be during the rainy season? A repeat of repeated calls for action, the blame game, and never-ending Band-aid solutions? When will we ever be ready? Or have we just given up hope of finding better solutions for these decades-old problems that we have?

Filipinos are naturally resilient, no matter what happens to us, no storm can break our spirit, our ability to cope and survive with a smile makes us completely unique among the billion people in the world.

Yes, we are bulletproof, but we Filipinos are not waterproof. The amount of flooding in the Metro and nearby provinces serves as an urgent call that we need to wake up and stop romanticizing our very difficult situation. Oh yes, spicy truth, perfect for this cold weather!

My dear friends, we are not alone on this planet. The simple segregation of garbage, recycling, and walking or carpooling instead of using cars could be a big help to our one and only Mother Earth no matter how small it may seem.

These changes to fully maximize the effects also require big efforts from the local and national governments. It takes two to tango, right? Now let’s dance and hopefully, we can find the perfect harmony to fight the common enemy — climate change.

In a recent interview, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that we need to re-examine our flood control projects and he called upon the people to be responsible in their trash disposal to avoid blocking the sewers and pumps. Projects should be aligned to making our environment and people disaster-ready. Of course, natural disasters are unavoidable, but we can always be prepared—be proactive not just reactive.

Now let’s dance and hopefully, we can find the perfect harmony to fight the common enemy — climate change.

Imagine seeing people atop roofs waiting to be rescued, passengers stuck inside a bus due to waist-deep flood, stray animals fighting for survival, people using boats in the streets to escape their houses already filled with water up to the second floor, rescuers working overnight to save lives, and worst, seeing bedridden hospital patients being transported because the floodwaters had entered the hospitals.

It was only in our wildest imagination that Metro Manila and nearby provinces could get this bad.

Work schedules were affected, transactions were frozen, and days of learning were interrupted due to the floods. Seriously, this is not something we can just move forward from, shrug our shoulders, and then we’re done once it’s sunny again. Just like Sabrina Carpenter’s song: “Please, Please, Please,” oh people let’s do something about this.

In previous articles in this column, I mentioned the upcoming shortage of water in Metro Manila as predicted by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System — the demand is now higher than the supply.

Here’s something new: according to a study by Greenpeace East Asia, Metro Manila is one of the cities in Asia at risk to become a waterworld in 2030 due to the rise of sea levels and overpopulation.

Well, I don’t want to scare you but that is even scarier than a jumpscare movie — imagine waking in 2030 with water all around you. This will solve the longtime traffic problem though, as we will be using boats as the mode of transport. It’s cute to think of, like a floating market in Vietnam, but are we really sure that we can tolerate this soon to be Manila waterworld?

As the sea level is rising, our ports and shipping industry is surely going to be busy. Ferries, boats, ocean jets, anyone?

Good thing the Philippine Ports Authority already started arming the ports with greens since 2016 in accordance with the Climate Change Act of 2009. PPA general manager Jay Santiago signed a PPA memorandum requiring applicants for contracts, permits, and accreditations to plant 1,000 tree seedlings or mangroves before they are granted permits to operate at the ports.

Now, that’s is a direct action towards climate change — it is like offering a deal of plant it or leave it.

Nice bold move, PPA! While the local and national governments are focusing on flood control projects, supplements like these should be started for us to reap the benefits of plants in the future. In fact, a total of four million trees were already planted by the PPA to ensure the security of future generations.

It will start with us. How willing are you to sacrifice today for the future you and your family can be thankful for? The scale of the damage climate change can inflict and the speed of the efforts needed to address this will always be the goal of humans in order to survive.

The boat is sinking — may we all work together for solutions to keep it afloat!