Baloc-Baloc Creek, a small waterway between Camella Classic Homes in Barangay Don Bosco and Multinational Village in Barangay Moonwalk, Parañaque City, is once a meandering creek — a lifeline of nature's grace — that has fallen victim to the unyielding-grasp of progress.
The consequences of its reclamation by a property developer, Wing-An Garden Resort, owned by businessman Salwen Lao, reverberated with devastating effects of floodings, unleashing torrents of sorrow and anguish upon the homes of more than 100 families since 2013.
Lao, however, blames the affluent Villars for the inundation in CCH and Multinational Village, claiming that their resort subdivision did not infringe on the Balo-Baloc creek and that it was the Villars who reclaimed the original creek that is now an extension of CCH.
According to a CCH homeowner, the creek was 13 meters wide in 1988 but narrowed to 2 meters when Lao started to build his resort village in 2011.
Despite an order from the Parañaque City local government to remove the fence along the creek and address the reclamation, Lao maintains ownership of the lot and the creek — which is actually his land turned into a narrow creek to replace the original creek developed into a road and subdivision lots by the Villars.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has been drawn into the dispute after Lao claimed that it had yet to address the issue despite being notified for several years.
The decision to fill up the creek and transform it into an extension of a subdivision village is a tragic betrayal.
Once a tranquil haven, Baloc-Baloc Creek is now a symbol of misplaced ambition and heedless development. Its waters have been clamped with bricks and stones, forced into a constrained existence that defies its very essence.
In its restraint, Baloc-Baloc becomes a harbinger of destruction. Its once soothing presence transformed into a force of flooding and misery to more than a hundred families.
The creek's cry echoes through the affected communities, a plea for redemption and renewal. The unchecked alteration of the creek's course has led to flooding, inundating homes and livelihoods with a relentless tide of sorrow.
It calls out to us, aching for reconciliation that honors the harmony between progress and preservation.
We must not turn a blind eye to the plight of residents and the creek nor succumb to the allure of short-term gains at the expense of long-term consequences. Instead, we must embark on a collective journey of restoration, seeking to mend the wounds inflicted upon the creek and our community and forge a new path that honors the delicate equilibrium of nature.
Let us heed its call and work tirelessly to rectify the consequences of its reclamation, to restore its once tranquil embrace, and to ensure that such devastation never befalls our cherished landscapes again.
Baloc-Baloc's stories of reclamation and ruin, regardless of the several versions, must be a cautionary narrative, guiding us toward a future where progress and preservation walk hand in hand, and where the sanctity of nature is honored for the benefit of all, not for a few greedy entities.
It's a timeless tale of clashing narratives. If only the creek could whisper the truth.