50
Climate change prevents the realization of the right to self-determination and
development when victims thereof are trapped in an endless cycle of dealing with
its adverse impacts. Their lives are spent surviving one climate change impact
after another, effectively nullifying any opportunity they may have to participate
in, contribute to, enjoy and pursue their political, economic, social and cultural
development. Veronica Cabe, a survivor of typhoon Ketsana (local: Ondoy),
articulated this seemingly endless cycle of being victimized by extreme weather
events in the following sentiment:
Our daily life was disrupted. Unfortunately, our sufferings did not
end with Ondoy. The story didn’t end with Ondoy. Unfortunately,
the suffering that we have through, continued at the time
when we were rebuilding our live. The series of floods brought
about by monsoon rains have caused flooding. Again, I clearly
remember three (3) incidents of flooding. We lost everything
again, everything that mattered to us. After years of struggling,
rebuilding and recovering, I knew the typhoon would come in and
wreck everything we have put up over the years. When would this
situation, when would this devastation stop? How can we survive?
When would this process of recovering and rebuilding end?244
A fellow Typhoon Ketsana survivor, Manuel “Ka Noli” Abinales, echoed the
experience of the vicious cycle:
Ondoy did not seem to be a “one-shot-deal” because, I remember,
after Ondoy, we were still recovering when typhoon Falcon
happened and, then, Pedring in 2011. Then in 2012, we had habagat
(southwest monsoon). We did not understand the actions of the
nature anymore.
This is the usual scenario: when it rains and will cause flashflood,
we will evacuate to the evacuation centers. When the rain stops,
people will get bored in the evacuation center and will decide
to go out, then attempt to return to their homes near the rivers
when the floods subside; then it will rain again, and the people will
evacuate again. That happened four (4) times in our community
in 2012 because of southwest monsoon. I even received text
messages about people getting tired of the repeated experience.
We have evacuated, then returned home, then evacuated again.
It’s like playing patintero [similar to a game of tag]. I do not know
anymore how we are supposed to move in the community.
244
T.S.N. of the Fifth Inquiry Hearing dated 6-7 November 2018, at 111.
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