Marikina River: The River of Life, Sorrow, Fear, and Hope of the Marikeños (1946-2020)

Nomer Guiller Angeles, University of Santo Tomas - Manila / University of the Philippines - Diliman

September 26, 2009, Typhoon Ketsana affected Marikina City, Philippines, because of the factors throughout her history. The land-use policies influenced the city’s development and policy-making. The riverbanks-“Tumana,” were the most fertile part of the riverbanks, where people planted vegetables and other crops. Urbanization and industrialization resulted in changes in the land-use pattern near the river, from mainly agricultural to residential and industrial. These changes in the land-use patterns were the priority because of the focus of the society and government on being part of urbanization and industrialization to contribute to the country’s economic development. They forgot the adverse effects of it on the river. From being a “Functioning River” before, the Marikina River became dirty like a sewer because of rapid Urbanization and Industrialization. As a result, the Marikina River became a “Dead River,” but because of the political will of the administration spearheaded by Mayor Bayani Fernando, river development, rehabilitation programs, and comprehensive land-use programs were implemented to revive the river and bring it back to as a “River of Life” / “Functioning River.” The Rehabilitation started, but it cannot return to the glory days of the river. The river became a “River of Sorrow” during Typhoon Ketsana. Furthermore, it became a River of Hope after the continuous rehabilitation programs of the administrations of the city that the citizens supported. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic happened, and the projects and programs were slowed down and halted. With the rise of COVID-19 cases, Typhoon Ulysses struck the city, which brought heavy rains that caused deep floods that made the River Marikina a River of Sorrow and Fear again. With the help of the internet and social media because of the Digital Age, faster dissemination of news and updates about the river made the evacuation and relief operations accessible for the Marikeños.

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 Presented in Session 167. New Methods in Historical Mapping: Deep Maps, ChatGPT, and New Media