We can make better use of our rivers and lakes

FOR people surrounded by water, we Filipinos do not seem to appreciate rivers, lakes, or even the sea. And yet, those natural resources may hold the key to the solutions of so many of our problems.

Take traffic congestion in Metro Manila, for instance. A recent Japanese study estimated that its economic cost at about P2.4 billion a day. In a year, that adds up to P576 billion, which is P176 billion more than the 2014 infrastructure budget. One solution, which the Aquino government is pursuing of late, is to build more roads. The downside is that construction work worsens the congestion in the short term. Even after the projects’ completion, the Philippines will still lag far behind in infrastructure development relative to other Asean countries – and in meeting the actual domestic needs for more roads. Worse, the rail system has further deteriorated under the present government.