The titles of University of Santo Tomas – Pontifical, Royal, and Catholic – in its official name seem lacking. As former Arts and Letters Faculty Secretary Josephine Placido puns about it during my freshman sociology class – the ‘Seat of Aquinas’ should also be called the ‘Seat of Aquatic’ – for among the university’s main informal traditions is to experience the transformation of the campus from a stone fortress into a body of water.

It is common knowledge to scholars that the site of the 88-year old UST campus – Sulucan Hills – is a marsh. A Rappler article even accounts that the campus was built on top of what used to be the Estero de Alix in Sampaloc, Manila. However, a GMA article says that a condominium supposedly blocks the flow of Estero de Alix to the adjacent Estero de San Miguel. This makes me confused on whether the Alix is still a living tributary or not until the condo’s construction. All these points make the unavoidability of flood an empirical and scientific truth.

Flooding is the issue. Flooding has since been a problem of the University of Santo Tomas and as far as I have seen since 2009, the University community – from administration, faculty, student body, barangay folks, and parishioners are doing their best to solve the problem inside the campus hailed as a Philippine National Treasure. The administration built dikes, the student council strongly executed the no-styro policy, buildings were renovated to accommodate offices in higher levels to avoid damage to more essential properties, more covered pathways were built, and even to our dismay, we have to sacrifice seeing our toilet bowls using brown-colored recycled floodwater for flushing – all because the University of Santo Tomas is doing its part. I remember: an academic Vietnamese delegation member we ushered then was said to have screamed when she saw the color of the water inside the toilet. This toilet is the one near the former UST Center for Creative Writing office at the Saint Raymund’s Building. I hope it did not give her much of a trauma. The recycling thing had to be explained unto her.

All these were working for the University and the streets around the vicinity until the Department of Public Works and Highways decided to elevate Arsenio Lacson, Dapitan, and Padre Noval Streets by more than 3 feet to equal the previously elevated España Boulevard on the south of the campus. The University has kept itself silent and did not protest. As of now, the University is still serving as the natural catch basin of the flood and the smaller streets around the area suffer – thus, Sea of Asturias, Antonio Creek, Sea of Barlin, Piy Margal Sea, and many more.

The ‘catchment area’ pertained to by the President in his last SONA refers to a proposal that University of Santo Tomas did not agree with. PNoy did not mention in his SONA that the government will dig up a deep gigantic hole covering the entire UST Grandstand where they will place a giant tank (as big as the whole UST football field) collecting rain water that will be pumped out to Manila Bay. We were told about this in a meeting of student leaders. The priests did not agree and I was okay with it – not just because the whole campus ground is of heavy cultural and historical essence (and is protected by law [and that alone is a big standalone argument]) but also because I believe there is a better longstanding solution without desecrating the University of Santo Tomas and without putting much baggage on the shoulders of the Tomasino community. (And also, somebody said it might trigger a sinkhole forming [Although I’m not very sure about this, it sounds scary].) Instead of the public sector doing the task, implementing this project inside UST will burden the priests, academia, studentry, parish, and other stakeholders more than it should the government – the one who should do most part if not all. UST doing its part is different from UST giving everything to the government. The university does not have to do everything the government tells it to do – and it won’t.

To imply that UST is not willing to sacrifice and is not doing its part is hurtful on the part of the Tomasino community who has always been a partner of the Philippine government in many of its projects – especially within the heavily-congested City of Manila. Also, it is unbecoming of a public official to pull ‘blind item’ on his formal address when almost everybody gets the clue. If it was the decision of UST to not put an orinola underneath its grounds, its prerogative should be respected. Why does UST have to take the blame for poor urban planning and management?

I hope that this attack on the university is not due to the Bureau of Internal Revenue losing its millions-of-peso tax cases against UST.

I know that the University shall be mum about the issue for a time – the very prudent institution it is. But, wait for it. UST might say something wise and something that will not blame its Spanish predecessors. Although, as early as now, I am proud to take a stand as a member of Her valiant legion.

Addendum:

My freshman logic professor (who wishes to be called Dr. Audrey Hepburn) commented that Malacañang should be the catch basin. We’re not geographers, topographers, or urban planners (I wish I was, though) but, looking at the map of Manila and considering the distances to the present tributaries, the Pasig River and Manila Bay, I think my Logic teacher’s suggestion albeit more of a joke sounds logical. The Malacañang Palace seems fit for the catch basin qualifications. Why don’t PNoy put a big tank underneath Malacañang Complex or at Malacañang Park at the adjacent riverbank? Water goes through Estero de San Miguel, straight to Pasig River, flowing to Manila Bay.

Kidding aside, in a 2013 article of top investigative journalist Raissa Robles, it shows us a transcript of her interview with Nathaniel von Einsiedel – the former Planning Chief of Imelda Marcos’ Metro Manila Commission – the precursor of (as Robles describes it) the now-castrated Metro Manila Development Authority.

In the article, it tells us of the existence of gigantic pipes underneath España Boulevard which are now 70% full of dirt. Einsiedel said that these would be of very good use to the people had it been taken good care of. The pipes did not undergo annual cleaning and it turned out to be like it is now – something useless (unless the local government does something about it). Aside from the giant pipes, the Manggahan Floodway in Laguna de Bay, according to Einsiedel, is only 33% operational due to the informal settlers issue.

This shows us that there are solutions to the flooding problem without desecrating national historical treasures.