Almost exactly a year ago, I planted some trees in Taguig. We (together with a group that my father had organized) planted banaba trees along the new C-6 highway, in a place called Wawa. Incidentally, Wawa is actually an old word used to denote areas that are deltas (mouths of rivers). There is a Wawa in Paranaque (near Merville), and also Guagua in Pampanga. Both are deltas. Great job building a highway here! Planners are excellent at ignoring wetlands, deltas, and all of that stuff.
The pumping station in the photo above (painted blue) is actually under heat after the recent floodings, particularly for running out of gasoline and being unable to pump water into Laguna de Bay. The district, according to an SMS I received this morning, was flooded severely, with some areas sunken as deep as two persons standing atop each other. I am not sure of the water hyacinth's role in the flood, but I'm sure they had some effect.
As you can see, the place was rife with water hyacinth, and people were collecting small amounts of it and making them into handicrafts. The MMDA also has harvesters sailing the murky waters and collecting the plant. I believe that composting programs are a better way to deal with this biomass, instead of creating highly varnished souvenirs.
Meanwhile, in Davao, we ate at a catfish joint with surrounding aquaculture areas that were densely populated with water hyacinth. Contained, they are quite benign and beautiful.
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