Rain, rain go away

My grade 3 teacher used to encourage us, her pupils, to recite the poem “Rain, rain go away, come again another day, little Sally wants to play” when it rains so that we can go out to the playground and play.
Somehow, like a magic, it always worked. It was probably some sort of a prayer that was heard by the Almighty God, taking pity on His little children who wanted to enjoy the bounty of His sunshine and make them happy. Those were the days.
Hoping the magic still works, I tried reciting the poem once more with bated breath, this time, saying it sincerely like I did when I was in grade 3 – like the innocence of a child. It may be the formula to stop the rain.
It did not. I tried harder, praying that by invoking divine providence it might work. No result. The rains continued. Not until the days of Noah and his ark was there so much rain. If the rains persist for two more weeks, we’d break the 30-day record of Noah. My wife started laughing at me and questioned my motives why I want the rain to stop.
I want the rain to stop not because I want to play. I want the rain to stop because the continuous rainfall is casting an atmosphere of gloom, creating a condition that is making the lives of the ordinary Filipinos difficult. Maybe, if the rain will stop, they can resume their daily activities. Maybe, if the rain will stop, they can resume their daily activities.
Maybe, if the continuous rainfall will cease for a day or two, they can dry their clothes and warm their hearts a bit. A bit of sunshine will surely work wonders to lighten their mood. Still, the rain persisted. It poured down on ci-ties and municipalities like a raging bull goring at its prey.
You see, it had been almost three weeks since the rain started. It has not abated a bit. Morning until afternoon, the heavens open up its gates and pour out a torrent of water that is flooding towns and provinces.
Specifically, cities and municipalities in Pampanga are under water. Nobody was spared. Rich and poor alike wade in chest-deep water, wondering with awe on when the flood will subside. The Sta. Rita interchange is awash with water that navigating it takes more than three hours. The report says that it is a 22-kilometer traffic.
What a sorry sight to behold and what a messy situation to be in. And, for sure, the aftermath will be as catastrophic. After the flood subsides, residents have to contend with se-veral water and air-borne diseases.
It is not like this is the first time several parts of the country suffered such flooded fate. It is part of the weather cycle. The Philippines, being in the path of typhoons, storms, and other natural disasters – the ring of fire, calamities like this are supposed to be expected. Being an expectancy, dealing with this kind of problem should no longer be a problem.
Ironically, it is. Year in and year out, the government has to contend with such gargantuan headache making it laughable that until hence, no solution has as yet been provided and none in the immediate future is in sight. All that is done are patch-up jobs that do not last long. A band-aid solution to a major wound.
In the command conference presided by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. last week, several proposals were made to remedy the flooding in the Candaba area. I did not finish listening to the conference because the participants cannot seem to agree on what to do or what to accomplish. It appeared that they were more grandstanding than they are concerned.
It was politics at its best. For the meantime, the people are suffering and waiting for the rain to stop. Perhaps, if we all recite the poem “rain, rain go away,” it might provide a viable solution.