MANILA, Philippines — When Mary Ann San Jose moved to Sitio Pariahan in Bulakan town, Bulacan province, more than two decades ago, she could walk to the local chapel. These days, just the flooded chapel, a cluster of shacks on bamboo stilts where San Jose lives with her family, and a few homes on a bump of land remain. “It’s really a disaster that is already happening… It’s a slow onset disaster,” said Narod Eco, who is part of a group of scientists tracking the problem. “The sinking is a very serious threat to people, their livelihoods and cultures,” said Joseph Estadilla, a spokesperson for alliance seeking to protect Manila Bay coastal communities. San Jose explained: “Every year we raise (the floor) of our house.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer May 20, 2019 23:15 UTC