Nightmare in Balibago Robby Tantingco, SunStar Pampanga   Who would have thought that a creek that we mostly take for granted—because it behaves and never causes any damage even during storms and monsoons—could suddenly turn into a monster and wreak havoc in the densely populated, heavily developed Balibago district in Angeles City?             We mostly see Balibago Creek from the small bridge between Didi’s Pizza and the Balibago Church.  Farther upstream, it’s the same creek under another small bridge near the veterans’ hospital in Hensonville.             It has no history whatsoever of overflowing or eroding its banks, which is probably the reason they never called it a river, only a creek.  And it had been so quiet and unassuming all these years that residents got bold enough to build houses, buildings, even entire subdivisions and school campuses near it, alongside it, and sometimes over it.             And so when we saw on cable news the extent of damage wrought by this creek, we had to look for an explanation for its sudden and unprecedented surge.             Was it the tons of garbage dumped into it?  We Filipinos look at river channels as convenient receptacles of our trash, because when the river swells, it sweeps it all away, out of sight.              What we don’t realize is, the trash ends up in other communities.  For example, the creeks in Mabalacat and Angeles City irrigate the farmlands in Magalang and Mexico.  I know this because when I drive in the countryside on weekends, I see city garbage strewn all over the rice fields.             But I don’t think it was garbage that caused the swelling of Balibago Creek.  If trash is the culprit, the creek should have swelled farther upstream, where the trash was heaviest.  The damage was concentrated mostly downstream, near the spot where the creek empties into Abacan River, at the back of Systems Plus Computer College.             Rivers tend to fan out as they reach their mouths or exit points.  Deltas are created when the rivers reach a flat area that’s usually reclaimed from the sea.  But Balibago Creek does not empty into the sea but into another river, so instead of turning into an alluvial fan, it picks up speed as it flows on a slope.             The soil may also be a factor.  That area of greatest damage, being part of the ancient banks of the Abacan River, is more sandy than other areas in the path of the creek, and sand is quite unsteady especially when subjected to liquefaction.             And then, of course, the drainage system.  Was the volume of water more than the river channel could bear?  If yes, why did this phenomenon occur only now?  Is the amount of rainfall more this year than in previous years?  Or are there more canals draining into the creek now?             Some residents naturally point to the massive development that occurred in the area in previous years, specifically the construction of malls and expressways.  When I was a child, I remember seeing a canal running parallel to the McArthur Highway, from Johnny’s Supermart all the way to Ocampo’s Appliances, before draining into Balibago Creek.             I wonder how much water this canal is now bringing to the creek?  I am asking because the spot where it empties into the creek is where the greatest damage begins.             My prayers are with those who have lost or are about to lose properties and livelihoods as a result of this natural and/or man-made calamity.  These people never thought that after surviving Pinatubo, they would again find themselves caught up in another disastrous situation.             They also probably never thought that a disaster of this kind could strike a place like Balibago, with its multi-million businesses and investments.  How, for God’s sake, could they allow a small creek to do this much damage?              Balibago Creek, which originates in the grassy meadows at Clark Field, is nothing but a collection of rainwater from gutters, culverts and ducts.  It’s not anything like Abacan which originates from the slopes of Mount Pinatubo, or Sapang Balen, which begins in the highlands at the foot of Mount Pinatubo.             I hope we learn our lessons well.