Back in 2016, Davawenyos learned this happy term called BBB : Build, Build, Build.

But now in 2026, BBB is a catastrophe: Baha, Basura, Bilyones going down the drain clogged with trash.

Davao City has been struck with one sanitary problem after another.

Two weeks ago, some parts of Davao were stuck in knee-deep floods that not even the billion-peso flood control projects of Congressman Polong could drain them all in a day.

Then last week, the Davao landfill was closed down after parts of its wastes collapsed and killed one person, stopping garbage collection and leaving houses and garbage bins with piles of uncollected wastes.

Last Monday, there was flooding again in some major streets in Davao.

There goes Davao City’s motto “Life is Here”.  Baha, tambak is here.

Duterte diehards like to say that Davao is Singapore.  But recently, Davao is more like Singa-pour or Singa-poor.

But some diehards also have a three-way approach to these problems.

First is to deny that there is a problem.  (Example: The flood disappears naman in hours.   We still keep our trash away from the streets, disiplinado ang Davao.)

Second is to bash anyone on social media for raising these problems.  (Puro kayo paniniria. Parating mabaho at barado diyan sa inyo sa Maynila.)

Third is to give an ultimatum. (Kung sige lang mog saway, ayaw na pagpuyo dire.)

These arguments at times turn absurd, especially when diehards argue with each other.

(Example: DDS bashing Davao news pages as biased for reporting the floods and garbage vs other DDS who defend Davao news pages as they need to report Davao events and stores and nothing else.)

None of these suggest prodding the now-you-see-now-you-don’t mayor to take action.  Murag sala pa hinuon sa lumulupyo sa Dabao nga moreklamo.

None of these is taking into account that there is a P 51-billion flood control project, or that the city has a billion-peso revenue, yet it could not expand its new landfill until catastrophe struck.

Come to think of it, these issues are missed opportunities for the Duterte brothers, Mayor Baste and Congressman Pulong, to project their own myths.

If Tatay crafted this image as a motorcycle riding mayor patrolling the streets, imagine Baste driving a garbage truck all over the city picking up all the uncollected trash and dumping these  in the backyard of his enemy in Malacañang.  Imagine Polong in the middle of flooded streets, fuming at engineers to get the drainage fixed and working pronto.

But none of that is happening, not a post from the mayor or congressman, both of whom are usually noisy on Facebook assuring Davawenyos they are on top of things.  People are asking: May mayor pa ba tayo?

This is not to say that we want to bash dynasties but we need to remind their followers that leaders are meant to be there to fix things, not to flex fiery statements on Facebook and disappear from office.

(Mind Da Noise is a column by jaded Mindanawon observers.)