With the onslaught of Tropical Storm "Ondoy" (International Name: Ketsana) last Saturday, the Philippines was again placed on the world map. The Metropolitan Manila and its suburbs was caught by surprise, as the supposedly baby storm proved too much for our inadequate preparation, with a deluge of flood water. Millions were struck in traffic, as hundreds of thousands were directly affected by the floods causing some to climb on roofs and high places to escape nature's wrath. Many people that day lost their homes, their properties and for some, even their lives.
However, the most manifest incident that day was the complete absence of the government in all of our miseries. True, everyone was affected and even the Palace was inundated by flood. We have outstretched our limits for calamities this year and the limited government resources hamper rescue operations, but the country has been battered by calamities, every single year. Have we not yet mastered the art of disaster preparedness?
The government should be grateful of the spirit of voluntarism that reigns in the heart of Filipinos. On that fateful day, Filipinos rose beyond self and exhibited signs of great heroism. Everyone took his place, enemies became friends, strangers became companions, all helped each other. Private efforts for rescue and relief have sprung like a wildflower, children offering their piggy banks, students rushing towards relief centers to volunteer, workers taking some time off to help their friends and relatives. Until now, private efforts still leads the charge to aid those who was extremely affected by disaster.
But are we to contend with private "Bayanihan?" If private cooperation is all that we need during times of crisis, why the hell do we need a government for? Recent news that a 1977 study has already been made identifying flood prone areas and suggesting infrastructure measures to prevent what we exactly experienced last Saturday is disheartening. What happened could have been prevented had we followed that report and made the necessary precautions. We could have channeled much needed funds for the purchase of more radars so that PAG-ASA could accurately predict weather forecasts, rather than spend it on a million dollar dinner plate. We should have allocated more government funds to dredged the river and made flood controls than to increase Congressional pork barrel. We should have bought more rubber boats and 6x6 trucks than purchase a new Presidential chopper.
We could have done more things, but we did not.
It is said that "experience is a great teacher." If that is the case, why is it that a disaster prone country such as the Philippines, is always caught flat-footed during events of natural and man-made calamities? Had experience not taught as much? Or are we poor learners?
Come Saturday, so PAG-ASA say, another storm is on its way. Are we to hope for everything to be better? Or is our hope in government, the same as PAG-ASA is in the weather?
However, the most manifest incident that day was the complete absence of the government in all of our miseries. True, everyone was affected and even the Palace was inundated by flood. We have outstretched our limits for calamities this year and the limited government resources hamper rescue operations, but the country has been battered by calamities, every single year. Have we not yet mastered the art of disaster preparedness?
The government should be grateful of the spirit of voluntarism that reigns in the heart of Filipinos. On that fateful day, Filipinos rose beyond self and exhibited signs of great heroism. Everyone took his place, enemies became friends, strangers became companions, all helped each other. Private efforts for rescue and relief have sprung like a wildflower, children offering their piggy banks, students rushing towards relief centers to volunteer, workers taking some time off to help their friends and relatives. Until now, private efforts still leads the charge to aid those who was extremely affected by disaster.
But are we to contend with private "Bayanihan?" If private cooperation is all that we need during times of crisis, why the hell do we need a government for? Recent news that a 1977 study has already been made identifying flood prone areas and suggesting infrastructure measures to prevent what we exactly experienced last Saturday is disheartening. What happened could have been prevented had we followed that report and made the necessary precautions. We could have channeled much needed funds for the purchase of more radars so that PAG-ASA could accurately predict weather forecasts, rather than spend it on a million dollar dinner plate. We should have allocated more government funds to dredged the river and made flood controls than to increase Congressional pork barrel. We should have bought more rubber boats and 6x6 trucks than purchase a new Presidential chopper.
We could have done more things, but we did not.
It is said that "experience is a great teacher." If that is the case, why is it that a disaster prone country such as the Philippines, is always caught flat-footed during events of natural and man-made calamities? Had experience not taught as much? Or are we poor learners?
Come Saturday, so PAG-ASA say, another storm is on its way. Are we to hope for everything to be better? Or is our hope in government, the same as PAG-ASA is in the weather?
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