The havoc wreaked by Ondoy in the floodplains of Metro Manila and NCR and Pepeng in Northern Luzon is not what would qualify these affected areas as “God-forsaken”.

To my mind, the recent disasters, considering that typhoons are mere natural events, are man-made.

Our LEADERS have failed to build the dams, dikes, or watergates that would save us in the next 100 to 500 years. National roads throghout the country that do no live to be 40 years are symptomatic of the sad reality that infrastructure projects have become “breeding” as well as “nesting” grounds for corruption especially on those over 5 billion peso projects.

If every peso went into the no-nonsense construction of vital infrastructure, then people should have no cause for worry that any kind of rain, storm, or typhoon can be mitigated.

Problem is, government leaders always find it profitable to siphon off monies from the large money basin – each and every time.

All we probably could see are instead of “engineering wonders” are in fact, “engineering blunders” all so because, the funds allocated for the purpose are really just messed around with.

Next time, let those who mess around with public funds be shot by firing squad. But how can we do that if the office of primary responsibility, in this case, the DPWH itself is accused of being involved in ‘riggins’ in World Bank-assisted projects?

Option left is to accept the “curse” – be a Filipino.

The Itnegs are from Apayao. People from Ifugao, where the Banaue Rice Terraces were built are called Ifugao, not Itnegs.

I supposed you are not an Igorot. No self-respecting non-Ifugao will claim that their ancestors built the rice terraces because they give the due credit to the Ifugaos..unlike many Filipino who look down on the Igorots in general then wopuld proclaim that “THEIR” ancestors built the Rice Terraces in Ifugao.

Exactly one week after Tropical Storm Ketsana struck the Philippines and Laos, causing massive flooding and leaving thousands homeless, Typhoon Parma slammed into the region destroying rice fields and bringing the threat of landslides.

Typhoon Parma struck with winds of over 110 miles per hour, and, according to news reports, in one Philippine province Parma dumped almost four feet of rain in a span of just six hours. At this point, over 4 million people have been affected by the back-to-back severe storms.

Stephen Anderson, WFP Country Director in the Philippines, explains the gravity of this situation: “In my time as country director and representative for the Philippines, I haven’t seen anything like the devastation and despair we are seeing here now. Beloved family members, homes and so much more have been lost. Food supplies have simply disappeared. People left with nothing, seeking refuge in evacuation centers, are looking for a glimmer of hope right now.”

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Citizens of Cagayan and Ilocos Sur may not be aware, but fund-raising appeals continue all over North America, Europe and Australia.

We are already conditioned to it in the Visayas. If you take a look at our houses, it’s obvious we don’t care to make it look good. We buy very few cars, and usually this is spot cash. No big LCD TVs, even though we can definitely afford it. Maybe Manila should rethink its lifestyle.