It is perhaps part of our culture to have blind faith in many things, not least faith in two social forces that most shape our collective lives – god and government. This weekend has clearly demonstrated that our faith can only take us so far. God only helps those who help themselves. And government will only help itself unless pressured to do otherwise. We should perhaps take stock of what burden, what “charge,” we should place where appropriate. We cannot have blind faith that god will provide and succor. We cannot have blind faith that government will govern.
Of force majeure Ondoy, we have no control over. But we need not remain resigned to the caprice of nature and fate. Civilization tells the story of man’s battle to tame nature. All of science is a monument to this undertaking. For each difficulty posed by nature’s tyranny, others have dreamed of and fashioned solutions. Why can’t we? Typhoons, harbingers of disaster, come and go like the tide. Yet all these years, all these decades, we succumb blindly to fate. Fatalism is a condition that belongs to olden days. If there is progress, then there is no room for blind acceptance of what becomes of us.
And government – oh government. As we see names and personalities play their roles before us on our TV screens, we ask ourselves where the make-believe ends and where reality begins. The President wades in water in her pink boots while her son searches and rescues booze in a liquor store. Our leaders, ourselves? I despair. Yet perhaps this statement is unfair. Government or no, we have seen stories of people who help themselves. There is heroism in grand scale committed by humble nobodies. There are unknown soldiers who have gone beyond the call of duty. There is that 18 year-old construction worker who has saved thirty lives only to lose his. There is that father who mourns the computer for which he scrimped and saved to gift his son. His house and all he owns buried in mud, he endeavors to go on.
And so, here we are. The people we put in charge, the people to whom we entrust our monies and our fate. There is so much we do not know, so many questions to ask about the nitty-gritty of governing. For now let us ask this question, where did it go, our P5 billion supposedly spent on “flood control projects” last year?
The people we put in charge, bearer of public monies and public trust. Our state of affairs need not perennially begin in helplessness and end in tragedy. In 2010, when we choose people to put in charge, let us have faith in ourselves – that we deserve so much more than we have been given. And if we believe we so deserve a rational, functioning and clean government, then so must we exact.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Bayanihan is the true spirit of Filipinos. It was discouraged by the
Spanish Colonizers to prevent revolts. So, they used the DIVIDE and
RULE to continue their colonization. Our ancestors built the Banawe Rice Terreces by this attitude.
The issue of Global Warming is on the world’s agenda half century
since. People become blind. Rich nations polluted the Earth for
trade and industrialization. It is not only Global Warming that
are facing us. It is our hatreds, wars, and nuclear proliferation. Iran wants the nuclear bomb. To bomb and wipe out Israel. North
Korea has some bombs. Mother Earth is fighting back. Her armaments
are: natural calamities. There is an ultimate weapon she has on her
disposal: Zero magnetism on its polars. Machines will not work. Computers, telecommunications and guidance systems of rockets will
not work. Nuclear Bombs will not explode. The oil based economy of
the Planet Earth is coming to an end. Rich Petro countries cannot
drink their oil. Nor can they eat their Petro dollars. We are being
ushered to an ERA of PEACE as promised. Mother Earth does not want
to become a lifeless Planet like Planet Mars. She has still a destiny.
to Hyden: are you saying that even if there were no corruption in the spending of the $5Billion flood-control, Pinas will still have deaths from typhoon floods?
I have no source for saying this, but my perception is “not enough money.” Even if all Filipinos pay the taxes they owe and if there were no government “moderate-the-greed” corruption at any level and even if Hugo Chavez hands over a US$10Million gift,
it still is not enough funding to cut in half the Pinas yearly deaths from typhoon floods.
Natural disasters is not a problem you can simply throw money at. The main objective is to minimize death and destruction, not eliminate it.
That being said, Ondoy was really just unusual. The usual typhoon that “comes and goes” leaves, what, one or two dead, usually people electrocuted in one form or another. Or struck by lightning. Or a kid who went swimming in raging rivers and drowned. It was never this bad before — and that’s why everyone got fucked up.
Totally agree with you, UP n! Except that the P5Billion was lost to the pockets instead of to the floods. And so we are drowning in the cold, cold murky floodwater, while they…in cold cash.
UPN,
If those moneys were put to flood control and relocation of squatters on riverbanks etc there would be no flash flood in Marikina and vicinity.
If those moneys were put to enforcing logging bans and reforestration, there would be no mudslides to kill people.
If those moneys were used properly, the yearly death toll from typhoons will be cut in half at the very least.
The rains came from nature but the floods in Marikina and the mudslides in Arayat were man-made so with judicious use of resources they can be prevented from happening again.
“If those moneys were put to flood control and relocation of squatters on riverbanks etc there would be no flash flood in Marikina and vicinity.
If those moneys were put to enforcing logging bans and reforestration, there would be no mudslides to kill people.
If those moneys were used properly, the yearly death toll from typhoons will be cut in half at the very least.”
Ya, but then the internet would be boring, with nothing to complain about.
May2010 is coming up.
Voters between now and then should listen well to the Noynoy’s and the Villar’s and the Teodoro’s. There are Erap’s, too. All of them will say that they intend to fight graft and corruption. Pick the wrong one and Marikina (or Ormoc) loses.
As long as people put up with corruption, and vote the corrupt into office – when nature extracts payback, there will be hell to pay.
I’m sure Platform Plez registered will not work. Only one thing we can do after the Election 2010.
Cross our fingers.
And then, if they don’t shape up, we “surge the gate”!
Although I’m sure the lazy ones will holler, “Move On!”
BongV,
Do I have to say it again and again that Gloria was clean before she became president? How many times do I have to repeat it before you get the drift?
Bert:
Your information was lacking. She was already corrupt before she became President. Mahina lang ang radar mo.
Click below : may explain why Tondo wasn’t flooded as badly this time.
http://www.op.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25582&Itemid=2
The pockets of the Filipino politicians are a bottomless pit. It is a Blackhole in the universe. BlackHoles are part of the universe where it swallows any matter, including light.
Hyden, you mean including cash/money?
The Tondo success is proof of Jon’s point: It’s not just money you throw at disaster management. You throw your brains at it too (haha, what a way of saying it), which is more important. Even if one is poor, common sense goes a long way to prevent deaths.
Heard about that judge who made twenty trips in his jetski to save a hundred people and that 18-year-old MAN who saved 30 people before he was washed away? This country works better if you take away all the influence of the colonials. If we bring back the pre-Spanish bayanihan days, stop making the corrupt rich, put up cooperatives instead of supporting a government of rent-seekers, I’m going to volunteer in Mindanao.
put up cooperatives instead of supporting a government of rent-seekers, I’m going to volunteer in Mindanao.
You are serious?
The biggest community credit union in the entire country is located in Cagayan de Oro. That will be a good place to start for anybody desirous of spreading the concept of cooperativism. BTW, this same CU has already spread to many parts of the big island.
Ondoy taught us a very important lesson — however we mistrust PAGASA and ridicule it for making forecasts that fail, we must understand that it’s better to be safe than sorry, it’s better that the expected rain didn’t come than an unexpected deluge, and that we must listen to the service no matter what.
We must inculcate a culture of preparedness, a culture wherein the weather is a valid topic for conversation, and get rid of the foolish “ah, bagyo, nadaanan na namin yan noon” mentality that killed 200 lives in this last incarnation.
Right now there are two tropical depressions forming up near Guam and Palau. Heads up!
Remember — wind-velocity, yes…. rainfall amount, no. PAGASA does not have what it takes to guess-timate if what is coming is 150 or 30 mm of rainfall. PAGASA is not properly equipped.
Intentions are good but needed is cash.
Tani Cruz mentioned that they have standing orders of rainfall-measuring Doppler Radars. Perhaps our MSM friends can verify where these radars are in the procurement process, and how long until they can be installed and made operational?
Maybe we should ask our MSM/ bloggers because all
I see are conflicting news reports for July 8 and july 9 2008.
One news report says Pagasa is in negotitiations with the JICA,one news report has Budget secretary Andaya denying the report.
Congress underfunds PAG-ASA – it’s not a milking cow agency. So there, underfund it, sow hot air, reap the whirlwind.
Jon,
Superb, superb point. In the US I could call up the doppler on line and know by the minute how hard I was going to get blasted with water. That would seem to be CRITICAL for the Philippines. Put it on line for everyone to access.
Joe
I think weather prediction remains an imperfectible science. Because PREDICTING is itself never perfectible. It’s always best to be prepared no matter what. PAGASA always deserves a listen.
Jon,
It too often is a culture of foolishness rather than preparedness. I note that, even in the face of the broad human tragedy, the dailies and tv stations focus on how the stars fared, with special emphasis by the tv stations on those stars who are attached to their shows.
By the way, is there a definition for ACCOUNTABILITY in tagolog? I would like to know who was held accountable for the two recent ferry disasters, the one sunk by Frank, and the one that just tipped over. Was anybody fired, jailed, fined?
Methinks that it is old news, and therefore forgotten news, the old Filipino two-step, that if you wait long enough, accusations of fraud and malfeasance of duty can simply be swept under the rug, so that the rich and famous can dance on that rug.
But maybe I am harsh in this judgment . . .
Joe
Joe, accountability translates to “pananagutan.”
Since you are in the US you probably only have limited access to local news. Anyway, yes there are some annoying blurbs on Cristine Reyes. But there has also been a lot of non-trivial reporting.
Joe:
The word accountability has been extinct from the Filipino dictionary since Day 1.
Everyone else is accountable – except the Pinoy. Guess what, he is in for one rude awakening.
Sparks,
Thank you for the Tagalog word.
Actually, I am in the Philippines with my family, but my perspective is definitely American, for all the good and bad that brings.
It was C. Reyes who was in my mind when I wrote, and the splashy photo line-up of the celebrities in the Inquirer, as if one had rescued the other from the electrical wires. You know, I don’t care about entertainment people, although I know there are some good hearts there (Piolo). Too often, they are simply cross-promoting themselves, rather like congressmen and women do, so I am afraid my “trust” quotient is low.
Joe
“God helps those who help themselves”
Another one from Benjamin Franklin.
Some good ol’ fashioned protestant ethic would do us good. No more of this Catholic bleh.
Protestant! I’m with Sparks on this one.
But not the protestant that skips school and work to march carrying placards on the street. hehe.
Jon-
Remember the Sulpicio lines ferry disaster awhile back? They were angry at pagasa for that too.
I think the weather peeps try their best. They will be nervous wrecks from now on… be it tropical depression, typhoon or otherwise. You can be the best weather forcaster in the history of the world, but still clueless as to the rate and intensity of the rainfall. No?
As far as Ondoy goes, the primary blame can be cast at those who set up the infrastructure in the first place. I’m sure engineers since have done studies to identify problem areas throughout metro manila. It’s just way way way too expensive a task to undertake.
Not too expensive, just needs to reallocate resources away from graft and corruption.
Please refer to my comment above re doppler radars. Ill equipped din talaga ang Pagasa. But it will be a BIG mistake to dismiss them. Especially if you don’t know where to look at and to figure out weather maps available in the internet.
cvj w/ “Not too expensive, just needs to reallocate resources away from graft and corruption.”
Yes. and a suprisingly inexpensive way to accomplish that NOW is to (successfully) prosecute all the abusers in the system.
So why isn’t this happening? The justice system itself is corrupt, as are most politicians. These guys are bought off too. There are laws in place, but they are useless if honor and accountability are lacking in the system. However idealistic and incorruptible the next president is, it will take more than a top down reform to accomplish significant change.
Lots of these guys have lifelong ambitions to get into politics. Its kind of naive to assume they will not use their powers to take in for themselves more wealth. The herd follows what others do in all sectors (govt, corp, religious…). They are there for the big cash-in while they can, and a mere govt salary doesn’t cut the mustard.
This problem is not only local, its global.
“Nasa tao ang gawa, hinde na kailangan ang awa”
This is a another major wake up call. Flood Management must be seriously implemented. In terms of saving lives, people must be educated in emergency preparedness not just relying on PAGASA warnings. Local governments must have multiple emergency notification measures and appropriate regulation of land use and zoning. Government personnels must have training to train the people in their respective communities for any disaster. Children can also be educated thru our educational system as supplement to other emergency preparedness measures.
Education can save lives and is the cheapest prevention measures that the government can offer to its people. Looking at all the videos, many are not prepared on what to do.
Bayanihan is a strength after a negative event. It’s a good thing. Why not bayanihan to demand accountability NOW? why is it always after not before a disaster?
Bayanihan should be a strength that prevents negative events — I agree!
thanks Jon… yours is better.
Because they are homeland Pinoy – accountability is a word lost in translation. Nagagalit pa if you remind them to be accountable to themselves, and to hold leaders accountable as well. This is an I TOLD YOU SO moment :D
Huh?
cvj- Yes they do raid the road funds, but most areas in metro manila are geographically disadvantaged and prone to flooding. It may not be as simple a solution as throwing money at the problem.
Flood plain or flood zone on residential and commercial development has never been characterized by this government. It permits all kinds of real estate extension without balancing nature and development. The sewer and waste management system is not functioning the way it should. Elevations are almost exposed with young trees. This is not the first time that Philippines grieved from flooding and the weaknesses of our soil. We had one last year e along the river in the province. The major ones were in Leyte killing many many lives and yet no progression of preventative measures has been disclosed and implemented to public .It’s like , they have never learnt from the many preceding disasters except planting trees and taking pictures for publicity.
It’s also time for the private entities and big corporations to get involved with government accountability instead of paying bribes to influence wrong policymaking, encouraging the people to learn the wrong thing while at employment. When people suffer, their businesses will suffer too. Everybody is at risk.
Bayanihan is not only just about individual unity, but it can also be described as corporate social responsibility. The media can be powerful enough in connecting the gap between public and private.
As for public officials, they may not be able to apply a simple bayanihan concept. The strength of the people has been taken for granted.
This tragedy should be part of the platform we need to demand from the presidential candidates. We need to ask them how they will prevent this from happening again. They should call the best engineers in the country, consult with the environmentalist groups and put all their heads together in one room, don’t come out until they can show us their blueprint.
We need to ask them to put our tax money where it’s intended to be…not in their pockets.
Correct ka dyan Bert tawa.
It’s good to see all these calls for a bit of the learning from all this to be applied properly. Perhaps there is something to be gained from this happening in the leadup to a presidential election.
Not to belittle the personal losses of so many in the aftermath of this disaster, I’d like to put a bit of perspective around this calamity and highlight that disasters surrounded by similar circumstances had, in the past, led to far more loss of life — close to 2,000 dead in 2006 in St. Bernard and 5,000 dead in 1991 in Ormoc, both of which are in the province of Leyte.
I highlight this in my recent piece “Cyclone Ondoy: A bit of perspective“, specifically in this excerpt:
AS such let us also reflect…
Let us as a people focus on what is TRULY IMPORTANT.
And what is it that is truly important? It seems to me that most Filipinos do not agree on what is “truly important” to them.
In Leyte, people are bribed during election and brothers are permitted to manage in the same jurisdiction. It is a normal and considered standard practice allowed by COMELEC or department incharge of regulating application of candidate without realizing it is illegal.The problem with dynasty is also NOT NEW, just like our environmental problem. Rule of law is too weak to prosecute illegal vote buying. These people have no fear . They have no restrictions to do things illegally. Most of them are not trained to manage people and how to treat customers. They think they are kings and the people must follow. They seem to forget that they are public SERVANTS. The people who were bought during an election may receive two packaged envelope, one from each party. When an individual is bribed during an election, the candidates from both parties have already undermined the democratic foundation of this country. Both parties are encouraging the people that vote buying is the only way to participate in democracy as long as they sell. The people then will be left with very little options. Worst, majority of the people is ignorant and has no proper education on voting rights and what democracy means. They don’t even understand that their underemployment is a function of their representatives. Many still think that it is God’s will so they go to church every Sunday, praying that God will send a husband to Saudi. When people are deprived of proper education, they will not understand that illegal logging in the mountains of Ormoc and Leyte was a conspiracy from conflicting interest between public and private and political dynasty, (like a senator is a partner of a logging company and the local representatives may have provided permit.)
After a disaster, no one will not take the responsibility except blame it to rainfall and climate change.
the many poor people of this country just don’t know the complexity. They must be protected, guided and be educated. It’s the cheapest thing that our government can do and we must demand it.
The media must be aggressive in reporting.
Benigno
read your urbandic def for ayn rand. lol. Should’ve mentioned her doobie smoking sessions with greenie also.
perhaps the other question we ask ourselves:
PAGKATAPOS AY ANO?
Yes, we have seen heroes. We have proven once again that bayanihan can come alive when the need arises.
And after we have passed through the catastrophe, have we changed as a nation? Or are we going to look and be back to our nation’s character of politicking and kanya-kanya system?
Bayani reportedly admits responsibility for the Manila flooding. That’s some spirit. Then Loren says its better to use her campaign money for helping the victims. That’s right. But in the end, let’s hope some prevention will be part of future projects.
Then there’s this Jacque Bermejo case, Marikina Dam hoax and other stuff popping up everywhere. Some things never change.
Easy to put blame on someone. And of course, heads must roll. In this case, however, as has always been the case, the heads that rolled weren’t theirs. Heads already rolled before blame could be put on somebody.
“Bayani reportedly admits responsibility for the Manila flooding. That’s some spirit.”-Chino F
Pretty potent spirit there, indeed. Maybe Bayani prayed for too much rain. He overprayed. Now he’s in a quandary what to do, heheh.
meaning bayani’s expertise is not applicable to our future. parang BF ko.. LOL
Bayani? By God, maybe things are starting to change.
“Then there’s this Jacque Bermejo case, Marikina Dam hoax and other stuff popping up everywhere. Some things never change.”
How about an “Ondoy relief effort” hoax? That’s a signal 5, for sure.
“Missing” 5 Billion Flood Control could make the difference? Maybe yes, maybe not. . . but for sure (if the FILIPINO VOICES article is true) the people in charge with the monies did not think twice that it would benefit them better so they could continue living their lavish lifestyle while leave others in misery and/or face death when calamity comes.
I guess, the “FEW” did not see Ontoy coming ha? Where is the 5 BILYONES na galing sa kaban ng bayan for the flood control project?
I wonder, ilan kayang buhay at ari-arian ang ma save ng 5 bilyon Flood control project if ever. . . ahhhh… to dream the imposible dream na naman sa isang kurap na society.
hi darby. the 5-billion is hyperlinked to the accomplishment report of the dpwh itself. they claim to have spent that much for flood control projects last year.
Hi sparksy,
Thank you for pointing this out.
Lesson learned:
See how important reading comprehension is. Darn it!
My bad. Hey, I have my disclaimer. One of this is I cannot really trust myself reading between lines, especially if my brain cells are clouded with the premise of “Kultura ng kurapsyon.” See how misguided I am.
Thanks sparksky. Hope I will not be sued from misrepresentation of the 5 bilyones project. Wala naman akong sinabing pangalan di ba unless Mr. Few ang pangalan then sabi pa, so Help me God na lang.
Kuala Lumpur implemented a US$5-billion flood-control project called SMART.
http://www.greendesignetc.net/transportation_07%28pdf%29/Porter,%20Kelly_SMART_paper_.pdf
The $5-billion does not eliminate flooding for the entire city.
http://www.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/A1Story20080430-62592.html
Pinas has the P5Billion CAMANAVA flood control budget. There was no line-item for removal of squatters along the Marikina, No line-item to widen or make deeper the Marikina.
The MA in the P5Billion CAMANAVA is MA-labon, not MA-rikina.