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IT came
like a thief in the night. The warnings were taken
lightly, as usual, and the skies never showed signs of
Mother Nature about to go berserk.
But when
Typhoon Frank exited the nation’s area of
responsibility, it left behind unimaginable disaster and
tragedy—“enormous losses and death by the hundreds,”
Iloilo City was mostly underwater, life was at a
standstill in many provinces, including many areas in
the metropolis, and thousands of cavans of precious rice
in NFA warehouses in Iloilo City were ruined by
floodwaters.
Going
around the flooded city, I inspected communities heavily
damaged by the typhoon, noting the lack of NFA rice in
the markets and also potable water in many areas. Many
affected residents have already packed designated
evacuation shelter areas, and almost all barangays were
without electricity. The storm struck with such
unexpected ferocity that people were taken by surprise.
In the face of such a stunning calamity, no amount of
preparedness can cope with Frank’s fury. What is best to
be done is to ensure that help comes promptly.
****
Why were
many people unprepared? Pagasa traced the erratic
movement of storm Frank, which changed course after
pounding Eastern Samar, shifting westward toward Panay
then straight to Mindoro and hitting squarely Metro
Manila. By changing course, it hit the Romblon area,
bashing the MV Princess of the Stars of Sulpicio Lines
with “waves as tall as mountains.” This is the fourth
time Sulpicio Lines lost a ship, together with thousands
of its passengers. Were Sulpicio officials, too,
unprepared? What is the official corporate policy of
Sulpicio Lines in times of stormy weather? Does it rely
on chance and false bravado? Are they more concerned
with the bottom line rather than the welfare of their
passengers? This time, who is to be blamed, and by whom?
Profits can be recouped, but lives lost are gone
forever.
****
The loss
of lives coming from the sinking of the Sulpicio
passenger ship and from other ships that, likewise, met
the same fate will reverberate in the lives of their
families for years to come. The country, too, will be
scarred by the destruction of many crops, which today is
estimated to reach more than P3.3 billion, This sets
back the rosy outlook, of the Department of Agriculture
just a few weeks ago, and will surely retard our efforts
to balance our rice supplies with expected demand after
the typhoon ruined thousands of harvested palay and rice
stocks, and, most important, thousands of hectares of
rice fields. Let us prepare for its future effects on
our lives for we alone can help weather the looming
shortages that are sure to come.
****
I have
been very critical about the way Philip Alston, the UN
special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings in the
country, reported on the Philippine situation a few
years back. I believed then, as I do now, that it was
not accurate and did not reflect the actual statistics
after holding meetings mostly with left-leaning and
anti-government groups. At the recent 8th session of the
Human Rights Council of the UN this June, however,
Alston submitted what impressed us as a fair and more
balanced report, after the government endeavored to take
Alston through the realities of CPP/NPA/NDF violations
and the workings of so-called “people’s courts” of the
communist group, and presented Alston with the true
efforts of the government in addressing extrajudicial
killings through Task Force 211, the task force against
political violence created by the President in 2007.
Alston’s
final report acknowledged the government’s efforts that
resulted in a two-thirds drop in the number of so-called
extrajudicial killings, and also brought to light the
continuing human-rights violations of the armed rebels.
The members of the Philippine delegation who were there
reported that the Alston report appeared to be more
balanced and fair to the Philippine government as
compared with its previous view.
After
the final report was read, Philippine Ambassador Erlinda
Basilio went on record to rebut many items in it, and
this emboldened 10 other countries to criticize various
aspects of the report concerning their specific
countries. Tourism Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor,
who was at the UN, reported that the session ended
without any resolution filed to continue the
investigation into the country’s extrajudicial killings,
which, as per diplomatic practice, puts an end to the
report. Amen. |
