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A wag
once suggested that ours is a country of masochists.
Major disasters kill people in the hundreds and/or even
in thousands, yet, this country hardly has a decent
disaster-management policy. That we, as a people, never
seem to learn from one disaster to another is true,
especially when the nature of response is taken into
keen consideration.
An
assortment of typhoons, storms, tropical depressions and
other weather disturbances visit the nation annually,
triggering huge winds, heavy rainfall, floods and
landslides that kill and maim people, render them
homeless and destroy crops and property. Since the
country is situated in the “ring of fire” in the Pacific
Rim, earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis happen when
least expected.
Drought, volcanic eruptions, mass pollution and
poisoning and epidemics, whether natural or man-induced,
occur with certain regularity. In certain parts of
Mindanao, where a mini-war continues to wage for
decades, disaster has become a natural fixture as
civilians get caught in the crossfire and the ensuing
adverse effects like famine.
Yet,
the frequent mode of emergency response, whether
official or otherwise, is to bring them to evacuation
centers, most likely the public- school buildings,
provide them with used clothing and feed them with tons
of sardines and noodles. The postdisaster period is most
burdensome, as these victims are virtually left to fend
for themselves. Seldom do the authorities initiate a
more professional approach to disasters.
The
lack of disaster management (or emergency management) is
obvious, as seen by the almost complete absence of
official efforts to reduce disaster risks, mitigate the
development of hazards into disasters, initiate
appropriate emergency responses and conduct postdisaster
rehabilitation plans and programs for the victims and
their families. Almost everything is on an ad-hoc basis.
It
appears that disaster management has yet to become a
full-pledged discipline in a country that is one of the
most frequent victims of disasters. It is something to
be inculcated deeply in the mind of every citizen, or
from the national down in the smallest barangay.
It
appears that disaster management has yet to be elevated
into national policy. The country does not have a
national disaster-response plan and program. Neither has
it incorporated disaster or emergency management into a
much broader crisis-management program.
There
is no national-disaster czar, whose job is to develop
and oversee a national disaster-response plan and
program of action that includes disaster mitigation and
preparation, quick responses, postdisaster
rehabilitation programs and integration with other
global programs and disaster agencies.
What
the nation has is the National Disaster Coordinating
Council (NDCC), whose job is simply to coordinate the
various agencies that deal with disasters that develop
into calamities. Since its job is essentially mere
coordination, the NDCC has been limited to evacuating
and feeding disaster victims. The more compelling
aspects of disaster preparedness, which are mitigation
and post-disaster rehabilitation, are not given due
emphasis.
To
describe the NDCC as an anachronism is an
understatement. In fact, it has become almost
ineffective to deal with the calamitous impact of every
disaster. It has even become part and parcel of the
national malaise, which is the culture of masochism in
the country.
In an
era when disasters could evolve into global calamities,
the country has no choice but to come out with more
realistic and adaptive emergency plans and programs of
action. Global warming will continue to exacerbate and
bring unpredictable weather disturbances of
multinational magnitude. Polar caps are melting and
seawater level has been rising. Freshwater supplies are
getting scarcer for the increasing population. Food
security is also becoming a problem.
The
development of this disaster program will define the
nation’s future.
Talking of disasters, the National Telecommunications
Commission’s (NTC) failure to issue a cease-and-desist
order (CDO) against a foreign firm that does what could
be regarded an illegal business in the country, or
render a judgment on the issue to prevent the firm from
doing further harm to economy, could be regarded a major
disaster, too. In brief, it’s a disaster of governance.
David
Michael Amparo is a private citizen who has lodged a
complaint against the alleged illegal operations of Zed
Philippines Inc., but little did he know that the mere
effort to bring the issue to the proper government
agency, which is the NTC, would be a major disaster.
Fact:
Amparo has filed for the fifth time a motion for a CDO
against Zed, but the NTC, especially the hearing officer
handling the case, has not moved an inch.
In his
new motion, Amparo could only bring to the NTC’s
attention the findings of a recent congressional
inquiry, which confirms Zed’s illegal operations in the
country.
Mr.
Amparo, FYI, official inaction is already official
action. The fact that the NTC has not issued a CDO or
rendered a judgment on your petition speaks volumes of
the kind of disaster in governance that we have. There’s
nothing new under the sun. We never run out of
disasters. We, as a people, are masochists by nature.
E-mail: telecom_digest@yahoo.com |
