Everyone, I am sure of it, has seen the photos and the images of Philippine communities submerged in water, of people coping with the destruction of their homes, of the widespread damage to agriculture and fisheries by heavy rains, strong winds, landslides and the raging waters of its floods. Everyone is keenly aware of the rising number of deaths and missing people caused by the rampage of Tropical Storm Khristine/Trami. Everyone who has relatives and friends back home have called, texted, gone on social media to ask if Khristine has hit their areas. And if everyone is safe. And if everyone is dry.
Khristine is a severe tropical storm. It is neither a tsunami nor a storm surge. It is the 11th typhoon to hit the Philippines in 2024. Filipinos know that typhoons hit the country every year, an average of 20 typhoons every year! And we know that Khristine, once it has destroyed everything good and beautiful in its deadly path, will be gone only to have another typhoon ram the Philippines again.
Just like in past disasters and calamities, our kababayan were in action. Disaster response teams of people’s organizations, faith-based groups, citizen’s sectoral organizations were activated and got going – in collective reflex actions across the Philippines to move and act quickly to help. Why? Because to wait for the Marcos Jr government and his agencies to get their act together and move promptly and effectively would be to waste precious time and lives. People needed to take action rather than watch the flood waters rise.
Social media posted an insert of Marcos, Jr boasting at the last SONA, “mahigit limang libo limang daang flood control project ang natapos na at marami pang iba ang kasalukuyang ginagawa sa ibang bansa” while footage showed people walking in moving floods, in waist-deep water where there used to be roads. And netizens shared the Tiktok exposing the dumbfounded response of Marcos Jr to the news that “Sir, out of 600 barangays in Naga, 300 are fully submerged, unpassable by cars and in need of rubber boats and 6×6 trucks to evacuate people….they are in desperate need, hindi kaya ng local government. “
“Anong gagawin natin?” asked Marcos Jr. while scratching his head!!! That response has gone viral and sums up what the government response is all about! Hindi alam ang gagawin!
He was quoted by ABS-CBN on Oct 23: “I’m feeling a little helpless here, kasi wala tayong magagawa, all we can do is sit tight, wait, hope, pray that there is not too much damage, that there are no casualties, and go in as soon and as quickly as possible.”
Typhoon Khristine/Trami is not the first typhoon to hit the Philippines, kaya dapat mas handa tayo, di ba? In an ideal world of disaster preparedness, it would have made perfect sense for the government and its agencies to be prepared for disasters and emergencies, ready to deploy people, resources, boats, amphibian trucks, food, water, clothes, ready to evacuate people when necessary, znd at a moment’s notice – since everybody knows typhoons will hit the country every year. The Marcos Jr. government has been found wanting and it has to be made accountable.
The damages brought by typhoons and tropical storms like Khristine happen and can be explained simply, like this popular post made by netizens:
Bakit bumabaha? Walang puno.
Bakit walang puno? Dahil sa kanila!
And “kanila” refers to the people in power, the ruling elite and politicians, the big comprador class and the big landlords. And these are the rich and the powerful who put profits before people, never mind if raging floods happen! And who have pocketed government funds that should have gone to people’s projects and services.
The Rappler editorial on Oct 28 reads: “Ang big picture ay ito: ang mga mapanirang aktibidad tulad ng quarrying, mining, at logging ay may long-term irreversible effects. Pinapalala nito ang erosion na may papel sa landslide. Isang ginahasang kalikasan ang ipamamana natin sa salinlahi kapag nagpatuloy ito.”
Amirah “Mek” Lidasan, the Moro woman activist who will run for the Senate in 2025 under the Makabayan slate, echoed this when she said: “Matindi ang epekto ng mga bagyo dahil winawasak ng mga plantasyon, minahan, at dam ang ating mga lupaing ninuno.”
Indeed, the people are fed up and are tired of being resilient, what they demand is accountability from the people in power.
To help the communities devastated by Typhoon Khristine, please contact Migrante Canada at [email protected] or the Consortium for People’s Development -Disaster Response at [email protected]
