Duterte’s Absenteeism: MIA President in Times of National Emergency
By Klaidel Hope A. Concepcion
His believers and fanatics look to him as a father. With the same line of thinking, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is expected to be present when the country is facing challenging circumstances, such as Bagyong Rolly, which first made landfall in the Philippines on November 1, Sunday. #NasaanAngPangulo trended on Twitter, as Filipinos expected him at the top of things as we battled the super typhoon simultaneously with a continuously ravaging pandemic.
Why is it so important for our country’s chief executive to be visible and present during what was tagged Earth’s strongest typhoon this year?
According to the Palace, via Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, there is nothing wrong with asking about the President’s whereabouts, but in his point of view, it was done with malice. Roque claims that PRRD was waiting for the storm to pass and that, in fact, all government agencies and departments relevant to emergency response were ready. Duterte said in a live public briefing last Monday that he went home to mourn dead relatives, emphasizing the lengths of travel a “probinsyano” like him has to go through for holidays such as All Souls’ Day. He reasoned, did people expect him to stand on “Cimatu’s white ‘sand’” in Manila Bay to show that he is present? He claims he was doing work remotely in Davao.
Before arriving in Manila on Monday, as if to silence critics, Duterte conducted an aerial inspection of the damage caused by Bagyong Rolly. He also visited Guinobatan, Albay. The ever-present-with-the-president Senator Bong Go was there, too. And he was sure to take photos while they were conducting the aerial inspection and when they landed. He was noted by the media telling concerned local agencies to restore services to affected areas and immediately give aid to the people.
Prior to this caring and everywhere-he-is-needed image of the President, he skipped two important media briefings for the super typhoon. Roque further defended Duterte, “araw ng linggo naman iyon.” Go was enthusiastic to add, “Hindi ibig sabihin na nasa Mindanao ang Pangulo ay hindi siya nagtatrabaho. 24/7 nagtatrabaho ang Pangulo.” Senator Richard Gordon was quick to add his piece, too, “Each one to his own taste and judgment… Even God said you should rest on the 7th day.”
Clearly, after the public outcry when Duterte was nowhere to be seen, and haven’t heard from in days, his alalays-allies were keen to defend his misdemeanor. And when it was “logical” to come back, they made sure that the aerial inspection and being on ground zero garnered significant attention. This takes away public and media attention, which could have been focused on relief operations, donation drives, and real-time coverage of what’s happening on ground. We shouldn’t have to be looking for our President in times of crisis; the country’s chief executive should have it in himself to assure people. Assurance of the country’s disaster and relief preparedness, coming directly from his mouth and not from his alalays-allies.
Despite claims of preparedness, Rolly left an indelible mark of wide-spread damages in affected provinces. Unicef reports that over 700,000 children were affected by the typhoon. This means that they may be unable to continue their schooling at this time, as electricity is down in their localities, and so are telecommunication signals. NDRRMC’s official death toll count is at 20 people. People may say that such numbers are nothing compared to Yolanda, but these are not mere statistics but people. One life lost is one life too many. As of yesterday, three people are still missing. But this may be under-reported because San Francisco Village in the town of Guinobatan, Albay was buried due to mud and rock flow during the typhoon. Some people have left their homes while some stayed. Thus being declared missing until they are rescued or their bodies are found. The mortality count rises slowly as the government reasons that the validation process, as with COVID-19, is lengthy. Public structural damages are at 5.76B — this does not include people’s homes and properties yet.
With the above-mentioned amount of damage and lives lost and made vulnerable, where is the preparedness? With people calling out to the government on television and radio coverages to help them, where is the supposed ease in the roll-out of relief operations?
Of course, disaster risk reduction and preparedness don’t happen overnight, or even in a week. It is in continuous checking if buildings and houses comply with our national building code. It is in making sure that highly susceptible areas do not become residential. It is in not handing out business permits to businessmen in light of self-interest. It is in leaders who are not only present and visible but in words and action, and hands-on in assuring that the government will take care of its people. Be it in the face of a super typhoon or a pandemic — or in our current case, both. We should not settle for less in our leaders, much so our president. Being present in a time of crisis is bare minimum.
