Enough with resiliency; It’s time to demand accountability
Written by Coleene Villanueva— November 14, 2020
Two days ago, a familiar nightmare shook the Philippines after Typhoon Ulysses brought back an Ondoy-like experience, submerging a large part of Metro Manila and Calabarzon in flood waters, leaving damaged properties costing over Php 4.3 billion, and forcing more than 350,000 families to flee their homes. But more than these formidable losses and destruction, Typhoon Ulysses also took the lives of 14 Filipinos based on the initial records. Just a week before this, Super Typhoon Rolly also swept the provinces of Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Bicol, and Batangas which claimed 24 lives and left at least Php14 billion worth of damages in agriculture and infrastructures.
“If the government truly cared… we would have been free from all these ordeals we are experiencing.”
While both of these catastrophes were happening, the government, especially the President, was nowhere to be felt and found. Hashtags such as #NasaanAngPangulo and #UselessPH have trended all over social media as netizens expressed their criticisms towards the government’s incompetence in handling climate emergencies. And yet, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, commends the Filipino people; he says, their preparedness has actually lessened the number of people who could have died over the past five days.. In a concurring statement House Speaker Lord Alan Velasco adds that, although Ulysses was strong, “Filipinos will prove themselves stronger as we did during Ondoy and all other devastating typhoons, including the recent Quinta and Rolly.”
This is another tale of exploiting Filipino resiliency. The remarks made by both Roque and Velasco normalize the government’s incompetence in handling climate emergencies, and subsequently completes the reification of our long-time societal and environmental issues. The Philippines, being a hotbed of disasters, has always had a need for a proper risk and disaster response. As more extreme weather events are anticipated in the following decades, the government should start focusing on strengthening our disaster management systems. However, what we have received for the past couple of years from this administration is what caused all these pitfalls we are currently suffering from.
“Failure, incompetency, and inconsistency are the staples of the Duterte legacy. All we get are lack of solutions, ass-licking, ill-preparedness, and constant insensitive and moronic remarks.”
Slashing of funds
In 2017, the Department of Science and Technology’s Project NOAH or Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards, a flagship disaster management initiative which provides real-time weather data and high-resolution flood, landslide, and storm surge hazard maps for communities, was brought to a complete halt due to “lack of funds”.
“To undertake disaster science research and development, advance the use of cutting edge technologies, and recommend innovative information services in government’s disaster prevention and mitigation efforts,” is Project NOAH’s mission as made available on their website. It promises “to improve disaster management capacity of local governments and assure homeland security by reducing casualties and property loss from extreme hazard events.”
The project was created in 2012, following the orders from Former President Benigno Aquino III to put in place a program that is “more accurate, integrated, and responsive disaster prevention and mitigation system, especially in high-risk areas”. However, it has been cleared that since Aquino’s administration, the team behind the initiative has already been told by mid-level officials that there are no funds for Project NOAH. These officials remain to be part of the current administration.
Meanwhile last December 2019, the Congress had reduced the calamity fund proposed for this year’s national budget by P4 Billion. Duterte has initially requested for P20 billion but was reduced to P16 billion; P5 billion of which was re-allocated for “for recovery, rehabilitation, reconstruction, aide and relief projects in the administrative regions of Region 11 (Davao area) and Region 12 (Socsargen) affected by the earthquakes in the last quarter of 2019,” — a move frowned upon by some budget conferees as there was no need to allocate quake-related money for the two regions since this can be covered by the 2019 budget which amounts to P20 billion.
Not another department
Props to the President for demanding climate justice during the 37th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday, the same day Ulysses has struck the country. However, while we wait for rich countries to step up their efforts to curb the effects of climate change and extend a helping hand to poorer countries, we should do our part but certainly not through the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR).
To fill in significant disaster gaps by equipping authorities with resources and a streamlined policy in dealing with “natural disasters” and improve communication with and among local government units (LGUs) is the rationale behind DDR. If pushed through, DDR would have the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils (LDRRMCs) abolished. This will remove the right of non-government entities to be represented in local decision-making processes in addressing disasters which means no representation for those affected by disasters in risk reduction to recovery planning. Furthermore, the creation of this department will lead to overlap in roles and responsibilities which will not only slow down the process, but cause confusion which may weaken local capacities.
On top of this, the proposal focuses too much on enhancing disaster response and recovery, placing less emphasis on cost-effective actions specifically risk and disaster reduction and prevention. The best pathway to heighten long-term national and local resilience; minimize impact of disasters; and ensure security towards a sustainable living is through disaster preparedness and prevention. We cannot expect Filipinos to just recover disaster after disaster when it is clear as day that it is the most vulnerable and poorest that are always hit the hardest. We should demand the government to take proactive and precautionary action by developing a comprehensive contingency and climate emergency plan that would prevent and mitigate disasters, not rehabilitate and respond to damages after they have happened. Afterall, prevention is better than cure.
The strong approach is local
Instead of adding another bureaucratic body, to strengthen and empower local capacities is the best approach of disaster response.This is because LGUs are the heart of quick and ground-level response; they are our first line of defense against disasters. Therefore, there should be a genuine participation of local stakeholders in national decision-making processes involving disaster prevention, preparedness, and management. Since they are the first to respond to the needs within their areas, it is necessary to build their capacities to manage risk and disaster.
Pasig City, for instance, is being lauded for its precautionary approach towards the situation. A day before the typhoon’s landfall, Pasig DRRMO and Public Information Office have been giving updates and evacuation reminders to their constituents, reducing the number of those that needed rescue during the typhoon. Relief goods have been immediately packaged and prepared on the same day the typhoon hit. As soon as the typhoon went away, an Incident Management Team was deployed to conduct a rapid damage and needs assessment.
On the other hand, Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro, despite being hands on before and during the onslaught, still admits to their shortcomings in responding to the impact of Ulysses in their city due to lack of resources. With evacuation centers already full and more and more people pleading for rescue, they asked assistance from the national government which took a while to arrive, forcing them to tap private groups such as Philippine Red Cross to request rescue teams and borrow rescue trucks. Imagine the difference it would make if these LGUS were empowered and given financial and technical support by the national government. Imagine what would happen if good governance, such as of Pasig and Marikina, is combined with overflowing resources.
“…we should start being more aggressive in demanding accountability because we, Filipinos, deserve to prosper. Not just survive.”
Aim for long-term solutions
Urgent calls to save and protect Sierra Madre, the longest mountain range known as the “backbone of Luzon”, have made its rounds on social media. Sierra Madre serves as a massive wall and natural shield that hampers the impact of tropical cyclones and typhoons from the Pacific. It houses at least 68 protected areas including parks, watershed forest reserves, marine reserves, landscapes, and seascapes. However, it is going through a process of unprecedented human-induced environmental changes. With illegal loggings, mining activities, and road constructions taking place in Sierra Madre, we are bound to lose a significant part of our biodiversity.
One of these human-induced changes is the controversial Kaliwa Dam. Built upon the premise of addressing the water shortage in Metro Manila, the project has been given a priority status in Duterte’s Build Build Build Program and is reported to have quietly pushed through despite active attempts to stop it. Its construction is expected to displace the indigenous peoples of Remontado and Dumagat and would place at least 100,000 families in imminent danger. It would also affect some 12,000 hectares of forest with more than 172 recorded plant species, three critically endangered species, 31 endangered species, and 240 vulnerable species.
Instead of this, the government should replace its damming projects with more sustainable solutions such as raising awareness on rainwater collection modules and other water conservation measures. To damage our environment is the least kind of solution we need. What we need are environmentally sound and well researched decisions for the common good.
In another significant note, sustainable environmental engineering and designs are key in better, more efficient, and long-term disaster prevention and reduction solutions. What makes our neighboring countries Japan and Singapore good at responding to natural disasters is their ability to learn from past experiences and build their nation to survive in case the same disasters happen. As fellow countries that sit on both the Pacific typhoon belt and seismic ring of fire, these countries’ governments have recognized what this would mean and decided to take action by building infrastructures that can withstand whatever nature throws at it. Japan is a worldwide role model for their earthquake-proof infrastructures and flood control systems, among others. Yet one could point out that these countries are rich and the Philippines is not, but we have to realize that these countries were able to afford state-of-the-art technologies that help them prosper because they know how to value and nurture their resources, and properly allocate them in things that matter and would uplift the lives of their people.
All that being said, this administration could have focused on reviving and investing more in disaster-mitigation and reduction projects instead of cutting disaster-related funds and giving importance to beautification and unnecessary projects. They should have been listening to climate scientists and research-based solutions, and actively supporting and advocating for sustainable environmental designs and engineering to ensure long-term protection and security from hazards and disasters. They should have been working closely with the local units and acquire the trust of their people by showing a sense of urgency and empathy. If the government truly cared, they should have been doing these and we would have been free from all these ordeals we are experiencing.
Failure, incompetency, and inconsistency are the staples of the Duterte legacy. All we get are lack of solutions, ass-licking, ill-preparedness, and constant insensitive and moronic remarks. Rather than striving hard to serve us better, we get blamed for not surviving hard enough instead. With this, we should start being more aggressive in demanding accountability because we, Filipinos, deserve to prosper. Not just survive.
