Accountability would not be demanded if responsibility was understood: glamorizing acts of resiliency is a cliche that needs to stop.
The Philippines experienced a myriad of disasters from the start of 2020, with Typhoon Ulysses being the most recent. The country is routinely hit by strong typhoons annually but the strong floods that swamped Marikina, Rizal, Cagayan, and other parts of the country on Nov. 12 only showed yet again the government's lack of action for disaster preparedness.
In a National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) report last Nov. 17, 2020, the death toll due to Typhoon Ulysses reached 73.
According to a Commission on Audit (COA) report dated Sept. 30, flooding in metro areas could have been avoided or alleviated if the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) finished major flood control projects planned for 2018 and 2019.
The COA report furthered that 13 flood control projects worth P97.5 million that were funded under the 2018 budget remain uncompleted as of end-2019. The uncompleted projects included drainage rehabilitation/improvement in Manila, Makati, Quezon City, and Marikina.
In its defense, the MMDA cited that there were alleged delays in the issuance of necessary permits—i.e., for traffic control and excavation—from local government units, barangays, and concerned agencies that hampered the "speedy implementation of the projects."
If these aforementioned projects were finished in their set completion time, massive destruction could have been avoided. The lives of 73 resilient Filipino people could have been spared.
A viral post by the West Visayas State University publication said that “Through the years, we have seen how Filipino's resiliency has become over-exploited and romanticized by many and has been taken advantage of the people in power. Resiliency should not be a reminder that “there is more to life than suffering," but a wake up call for the government to strive hard and shape up…”.
Launched by then President Benigno Simeon Aquino III in July 2012, Project Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazard (NOAH) was a response to the call for a more accurate, integrated, and responsive disaster prevention and mitigation system. After receiving local and international awards for its effectiveness in real-time weather data and hazard maps, Project NOAH was defunded in 2017.
Ignorance looks good on kids, but it will never sit well on leaders who are responsible for the welfare of the many. The attention that is due to Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) is more crucial than ever: the consequences that man has brought upon his abuse of nature cannot be shoved in the corner anymore.
The Filipinos are getting louder, calling for the duty of the government to focus on mitigating and preventing calamities rather than merely reacting and responding to disasters as they happen. Calamities are not intent on delaying what is long overdue: it is only a matter of time before we get to see the supreme wrath of our actions.
Speak while you still live: no one can hear you when you are six feet under.
Words by Lorille Antoinette Mata Caricature by Maria Luciyel Tumulak
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