typhoon
Plans, Funds Needed For Disaster Management
Senator Loren Legarda recently emphasized on the need to allocate sufficient funds and prioritize the implementation of action plans for disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) and climate change adaptation and mitigation (CCAM).
Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, said climate experts have already warned of the grim scenario that nations, especially in Southeast Asia, could face due to the warming climate.
“The newest IPCC Report states that seas will rise by 26-82 centimeters by 2100. Sea level rise is a great threat to small island nations, and for an archipelago like the Philippines, it would mean more floods. We have already seen and experienced the wrath of Yolanda, how the surge of seawater engulfed communities. We cannot prevent a storm, but we can save our communities from devastation if we actually fund and implement our disaster and climate resilience plans without delay,” said Legarda.
“For instance, under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, every province, city and municipality should have a Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (LDRRMO), and every barangay should establish a Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee. Do our LGUs have these local DRRM offices? Are local DRRM officers equipped and trained to carry out their tasks? These local DRRM offices should be created to institutionalize arrangements and measures for reducing disaster risks, and enhance disaster preparedness and response capabilities at all levels,” she added.
The Senator added that with the threat of rising sea levels, LGUs must be ready to confront the worsening floods. To do this, LGUs must update their data on flood hazards and vulnerabilities, invest in flood protection and mitigation, identify safe land for families to live in and implement the solid waste management law at full speed.
“We have seen enough tragedy. Studies that warn us of our vulnerabilities have been coming in every year. Nobody can say we have not been warned. It is time disaster risk reduction and resilience efforts as well as climate adaptation and mitigation measures are given a fair share of the national budget and serious attention by our government and by every citizen,” Legarda concluded.
What the Fuss
By Anna Liza Gaspar
“Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city”
~From the song God of this City
I HEARD this song the first time at a breakfast celebrating the 38th anniversary of the Philippine National Prayer Breakfast Foundation, Inc. with Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno as the guest of honor.
This song is pregnant with faithful hope in these difficult times as the people affected by Typhoon Yolanda are still in the process of rebuilding. It also reminded me of the unbelievable acts of kindness I witness in one of the times I volunteered in packing relief goods for the survivors of Yolanda.
Equivalent to a General
I didn’t plan on actually helping out at any of the relief packing centers. I told myself I’ve done my share last August when I together with two very hard working people, my friend’s driver and house help, helped pack more than 300 bags of relief goods for the people of Biñan, Laguna which we distributed in the same week.
If they award military ranks for relief goods packing skills, mine would be equivalent to a general. Imagine that. People calling me equivalent-to-a-general Gaspar. Fancy.
In the social media networks, calls to donate cash, used clothes, food items, vehicles and drivers to bring survivors arriving at Villamore Airbase to their relatives’ place in Metro Manila and even as far as Baguio, time to help take care of children at the temporary day care center at the base, and time to help relief goods for the millions of Filipinos affected by Yolanda were uploaded so frequently I couldn’t help but notice how much help is needed.
Because of this and the selflessness of a Korean, whom I wrote about below, inspired me that I finally decided to check what the fuss is all about. I went to the gymnasium of Villamor Airbase to help pack relief goods and to meet this person.
Balikbayan to Help
Before I went to the gym, I first checked out the volunteer center at the grandstand, where evacuees from Leyte and Samar arrive via C-130. This sounds really smart, but actually I got lost. I got off at the wrong volunteer stop. But being the nosy person that I am, I used the opportunity to check how everyone is doing.
I chatted up one of the ‘main’ volunteers, if a newbie has a question this person asks one of these ‘main’ volunteers. They’ve been volunteering at the site for several days.
Her name is Maria Yrene Calaguian. This lovely lady has an even lovelier heart. She arrived on November 17 from Dubai where she works and planned to stay until November 30. Though she doesn’t have relatives affected by the horrifying devastation wrought by Yolanda, she was so moved by the singular destruction that she came home just to help out.
After the day she arrived in the country, she’s been volunteering every day. Her generosity is exemplary. Imagine the cost of a round-trip ticket to Dubai and what she gave up for a two-week off from work in exchange for the challenges of volunteering.
When I asked her why she’s here rather than merely donating what is costing her to come and stay for two weeks, Maria told me, “Everything cannot be resolved by money.” I agree. Money is not everything. Most of the time, people are needed more. Right now volunteer mechanics, carpenters, and plumbers are needed in the rebuilding efforts. Please go to bit.ly/opinyonvolunteers to know more.
A Korean for the Philippines
The Korean Government and various Korean groups have contributed so much to the relief operations, but the action of a Korean inspired me more than anything to go to Villamor Airbase and help repack goods. When I heard what he has done, I told myself, “If he could why have I not?”
His name is Hyun-bae Park. It is his first time travelling to the Philippines and he came here just to help pack relief goods, in his words, “To carry rice.”
At the gym, the relief packing operations supervised by the Development Bank of the Philippines, run like a well-oiled machine. Just how highly competent bankers operate a bank – efficient and as precise as clock work. In each sack of relief goods, there are four bags. Each bag contain 6 kilos of rice, 3 cans of sardines, 3 cans of corned beef, 8 pieces of coffee, and 8 pieces of noodles. Everything is packed into 1 bag except the 6 kilos of rice which is packed separately. A volunteer carries the packed rice to the final assembly point, to the people putting together a sack of relief goods.
Hyun-bae helped carried rice every day since she stepped off the plane which flew him from Korean.
When I asked him what has he seen in the few days since he arrived, he told me, “Just Villamor Airbase and Malate where I stay.”
Who can’t be inspired by the selfless action of this man?
These are just two of the unbelievable acts of kindness I witnessed during my short-time at the Airbase.
I also met people from Adarna Publishing and HR Team Asia, Inc. who were given free time by their bosses to volunteer in any of the relief operations. What is amazing is that these companies are paying them for their time to volunteer. It is not taken out from their vacation or sick leave days. When I run a company, surely I will do the same.
With these so many people I met and talked to in the few hours I was at Villamor, you may be asking yourself, did Liza actually volunteered?
Don’t worry, I managed to helped pack several boxes of canned sardines. Don’t forget my equivalent-to-a-general skills in packing relief goods – I commandeered one volunteer and we formed an assembly line of packing canned sardines. I grabbed a bag of relief goods already filled with 3 cans of corned beef, the commandeered volunteer puts in 3 cans of sardines, and I set aside the bad for another volunteer to bring to the noodle-packing section. I am proud to say that we packed twice as past than if we worked individually.
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Liza fancies herself a writer, but what she wants to do is to actually spend all her time reading what others have written. In the meantime she fashions herself as a personal finance enthusiast. Visit her Web site at thegirlninja.com, email her at liza@thegirlninja.com, or follow her at http://www.facebook.com/annalizagaspar.
Are We Being Punished?
By Erick San Juan
“THE Lord has kept in reserve for a mighty typhoon to rise up against six lands. God’s anger will come upon the islands of Samar and Leyte. A huge typhoon is planned to come over there. There will be disasters through flood.”After reading (again) this paper which was given to me by Marinduque Former Governor Aris Lecaros and kept for over seven months now, it still gives me the goose bumps after realizing what had happened in Central Visayas, Samar and Leyte mostly hit by super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). This document, written and read by Prophet Vincent Selvakumar in April 11, 2013 at the Widen King’s healing prayer congregation at Cuneta Astrodome are reminders to us as a nation – ‘terrible judgments over the Philippines if the nation does not repent and turn to God.’The present leadership has gone through a lot for the past months, disaster after disaster, natural and man-made.
Scandals left and right, in and out the Presidential loop plus the problems involving our neighbor countries that we haven’t resolve yet.Are we being punished as a nation? I have been religiously helping this administration by my frequent advice and warnings through my radio program, my articles and through people I know who are close to President (Noynoy). As an observer of events and as one who is exposed to people’s views and sentiments. Like I always say that we should help this or any administration for whatever bad things that will happen, especially if all of us will be directly affected. But like any other normal people, sometimes we asked ourselves – is the President listening to us, his BOSS?
Haiti Earthquake and Haiyan
We, Filipinos have to be on the lookout for a possible outcome of history repeating itself or people repeating history. What had happened in Haiti might happen here.According to the report of BILL QUIGLEY and AMBER RAMANAUSKAS (How the International Community Failed Haiti): “Despite an outpouring of global compassion, some estimate as high as $3 billion in individual donations and another $6 billion in governmental assistance, too little has changed. Part of the problem is that the international community and non-government organizations (Haiti has sometimes been called the Republic of NGOs) has bypassed Haitian non-governmental agencies and the Haitian government itself.
The Center for Global Development analysis of where the money went concluded that overall. Less than 10% went to the government of Haiti and less than 1% went to Haitian organizations and businesses. A full one-third of the humanitarian funding for Haiti was actually returned to donor countries to reimburse them for their own civil and military work in the country and the majority of the rest went to international NGOs and private contractors.With hundreds of thousands of people still displaced, the international community has built less than 5000 new homes.
Despite the fact that crime and murder are low in Haiti (Haiti had a murder rate of 6.9 of every hundred thousand, while New Orleans has a rate of 58), huge amounts of money are spent on a UN force which many Haitians do not want. The annual budget of the United Nations “peacekeeping” mission, MINUSTAH for 2012-2013 or $644 million would pay for the construction of more than 58,000 homes at $11,000 per home.There are many stories of projects hatched by big names in the international community into which millions of donated dollars were poured only to be abandoned because the result was of no use to the Haitian people. For example, an international organization created a model housing community in Zoranje.
A two million dollar project built 60 houses which now sit abandoned according to Haiti Grassroots Watch.”Actually, there are still more events coming as prophesized by Prophet Selvakumar that will put this nation into more problems. This time it involve diseases. Our country (as prophesized) will be the center for a new kind of disease that will later on spread to the rest of the world. Is this prophecy coincides with the possible widespread ‘medical assistance’ that the United Nations has extended to our poor fellowmen through vaccines?
Again, in Haiti, the poor children were used as guinea pigs for cholera vaccines.The aim of the much-touted new vaccination campaign is to inoculate 100,000 Haitians — mostly children — with 200,000 doses of a vaccine called Shanchol, at $1.85 per dose. Development of Shanchol was financed by the Gates Foundation, and its manufacture is by an Indian company called Shantha Biotechnics. Less than a month ago, Shantha Biotechnics still lacked the WHO approval required for UN agencies to buy the vaccine, because the WHO has continued to argue that cholera vaccines are unnecessary. Miraculously, Shanchol was quickly “pre-qualified” by the WHO on the 29th of September 2013.Despite the claims that the vaccine will alleviate the cholera in Haiti, hardly anything is known about the effects of the vaccines on endemic cholera.
So this vaccination campaign is actually an experiment designed to test just this, and the Haitian children will be the guinea pigs.Parents who agree to submit their children to this campaign will be taking a big chance. Many problems, including deaths, from vaccination campaigns, because vaccines are notorious for shortcomings such as contamination of lots.
(By Dady Chery | Source: Haiti Chery. See also: Farmer relieves himself on Haiti’s dying cholera victims)
Are we going to sit and wait until such man-made disaster will cause havoc again to our poor nation? Forewarned is forearmed. Let us all be vigilant and pray harder that this country’s leaders will lead us all to safety.
The Deluge and Its Apocalyptic Aftermath
By Atty. Salvador Panelo
THE most callous of men did not escape the torrent of emotions that engulf them upon seeing the devastation, wrought by the super typhoon “Yolanda” known internationally as storm, “Haiyan”, the worst typhoon or storm to hit a country in world history, as shown in video clips on television news – depicted in newspaper photographs, and described in terrifying graphic detail, by those who witnessed and survived the rampaging storm surge and floods that swept away thousands of men, women and children, sending them to their sudden deaths; seriously injuring and disabling thousands more, and more than a thousand persons either missing or dead; the ferocious waters that swept away hundreds of vehicles that cross their path to God knows where; the powerful wind running at 234 kilometers per hour that dismantled houses, blown away rooftops, broke window and door glasses; and uprooted trees that careened into different directions; and the cataclysmic force that literally flattened and obliterated entire cities and towns in the Eastern Visayas.
The apocalyptic aftermatch of the deluge was reminiscent of the holocaust in Japan when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were atomic bombed by the United States in World War II, the atomic bomb was equivalent to twenty thousand (20,000) tons of TNT, killing thousands of Japanese and flattening the two (2) cities. The post-holocaust in Tacloban City and the neighboring tours reminds us of Hurricane Katrina, recorded to be the “deadliest and most destructive Atlantic tropical cyclone of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season”, said to be “the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States.” “At least 1,833 people died in the Hurricane and subsequent floods”, “with total property damage at $108 billion (2005 USD)”. The tragedy in that part of our country recalled the April 11, 2011 7.1 earthquake tsunami in Tohuku, Japan, that brought about “13,135 fatalities, 12,143 or 925%” of which “died by drowning.”
The extent of the physical damage and the number of lives lost brought about by the killer typhoon “Yolanda” and the storm surge, including the injuries inflicted on the multitudes by the storm, were totally unexpected by both the national and local governments, this despite the country’s experience of being hit regularly by typhoons, one of the worsts of which prior to the present one was Typhoon Ondoy that flooded most part of Metro Manila.
The days subsequent to the landfall of Typhoon Yolanda and the storm surge saw the unprecedented magnitude of damage to life and property in the areas affected.
Tacloban City was – and still is, a pitiful sight of destruction. Cadavers littered the streets, other corpses were found inside their homes or covered by debris, even as their relatives wailed over their loss – while other loved ones pull over the pile of dismantled and shattered houses, as they searched for dead bodies.
Many survivors who went thru the harrowing ordeal of clinging to dear lives – stunned, and momentarily – perhaps permanently – deprived of their sanity – walked like zombies while others limped aimlessly.
The resulting hunger of the victims and the lack of food supply – plus the clothes that went with the rushing floods – triggered the start by the survivors of emptying the groceries, supermarts, and restaurants of food items to feed their hungry stomachs and to quench their thirst – giving rise to an opportunity for some brigands and detainees who escaped from jails to take advantage of a calamity to loot all business establishments of their merchandise and wares.
There was no authority to enforce law and order – because those who have been tasked to take charge were themselves victims and incapacitated to perform their public functions – hence chaos and mob rule prevailed for the next three or four days.
Instantaneously, however, the response of the Filipinos outside of the ravaged area was swift and immediate. Relief goods of various quantities poured in many relief centers, public and private. Cash donations kept pouring in.
However, delivering the relief goods to the victims was either painstakingly slow or out of sight, owing to the consequential restraints, like the roads have become impassable due to the fallen trees alongside debris that were strewn all over them – with the bridges that connect the towns being damaged or destroyed as well.
These roads could not immediately be cleared simply because it required heavy trucks and mechanized equipments to remove them – and the local governments do not have them. Those sent by the national government could not reach their destination as fast as it wanted precisely because the roads and bridges that they have to pass through have become inaccessible.
The next few days after the tragedy seemed to give the appearance of thousands of victims going hungry and thirsty with hundreds being untreated of their injuries, and thousands more without shelter from the elements, what with the relief goods coming in trickles. There was an air of helplessness, hopelessness and desperation as well, as the national government apparently unable to make a quick and effective response to the tragedy.
It was in this state of gloom and despair and of disorganized relief work when the CNN celebrated host-reporter Anderson Cooper arrived in Tacloban City. He saw firsthand the heart-wrenching sights and condition – that made him give the following live report to the global audience:
“The situation in Tacloban City is miserable and very very bad. What is happening in Tacloban is a demolition not a construction job. People are desperate. People do not have any for shelter. It’s very difficult for people to get food. There is no real evidence of organized recovery or relief. It is a very desperate situation, among the most desperate I’ve seen in covering disasters in the last couple of years. The people in Tacloban have great dignity and deserve better than what they have gotten.”
“As for who exactly is in charge of the Philippine side of this operation, that is not really clear”.
Anderson Cooper’s commentary and observation on the Tacloban City situation went viral on the internet receiving a biting reaction from the famed and feisty ABC,-CBN Broadcaster Korina Sanchez, who happened to be the wife of Cabinet member and DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, who, together with Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, is in charge of the relief operations.
Korina Sanchez retorted to Anderson Cooper: “Anderson Cooper is not aware of what he is taking about.”
That reaction also went viral, too, in the internet.
In his CNN program, Anderson Cooper riposted to Korina Sanchez’s reaction:
“Mrs. Sanchez is welcome to go there in Tacloban – and I would urge her to go there. I don’t know if she has but her husband’s the interior minister. I’m sure he can arrange a flight.”
Of course the exchange between a local and an international broadcaster caught the attention of netizens and CNN & ABS-CBN viewers, and they expressed their sentiments on the exchange. Some siding with Anderson Cooper, while others took the side of Korina Sanchez.
My our son-lawyer Salvador A. Panelo, Jr., who could not contain his sentiment on the Anderson Cooper-Korina Sanchez tiff, as well as with those criticizing the government for its inadequate preparation to neutralize the effects of the hauler typhoon – and the national governments apparent slow response to the victims, posted in his Facebook, and in my Twitter account, the following statement:
“I agree with Korina Sanchez that Anderson Cooper does not know what he is talking about.
Criticism of government response to major natural or environmental disasters is universal. The US government response to Hurricane Katrina in 2006 was a failure of leadership. “Even Japan with their much-vaunted reputation for organization was criticized for its slow response to the earthquake and tsunami in 2011, and the consequent Fukishima leak. We should keep this in mind when assessing the performance of our own government. We should also keep in mind that while Mr. Cooper may very well be genuinely concerned about the pace of government, response, he is also very much in the business of selling news.
I firmly believe that our government is doing its best to help the victims of Yolanda. This is not inconsistent with the fact that its best may not be good or fast enough for everyone affected given the magnitude of the destruction and the various limitations and issues that mere observers can not fully appreciate.
Let us not forget that significant government resources are possibly still tied up to Bohol and Zamboanga.
I do think that P-Noy could have better explained why the government response could not come sooner and why air cannot be distributed faster. Let us just hope that that was more of a failure of speech and rhetoric, rather than leadership. We can take him to task for that later. For now, our unfortunate Visayan brothers and sisters need us to heed the advice we wished P-Noy had followed: stop pointing fingers. Let us help how we can help our government and let us follow through!”
The foregoing commentary of lawyer Salvador A. Panelo, Jr., is insightful – and eloquently said as well. (To be continued)
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For Feedback:
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Text to: 0918-862- 7777
“Typhoon Yoling Killed my Father!”
By Linggoy Alcuaz
MY FATHER, Manuel “Manolo” Tuazon Alcuaz, taught me most of what I know about Typhoons. They are created by the heat from the Sun interacting with the sea water. Somehow, this makes the air twirl in a Counter Clockwise direction (In the Northern Hemisphere). In the center of the twirling winds, the centrifugal forces create an Eye that is bright and calm because it has no rain and wind.
The same heat from the Sun is what brings (precipitates) the water up to the sky and creates the clouds that give us rain with or without a typhoon or even just a storm. The tail or rear of the Typhoon has more rain and water than its head or front.
In the Western Pacific of the Northern Hemisphere, typhoons generally turn to the Right. The Angle of this right turn increases as they approach Luzon during the “Habagat” or the Monsoon from the South West. Thus, many Typhoons threaten the Philippines but then turn right to the North East and hit China, the Ryuku Islands (Where Okinawa is) and/or Japan.
The tail of a Typhoon that crosses the Philippine Archipelago is at its South East. Thus, we who live in Metro Manila get more rain from a Typhoon that passes to our North even if it is farther away than one that passes to our South. This was true even in the case of Super Typhoon Yolanda who passed over Northern Panay which is nearer to us than the tip of Northern Luzon. Even those that pass through Southern Tagalog give us less rain than those that pass through Central Luzon.
The Usual Typhoon Season almost coincides with the Habagat Season – late May to Early October. Typhoons that visit as in the latter part of an extended Typhoon Season – late October to December, tend to cross the Philippine Archipelago in the Visayas or even as far South as Mindanao. This is due to the Amihan or Monsoon or Winds from the North East which tend to push South Eastward on the Typhoon and prevent it from turning too much to the right and to the North.
The Typhoons are born as Low Pressure Areas far out in the Pacific Ocean towards the West South West. In the Western Atlantic, they are called Hurricanes. In the East Indian Ocean, they are called Cyclones.
While the twirling winds have an average speed of about 150 km per hour near the center, the forward movement of the whole Typhoon is much slower at an average of about 20 km per hour. Thus, a usual Typhoon can travel almost 500 km in a day.
The slower a Typhoon moves forward the more rain it dumps on a particular place. Since Yolanda was faster both in terms of Center Winds and Forward Movement, we were saved from too much rain but took the brunt of double the average Center Winds.
Finally, my Father warned me of the 180 degree Turn (Reverse) in the Direction of the Wind before and after the Typhoon’s Eye passes and the Vacuum Effect of the Lower Pressure in the Eye of the Storm. He always warned us five children to leave small openings in our windows so as to let the higher internal (house) air pressure go out so as to achieve a balance with the lower external air pressure within the Eye of the Storm.
However, since we lived (and still live in) in Quezon City, he did not educate me regarding Storm Surges and Tsunamis. Also, at that time (the 50’s & 60’s), Flooding was hardly known of in Quezon City.
The few Typhoons who’s Eye passed directly over Metro Manila. I believe it struck at the beginning of a long weekend (Friday to Sunday) created by a Typhoon Holiday. Its Front or Head brought very strong winds from the North. After the Eye passed the winds reversed and came from the South. When they did, they fell our Giant Balete Tree in front of our Home on Balete Drive, New Manila, Quezon City. By the end of the weekend my Father was dead.
He had long wanted to cut the Tree because its roots were destroying our water and sewerage pipes. However, my elder siblings begged him not to. And so, he just cut its roots on its South side which is where our House was. He dug a hole in the Adobe along the North West side of our House and poured a solid “Buhos” underground wall. Henceforth, the Balete’s Roots (They are also Vines that come from the branches and take root in the ground and spread out far and wide.) would no longer be able to go beneath our Home like Serpents out to Strangle Us.
And now, fast forward from Yoling to Yolanda.
Yolanda came on Friday, Nov 8, 2013. The day after she bulldozed and cut her way through Eastern, Central and Western Visayas as well as parts of the Mimaropa Region, we (my wife Baby, daughter Cudchie and son Mikko, who still live on Balete Drive but no longer threatened by either a Balete or Rubber Tree.) tried to understand the Storm Surge Phenomenon.
I first heard or read about Storm Surges in relation to the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. The closest I experienced the effects of a Storm Surge was when Wind and Tide combined to cross Roxas Blvd. and flood the basements of several building including the Westin Plaza and the Diamond Hotel. The former is where the Bulong Pulungan is held on Tuesday lunch. The latter is where the former Kapihan sa Manila Hotel of PDI Columnist Neal Cruz is now held on Mondays.
Tacloban and the neighboring towns had a higher and stronger Storm Surge than even the more exposed Southern Towns of Eastern Samar. Yolanda achieved the fastest recorded Center Winds at its first Landfall in Eastern Samar. At subsequent Landfalls in Leyte, Northern Cebu, Northern Panay and Northern Palawan the Velocity of winds near the Center gradually went down. The highest Velocities were probably maintained for the Leyte Landfall because Yolanda’s path was South of the main Samar land mass and mountains.
Since the rotation of the winds was Counter Clockwise, the Higher Storm Surges that swept up (Northwards) the Leyte Gulf must have occurred after the Eye of the Typhoon passed the middle of the Leyte Gulf. Since the Northern part of the Gulf is narrowed by the meeting of Samar and Leyte Islands (Up to the San Juanico Strait), the “Embudo” effect occurred. Eastern Samar, Cebu, Panay and Palawan were spared the “Embudo” effect. However, Ormoc City is inside the South facing Ormoc Bay. This area must have been hit by a lower Storm Surge because by the time the Eye passed over Western Leyte, it had been slowed down by the mountains of Central Leyte. Also, Ormoc Bay is smaller than the Leyte Gulf. Thus, the “Embudo” effect is smaller.
A flashback in History: in October 1944, the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet (much bigger in numbers than today’s Seventh Fleet) defeated the Japanese Imperial Navy in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Although, the Battles were fought from as far North as off Cape Engano in the North Eastern tip of Cagayan province and as far West as the China Sea off Palawan, as well as in the Sibuyan Sea, the most famous portion is what is called “Crossing the ‘T’ at Surigao Strait”. This was the Classic Dream Sea Battle of Admirals since time immemorial. It was the last time that Surface Fleets would fight it out cannon to cannon with Battleships and Gun Cruisers.
What a Dream Rescue and Relief Mission this must be for today’s US Navy!
Surviving Yolanda
by the Editors
MILLIONS of Filipinos suffered the wrath of super typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan). There are countless tales of death, loss and survival especially from Tacloban City, Leyte, which bore the brunt of the tropical cyclone.
Via a post on her Facebook account, Sheena Junia, 26, a close relative of OpinYon Chairman and President Ray Junia recounted how she had to surf the typhoon’s huge waves to save herself.
Here’s Sheena’s story:
Loud Bang
She woke up around 5 a.m. of Friday, because of a loud bang on her door. It was the wind, much powerful than she was used to hearing. She could hear window glasses breaking from her neighbors’ houses. It sounded like the burst of automatic gunfire. Bad weather, she thought. She knew a strong typhoon was hitting the province. She saw it yesterday in the news. What she did not know was that it was going to be that strong.
Sheena tried to go back to sleep. She wanted to because she was too scared to listen to the howling wind. Maybe if she slept for a few more hours, it would go away. After two more hours of sleep, another huge bang on the door woke her up. This time, the wind was too strong that it knocked the door off, and then floodwater rushed in. She got up in a hurry. Her bed was submerged in water in seconds. It was now knee-deep inside her room. She hurried to get dressed but just after two minutes, the water has reached her waistline. It took her another two minutes to get her backpack and reach her new surfboard. It just arrived the day before. By then, the water was now neck-deep.
Surfing the Waves
Sheena mounted her surfboard and paddled her way out of the house. She couldn’t see anything. It was foggy, the water was black, and the wind was too strong that it was hard to keep her eyes open. But she kept paddling. She paddled against the strong current until she reached the entrance of their compound in Barangay Sagkahan Mangga, Tacloban City. She was hoping to find someone, but she could not see anyone or anything. Sheena said she decided to swim along the current which she knew would lead her to the back of the compound. There, she saw stairs that led to a door. She immediately paddled her way towards it, and tried to open it but it was locked.
She quickly stopped and noticed her bag was becoming too heavy, so she did away with some of its contents. They’re not important now.
If the water continued to rise, she might get trapped, she thought.
She knew she could not stay there, so she rode her surfboard again and paddled as hard as she could against the strong current to reach the front of the compound again. She saw a steel bar protruding from one of the broken walls nearby. She reached for it and held on to it tightly. Her surfboard kept her afloat. Every time the waves would hit her, she would fall off. But she was holding onto the steel bar so tight that she always managed to recover. She fell into the water about 4 times.
What felt like forever standing there-falling off-standing there-and falling off again was just really about 10 minutes.
The water kept rising, and brought with it more wood and other debris every time she opened her eyes. Sheena saw a woman floating. The woman—in her late 20s or early 30s—was alive. She appeared calm. The woman looked at her. She looked back. They both knew none of them would be able to do anything. She had to let the woman float away.
Call for Help
Sheena was just about to lose all her strength when she saw a group of people. In that group was a pregnant woman and a child–breaking a door open from a balcony nearby. She called for help. Most of them did not hear her, or maybe tried to ignore her. After a few more calls, one of the strangers looked at her direction. That gave her some comfort. There was nowhere she could plant her feet. She held on a window grill to start her way. She moved from one window to another until she reached the spot near where the other people were.
She was holding on to the grill, and her surfboard. She had to let one go so she can reach out for the hand of one of the strangers.
She took a leap of faith, and ditched her surfboard.
“I almost fell and barely made it,” she said.
The water was continuing to rise when she got to the balcony. They needed to move to the next house which was bigger. They passed through gutters and scaffolds. They all made it safely to the house, even if she slipped a few times. A few scratches here and there but nothing she was worried about it.
Riding the Storm Out
They stayed there, watching people drown to death outside. They could not do anything. This went on until around 10:30 am when the wind died down a bit. They started to help whoever they can.
Around 11 am, the water started subsiding, slowly unfolding the devastation caused by the strongest typhoon ever recorded in recent times.
Sheena remembers seeing a lot of dead bodies. Almost all houses in her neighborhood were destroyed. She had to stay at a friend’s house for three days. For the next few days, Sheena went out with her friends to look for food. Her friends have always treated her as one of the boys, so she went out to loot with them.
She remembers going to Robinson’s or Gaisano–malls that had supermarkets. “Literal na hanap buhay,” she said. (We literally looked for anything that can help keep us alive.)
She’s not proud of it—the looting.
“We had to do it to survive,” she said.
Hunger and Thirst
She remembers being thirsty, and trying to buy a small bottle of tea for PhP200. But they would not sell it to her. She remembers trying to ride a pedicab offering to pay a thousand pesos, but the driver did not want money. They wanted water as payment. She had none.
Sheena arrived in Manila Tuesday, Nov. 13, night via a commercial flight. She now has fever. She feels weak. She said whatever happened to her is just starting to sink in. She said she does not want to go back to Tacloban, but she has not heard from her mother and grandfather who lived in Tolosa town.
If she does not hear from them in the next few days, she will come back to Tacloban and look for them.
Sheena used to operate airport vans in Tacloban for a living. She does not know how she’ll start again.
“I won’t be able to make plans until I know my family is safe.”
Sheena’s fight for survival goes on.
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The Deluge and Its Apocalyptic Aftermath (Conclusion)
by Atty. Salvador Panelo
ANDERSON Cooper’s commentary and observation on the Tacloban City situation went viral on the internet receiving a biting reaction from the famed and feisty ABC,-CBN Broadcaster Korina Sanchez, who happened to be the wife of Cabinet member and DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, who, together with Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, is in charge of the relief operations.
Korina Sanchez retorted to Anderson Cooper: “Anderson Cooper is not aware of what he is taking about.”
That reaction also went viral, too, in the internet.
In his CNN program, Anderson Cooper riposted to Korina Sanchez’s reaction:
“Mrs. Sanchez is welcome to go there in Tacloban – and I would urge her to go there. I don’t know if she has but her husband’s the interior minister. I’m sure he can arrange a flight.”
Of course the exchange between a local and an international broadcaster caught the attention of netizens and CNN & ABS-CBN viewers, and they expressed their sentiments on the exchange. Some siding with Anderson Cooper, while others took the side of Korina Sanchez.
My our son-lawyer Salvador A. Panelo, Jr., who could not contain his sentiment on the Anderson Cooper-Korina Sanchez tiff, as well as with those criticizing the government for its inadequate preparation to neutralize the effects of the hauler typhoon – and the national governments apparent slow response to the victims, posted in his Facebook, and in my Twitter account, the following statement:
“I agree with Korina Sanchez that Anderson Cooper does not know what he is talking about.
Criticism of government response to major natural or environmental disasters is universal. The US government response to Hurricane Katrina in 2006 was a failure of leadership. “Even Japan with their much-vaunted reputation for organization was criticized for its slow response to the earthquake and tsunami in 2011, and the consequent Fukishima leak. We should keep this in mind when assessing the performance of our own government. We should also keep in mind that while Mr. Cooper may very well be genuinely concerned about the pace of government, response, he is also very much in the business of selling news.
I firmly believe that our government is doing its best to help the victims of Yolanda. This is not inconsistent with the fact that its best may not be good or fast enough for everyone affected given the magnitude of the destruction and the various limitations and issues that mere observers can not fully appreciate.
Let us not forget that significant government resources are possibly still tied up to Bohol and Zamboanga.
I do think that P-Noy could have better explained why the government response could not come sooner and why air cannot be distributed faster. Let us just hope that that was more of a failure of speech and rhetoric, rather than leadership. We can take him to task for that later. For now, our unfortunate Visayan brothers and sisters need us to heed the advice we wished P-Noy had followed: stop pointing fingers. Let us help how we can help our government and let us follow through!”
This writer’s take on the matter on the Anderson-Korina exchange is that both of them are correct. Anderson Cooper, as CNN correspondent reporting live on the ground, was speaking on the basis of what his eyes could see. In his limited view of a portion of Tacloban City he formed an opinion – factually accurate – but not necessarily true for the entire devastated eastern Visayas, particularly the Leyte and Samar provinces that bore the brunt of Typhoon Yolanda – hence Korina Sanchez was also correct in saying that Anderson Cooper was giving an inaccurate situationer in Tacloban – because as wife of the DILG Secretary, she has direct access to the information with regard to the extent of government’s response to the victim’s plight – as well as she had communication link with other reporters doing their investigative and reporting work in other areas of Tacloban City – and the rest of the typhoon–ravaged places in the Visayas – not to mention the fact that she was herself in Ormoc City, another city reeling from the effects of the typhoon doing her reportorial job as a journalist as well as doing relief work and necessarily she has an expanded view of the realities in the relief operations and the government’s response to the victims.
As correctly pointed out by this columnist’s son, this is not the time for finger-pointing of blame – rather this is the moment for everyone to do his share – and to the best of his capacity and ability extend his help in responding to the victims of this latest tragedy in the Philippines.
During the last few days, the government’s response has considerably scaled up – and there is now an organized and faster relief works.
Meanwhile, there has been an unprecedented outpouring of help from twenty eight (28) countries sending huge amount of cash, hundreds of thousands of relief goods, as well as doctors and nurses, to the typhoon affected areas. Organizations like the Red Cross and other private organizations have poured in and combined their resources to give succor to the victims. Private persons and family members went in droves to the DSWD and the ABS-CBN warehouses, lending their manpower to do repacking work of relief goods.
Filipinos, here and abroad, have all come together and raised funds for the victims – and rehabilitation of the damaged communities.
Even the United Nations has stepped in and lend its enormous resources to help the tragic victims.
UN Undersecretary General Valerie Amos, who is in the country for the UN’s relief operations has expressed satisfaction on the much improved distribution of relief goods as well as her amazement at the spirit and resilience of Filipinos who face a herculean reconstruction job. Said she:
“I continue to be struck by the resilience and spirit of the Filipino people. Everywhere I visited, I saw families determined to rebuild their lives under the most difficult conditions.
So people are, of course, to an intent traumatized by what happened. They have lost loved ones, but at the same time they’re trying to look to the future.
I saw images of daily life amid scenes of devastation. Women either cooking in make shift kitchen or doing laundry and men clearing debris and scavenging for materials to rebuild their destroyed homes.”
Evaluating the flow of aid, the UN Undersecretary-General gave the following observation:
“Everyday aid efforts gather pace with the systems getting through to more people. Significant food and medical assistance has been provided and water services, as well as limited communications services, restored.”
Per its estimation, the United Nations reports that 1.1 million have received food aid since the disaster struck – and only less than the 2.5 million affected residents have yet to receive food aid. Amos noted that “water services have been restored in Capiz, Northern Cebu and Roxas City, with 43 medical teams from various international groups – and 44 local – providing medical services to the survivors.”
The United Nations added in its report that about “5 million children in disaster areas are in need of emergency shelter, protection and psychological support.”
Amos noted further that “there is a need to establish safe places for children given that 90 percent of day care centers in ravaged towns and cities were destroyed.”
The “spirit and resilience” of the Filipinos did not escape the observation of the Vatican in Rome.
Msgr. Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, who is in Manila to attend the Catholic Social Media Summit at the Colegio San Juan de Letran, told the reporters:
“We want to express our admiration for the spirit of the Filipino people. We have been seeing terrible devastation but we have also been witnessing the extraordinary cure, consideration and generosity of your own people.”
Everything shall come to pass. Hopefully, the national and local governments have learned their lessons well following the aftermath of the deluge – and will be more prepared and cope with typhoons of similar intensity that are sure to come given the global warming and climate change.
The eastern Visayas will surely rise from its ruins – and there is no stopping it from resurrecting itself from its ashes.
There is however a grim reality that is inescapable – and that is that the thousands of inhabitants of the ravaged Eastern Visayas, are poverty stricken. Their houses or what appears to be houses, are made of cheap and weak construction materials that can be easily blown over by super-typhoons in the like of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) – and torn to pieces.
Rebuilding and reconstructing those inferior structures will not provide their security and safety from the angry forces of nature. And every super-typhoon that comes will repeat the same nightmare of destruction and death.
And such probability and eventuality of extensive destruction in lives and property is not limited to the Eastern Visayas section of our country – but to the entire archipelago as well – as indeed the majority of our countrymen are living in object poverty – and in hand to mouth existence.
No amount of relief goods and rehabilitation work coming from within and without the country, can alter the status in life of these Filipinos. There must be an overhauling of the social structures of our society to effect the even distribution of the nation’s wealth and the means of production.
Hopefully, the gods of destiny will anoint men and women of pure heart and possessed of unselfish love that will cause the radical change of our political and social structure – before the downtrodden masses rise in righteous indignation and revolt and destroy the existing order.
***
For Feedback:
E-mail: salvadorpanelo@rocketmail.com
Facebook: panelosalvador@gmail.com
Twitter: attysalvadorpanelo
Text to: 0918-862- 7777
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What Should We Do After Haiyan?
by Atty. Sarah Jane Suguitan
DAYS before typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda in local news) made landfall, the entire Philippines was already alerted by local and international weather stations. We knew ahead of time that Haiyan will take many lives, ruin many buildings, flood many roads, uproot many trees and place many of our kababayans on square one. Square one is where everything and everyone has to start from scratch. Square one is the land before airports, houses, and cell sites were built. Square one is where all you have is the landscape and thousands of survivors. Square one where Haiyan left many of us. The question is, how do we rebuild? What’s the plan?
I asked this question to our authorities, and once again, the central government has stonewalled on its answer. Silence. Hesitation. Unpreparedness. What authorities are proud of are the relief operations. I do not mean to trivialize relief operations, but, when they are not coupled by any rehabilitation efforts, relief operations transform victims into beggars. If all the authorities plan on doing is to conduct relief operations, we will soon have squatters all over the affected islands of Bohol, Cebu and Leyte.
Since the central government is low on vision and planning, let’s light the path for them (and pray that they may have the humility to listen instead of walking out).
Simultaneous with relief operations, let’s restore power, water and phone lines by creative means. We can fly in alternative energy sources and place call centers (as in, an area with functioning phones offering free calls). All communication lines must be restored and kept open not only for the victims, but also for those conducting rehabilitation missions.
Employ thousands of unemployed nurses, utility men and underemployed professionals from all over the country and deploy them to the disaster-hit areas to conduct search-and-rescue missions. Let’s not ask for volunteers. Let’s employ the unemployed who can devote their full time, attention and expertise to searching for and rescuing all the living and the dead.
Construct shelters that are livable. Existing structures are suspect (and may have circumvented the standards under our building codes). Local shelters are merely big basketball courts turned refugee camps. Imagine yourself and your family fleeing to these basketball courts with only your clothes on while waiting for the storm to subside. There’s no potable water and comfort rooms to relieve yourself. You eat in doled-out paper plates on the floor. You are given uncooked rice (bigas), canned sardines and noodles in their plastic wrapper.(Apparently, victims are expected to flee with their gas tanks and stoves.)
How are you supposed to cook these food given by the social welfare office? If you can’t imagine yourself in such a situation, neither can the victims. So instead of those raw junk food, we should construct or install portable kitchens, mess halls and toilets in evacuation centers. What’s the use of raw food if you have no means to cook? What’s the use of cooked food if you have to eat it with your bare hands while sitting on the floor? And what’s the use of eating if you have no place to pee or poop? Conditions are dire in these evacuation centers. Let’s make them livable, not the substandard things that are like the DPWH-made roads and bridges. I mean, livable!
Foreign aid as well as local donations must be trackable. It must be assumed that donating to local government units do not trickle down to the end-users (victims) and instead, end up in our leaders’ private bank accounts.
In the medium term (if not, ASAP), we will need to rebuild. With tens of thousands whose lives are on hold, low-cost housing, temporary schools, stores and banking systems will be naturally formed. If the government continues to fail in providing basic services, the private sector will take over. Unfortunately for the poor, they will not be able to afford that, and that is the consequence of voting poorly.
Follow the author on twitter @coffeeright.
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Storm Surge
by Raymund L. Junia
I GREW up in the biggest barangay of this small town, Tolosa, Leyte. This barangay, and the town proper, faces the Pacific Ocean. In our side of the country, a typhoon is no stranger. We’re used to typhoons. But this does not mean, we neglect any typhoon’s fury. I find the debate on storm surge interesting, the term not being understood. One journalist described it as a new phenomenon. Ted Failon, who comes from Leyte, admits he does not understand the meaning of storm surge. That really surprised me.
In my elementary days in the barrio, I remember every time there was a typhoon, we had our own “coast guards”. They took turns in watching the sea level and ready to issue a “bandillo” (public warning) on the rising of the sea level and imminent flooding of the barangay. There being no satellite warning on TV then, this was the method of early warning to prevent deaths from big waves and rising sea levels—a storm surge.
That many lives were spared and saved from Yolanda’s fury in my town, I think this primitive early warning system did it. Although folks way back home say San Miguel saved lives in the middle of Yolanda’s strike. On San Miguel saving the town, I very much agree. Our patron saint had always come to the rescue of this town. Another interesting fact is, until this writing, people in most Yolanda-ravaged areas are still asking where is government?
The dead littered the streets of Tacloban and nearby towns until the sixth day after the typhoon. Relief has not reached barangays and towns just 20 kilometers from Tacloban City. Relief was active only in media but zero at the ground. Media was well managed but not the relief operations. Media was managed not to tell the truth. Malacañang’s problem was that it could not manage foreign media like CNN, ABC news and others. They could not control social media also.
How media was managed could be seen from the reaction of ABS-CBN channel 2 over reports by CNN of absence of government at ground Zero. Korina Sanchez embarrassed herself in her refuting reports by CNN’s Anderson Cooper. She was swarmed in social media by accusations of her impartiality in defense of Pres. Aquino leadership and for lying bare faced on the true situation in Leyte.
Easily, Korina Sanchez stood out as a disgrace to Philippine journalism.
CNN is the new shining example if not the hero in true journalism and Channel 2 lost much of its credibility.
Enough lies please.
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