Typhoon Ondoy: the long road to rehabilitation

Visiting areas hardly hit by Typhoon Ondoy was a moving and eyeopening experience. Somehow, it’s always shattering when you come face-to-face with the effects of destruction and see it mirrored in the eyes of those who have been affected. The last time I felt this same air of despondency was going up to Baguio after the July 1990 earthquake and seeing buildings crumpled like an accordion. In Baguio as in Marikina as in Cainta, there’s the overwhelming sense of desperation brought about by the thought of starting over again and recovering immense losses. Most serious since the loss involves money and investments people built over a lifetime.

And for the penniless, there’s the challenge of appeasing immediate needs like hunger and a getting a roof over one’s head. You’d certainly feel powerless by the sheer number of those needing help, while the pessimist in you questions how far three cans of sardines, five packs of noodles and two bottles of mineral water will go.

I was touched by the sight of a scavenger happy to find a soiled teddy bear from among the ruins. It might have been dirty as hell but he was probably thinking of how happy his deprived little daughter would be to receive it.Even the most destructive of floods bring blessings : a time for the poor to be noticed and a time to realize that the wrath of God spares no one.

Let us say a prayer today for the wondrous beauty of another day. There’s such a thing as simply enjoying a warm blanket, especially when you think about how other people make do with a cold, hard pavement.

Ondoy Aftermath

Orphaned Winnie the Pooh by the Marikina Riverbanks.

Ondoy Aftermath

Bank documents drying out by the roadside. This was a common sight in commercial areas.

Ondoy Aftermath

Shop helpers try to wipe out mud and other stuff from merchandise at the Ever Gotesco Mall in Ortigas Avenue Extension.

Ondoy Aftermath

Life without a washing machine, refrigerator and other appliances is just damn hard….don’t you agree? I can just imagine how repair shops and scrap establishments are making a killing these days.

Ondoy Aftermath

Classroom in disarray in Marikina.

Ondoy Aftermath

A pitiful sight in Provident Village, Marikina – a middle class subdivision which was one of those hard-hit by typhoon.

Ondoy Aftermath

This young mother lined up at the evacuation center is either recalling the terror of the day or pondering the not-so-bright future.

Photos and text: all rights reserved by annalyn.net

Bakit wala yatang pinapalabas na pera si Arroyo para sa mag nasalanta ng bagyong Ondoy?

Napansin nyo ba mula Sabado, nang nananalasa ang bagyong Ondoy hanggang ngayon, wala pang order si Gloria Arroyo na magpalabas ng pera mula sa contingency fund?

Tiningnan ko ang website ng Office of the Press Secretary kung saan lahat na press release ng Malacañang lumalabas, wala ni isang order magpalabas ng pera.

Dati kapag may bagyo, pasikat kaagad si Arroyo. Magu-order siyang magpalabas ng pera. Sa budget mayroong mga P1 bilyon na calamity fund at P1 bilyon din para sa contigency fund. Kaya total na mga P2 bilyon sa isang taon. Sa opisina yan ng Presidente at kailangan ang kayang approval sa pagpalabas nun.

Ang calamity fund ay para talaga sa mga kalamidad katulad ng bagyo at iba pang sakuna. Ina-advance nga yan sa mga ahensya katulad ng Department of Social Welfare and Development at Department of Public Works and Highways para kapag may kalamidad katulad ng mga naiwan nng bagyong Ondoy, magagamit nila kaagad.

Ang contingency fund naman kadalasan ginagamit sa kalamidad rin. Ngunit pwede rin gagamitin sa ibang bagay na sa paniwala ng Presidente ay emergency. Noong Agosto, ibinulgar ni Bukidnon Rep. TG Guingona, Jr. ang report ng Commission on Audit na ang P800 milyon na para sa contingency fund ay ginamit para sa mga biyahe sa ibang bansa ni Gloria Arroyo.

Sabi ni Guingona, P1.1 bilyon daw ang budget para sa mga biyahe ni Arroyo sa ibang bansa. Ngunit sa dami ng kanyang mga biyahe at sa laki ng kanyang dalang mga bitbit, kinulang daw. Kinuha niya ang P800 milyon sa contingency fund. Legal naman daw yun sabi ni dating Budget Secretary Emy Boncodin.

Okay, legal. Ngunit tama ba? O moral ba?

Naiisip ko. Patapos na ang taon. Pwede kayang naubos na nga ang contingency fund kaya hindi na nagu-order si Arroyo dahil ano nga ang ire-release. Kaya tuloy humingi na lang siya ng tulong sa international community.

Hindi naman nag-atubili ang ibang bansa sa pagtulong sa atin. Unang-una ang United States of America. Nagbigay na rin ang Australia, Canada. Japan, China at European Union. Karamihan sa mga tulong ng ibang bansa ay dinadaan sa Philippine National Red Cross.

Ang private sector talaga ang kahanga-hanga. Lahat na klaseng tulong binibigay, mula helicopter hanggang damit, pagkain, tubig. Marami ang nagbu-boluntaryo tumulong sa pag-empake. Kahit ng ang mga presidential candidates,tumulong rin kahit na siyemre ang ilan sa kanila sinisingit ang mga pangalan. Hayaan na lang natin yan muna. Ang mahalaga ay nakakabawas ng paghihirap ng mga nasalanta nating kababayan.

Sinabi raw ni Arroyo sa kanyang mga gabinete na mag-donate ng dalawang buwan nilang sweldo para sa mga biktima ni Ondoy. Mabuti naman. Pero kulang yun. Ibalik na lang nila ang kanilang ninakaw at winaldas. Kasama na doon ang P800 milyon na contingency fund.

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Mikey Arroyo finds Facebook posts ‘depressing”

In an article written by Gil Cabacungan, Inquirer reported that Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey Arroyo” yesterday pushed for tighter regulation of the Facebook, the world’s leading social networking site, after he claimed to be a victim of a “malicious attack” by one of its members.

“My picture was posted on Facebook with a caption saying I was shopping for wine at the height of “ondoy”. This is another malicious attack on my person. It is so depressing,” Arroyo wrote in an e-mail response to the Facebook post which has appeared in several blogs.

Arroyo claimed he was in Malacañang last Saturday and that it was difficult to cross Katipunan from the village where he lives because of the rising floods. “How could I be at Rustan’s on Katipunan Avenue at the height of Ondoy when Katipunan was impassable at that time? For the record I was in Malañang with my family trying to mobilize rescue and relief operations for people of Metro Manila and for my constituents in my district in Pampanga,” he said.

I first saw the photo with a man that looked like Mikey looking at the liquor section at the convenience store almost midnight of Sunday. My understanding was that it was taken on a Sunday, a day after the great deluge. In reposting the photo, I captioned it, “Where’s Mikey in Ondoy’s aftermath”. .

In the reposting by other bloggers, however, I noticed it was made to appear that the picture was taken last Saturday, at the height of typhoon Ondoy.

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