'Thankfully', Americans Reject Aquino Relief Control (The Daily
Tribune, The Philippines)
"The only discernible distribution system yet to provide
relief to devastated Leyte Province has been mounted by the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which has deployed
its choppers in non-stop airlift and air drop operations. ... There were even
attempts by the Aquino Administration to put the already-effective operations of
the U.S. vessel under its control - or at least schedule chopper operations - which
thankfully, the Americans ignored."
With
Noynoy [derogatory
term for President Benigno Aquino] busy passing the buck for slow relief
operations in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda [aka/ Typhoon Haiyan], with casualties rising as the
Palace tones down the figures, Filipinos realize that all they can do now is
stop expecting government to act and instead take matters into their own hands.
Like
ants attracted to sugar, Filipinos are trooping to the disaster zones with
their own supplies government failed to deliver more than a week after the
typhoon hit, bringing devastation in the eastern Visayas.
The
government, through Noynoy double [Interior Secretary]
Mar Roxas,
appears to be encouraging people in the most devastated areas like Tacloban City to fend for themselves, telling relief
volunteers to be "self sufficient." He may well have said the same to
victims of the disaster, since no organized help is reaching them.
The
only discernible distribution system yet to provide relief to devastated Leyte Province
has been mounted by the aircraft carrier USS
George Washington, which has deployed its choppers in non-stop airlift and
air drop operations.
Two boys help fill one of the mass graves in Tacloban City, Nov. 14.
There
were even attempts by the Aquino Administration to put the already-effective
operations of the U.S. vessel under its control - or at least schedule chopper operations
- which thankfully the Americans ignored.
Noynoy and his wards appear bent on squeezing
as much political capital as possible out of the relief operations, as
evidenced by the reminder issued to donors by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that their generosity is subject to a tax unless coordinated
with government.
Relief
materials passing through the government are repackaged, which is all well and
good, since victims need relief materials aside from food. However, the supplies
are conveniently packaged in bags with DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development]
printed prominently, which seems in bad taste since most are private donations,
and aside from the repackaging, didn't come from government. Yet this same
government calls any other donor putting its name or logo in such packed goods
“EPAL” [Philippine slang meaning one who wants
attention for something that deson't concern them]. DSWD is obviously trying to take credit for the provision
of these packages, when all it did was to pack them in DSWD
plastic bags.
Knowing better than to expect that Noynoy and his
administration will ever get its act together, Filipinos have resorted to their
own ingenuity to help relatives survive in the disaster zones.
The incompetence of the Noynoy's administration has thus
has created an additional whirlpool of disaster in the crisis areas, as
people converge on instead of staying clear of the areas to lessen the burden
on relief operations.
Food and supplies brought by these frustrated individuals to family members caught in
the crisis zones will last at most a week before they, too, suffer the fates of their relatives - which is necessarily
relying on external help.
For the most
part, those fleeing Leyte become refugees in nearby provinces which have been
similarly affected by the typhoon. Such provinces, such as Cebu, will then have
to share their own meager available resources with those thrust into their care.
The Noynoy government must come through, because it cannot rely
on the influx of foreign help forever, which is like a crutch for Noynoy's incompetence.
Up to now,
even less logistically challenging areas of Leyte Province have yet to receive
government aid. In areas where death was minimal, because of slow government
response, residents continue to face the prospect of suffering and even death
from hunger.
During this
unprecedented calamity, Interior Secretary Roxas'
wise crack on the slow pace of government aid was that “no response is fast
enough.” His statement, however, is predicated on the fiction that the
government is providing something tangible to survivors. In most of the
devastated provinces, mostly now in the Visayas, the trouble
is that there is none.
In school, Mar
[Roxas] must have missed the math lesson about how
zero minus any number remains zero.
a week before they, too, suffer the fates of their relatives - which is necessarily
relying on external help.
