After the Flood

"In the depths of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." - Albert Camus


It has been weeks already after the typhoons hit the Philippines and left us with a high death toll and billions of pesos worth of damages. I don't pay much attention to the injury the floods caused us, my interest is on our gain - what we Filipinos got from this catastrophe.

By doing so, I have seen how this tragedy became a catalyst for unity and change. Yes, change. While we all know how we Filipinos are when it comes to helping our neighbors, I know of no other country who has this much spirit when it comes to rebuilding what was destroyed. When this nation is in trouble, all men and institutions (big and small) find their way to provide aide right away. I have no doubt that in a small amount of time, everything will be back on track again. However, this event will be the perfect means for change and a good avenue for awareness.

It is but human nature to find someone to blame when disaster strikes. But I strongly disagree with some groups wanting to prosecute water dam operators and local government units of flood striken cities. Let's face it, nobody wanted this to happen, most especially those who were directly involved and affected. And guess whose sector is most affected by what happened? Dam Operators and local government officials of the affected areas! I don't think it's morally right.

What I think is morally wrong though, in what happened, is the loss of the lives of those who went their way to save others. When I heard about the death of this military man who risked his life to save twenty before dying, I was mad - mad to find out that when they went to save other people, they entrusted their own lives to a rope... ONLY to a ROPE! Where the hell is our military fund??? I bet our National Defense fund would be worth Billions and we could not afford a decent life-saving equipment??? How ironic! There we were before watching that million peso ad of the Department of National Defense played during Manny Pacquiao's fight with Hatton telling us how to prepare when there's a calamity! The Department tells us how to be ready and yet they're not! Where were the rubber boats? Where were the cords stronger than the rope that dead soldier used?

On top of that, our Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is not ready too. Instead of FORECASTING they were "NOW-CASTING" due to the lack of equipment to prepare everyone for what was coming. In 1998 the institute has laid out an action plan with new equipment requisition. But instead of providing them with these equipment - which includes Doppler Radar which estimates rainfall, wind intensity and tracks storms, the government only raised their salaries and supplies. Let's face it, our country, being tropical, is so used to having typhoons. I remember hearing about typhoon Ondoy coming to hit us days before it did and nothing, totally nothing, prepared us to the amount of rainfall it brought (which is greater than Hurricane Katrina's).

Above all, what the majority of people is missing here is the fact that WE are all culprits of everything. The events were just mere blows due to climate change and to think, we were supposed to be fortunate to have been given years to prepare before the typhoons happened. I remember watching The Inconvenient Truth, a movie about Global Warming, back in 2006. And even then, our neighboring nations would experience catastrophic natural calamities brought about by this phenomenon and I don't think anyone took notice of that considering what came about.

I am quite certain that this will definitely bring change to the country. After all, failure is not in the falling down but in the staying down. But whatever that change would be I know it may not totally prevent something like this to happen again, but I would be very hopeful that it will save more lives this time.