OPINION |The ‘absent’ government'

By Belarmino Dabalos Saguing

Rome, Italy 27/11/2013

As in every national disaster situation, the President, as Commander in Chief, in the public eye must have complete command. He may delegate one of his men or a government agency to supervise in his behalf, but he must be in control of every situation.

The country has faced at least two situations where the president cannot be said as “in complete control”. Foremost is the Yolanda and Bohol disasters which is still very fresh and the Zambo military confrontation. In both crisis, decisive actions. 

The IOM meanwhile had to undergo transition, moving some of their staff to Tacloban City and Roxas City. Some of the organization’s camp managers had been working to help victims in the Zamboanga siege and in disasters like the recent Bohol earthquake and Typhoon Pablo.

The Yolanda episode. No ground commander in the disaster area, no direct coordination and the International bodies has to intervene. According to DILG head Mar Roxas: "There is no ground commader."

See news item from Rappler: http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/44364-emergency-shelter-kits-yolanda-survivors

EMERGENCY SHELTER. Rows of tents are seen at an evacuation center in the super typhoon-devastated city of Tacloban, Leyte province, Philippines, 19 November 2013. EPA/FRANCIS R. MALASIG

With inflows of shelter aid arriving in communities severely affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), some survivors have begun to rise from the devastation to reconstruct their homes, and to rebuild their lives. When the super typhoon swept through the Visayas, it destroyed houses and infrastructure, displacing 3.43 million people and damaging an estimated 1.1 million houses as of Monday, November 25, according to government estimates. In Tacloban City and Guiuan, two of the hardest hit areas, some have begun rebuilding their houses, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) public information officer Vivian Tan. To help survivors in reconstruction and recovery, the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have delivered equipment, tools and other non-food supplies for setting up temporary shelter and repairing houses.

Food, clean water and emergency health care and shelter are the immediate needs of affected persons, estimated at around 14.16 million as of Wednesday, November 27, according to the government. At least 3.54 million persons are displaced and about 1.1 million houses are damaged. The death toll has reached over 5,200, and around 1,600 people are missing.

The question here is: Where is the Philippine National Government?

Zambo military confrontation with MNLF crisis

See Rappler news item : http://www.rappler.com/nation/40640-zamboanga-crisis-war                                    

Also read   READ: Bungled chances in Zamboanga City  http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/40471-bungled-chances-zamboanga

The role should have been played by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) as the president’s deputy on this crisis. The CinC has been wanting in the operations to aid the evacuees claiming it was but a minor crisis. The President’s statement echoed earlier statements by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II that only “a very, very small portion of Zamboanga” is affected by conflict.

We could remember that the head of states in other countries, like Japan durinmg the catastrophic earthquake and the Gulf of Mexico island states during the hurricanes that devastated their countries (including the USA) for example, who have experienced calamities took over the direct control of the situations in their respective areas of responsibility very much unlike the Philippine president who contented himself with the aids pouring from international communities and the civic organizations who volunteered to do the groundworks. ##