The Morning After

The sun is out here in Manila as I write this. In Cagayan, the skies are clearer, too, the winds have calmed down and some roads are already passable, according to the dispatches from Ground Zero.

The storm indeed has passed and thankfully, the areas in the path of Typhoon Ompong were as prepared as they could possibly be. Of course, nothing or nobody can really be ready for calamities.

Insurance companies call it “Acts of God.” The images and videos of Ompong’s fury are grim reminders of how we will always be at the mercy of nature’s wrath – uprooted trees, flying roofs, broken hotel windows, howling winds, submerged cars, survivors finding their way through mud and filth, roads blocked by toppled electricity posts and destroyed homes.

 But the evacuation efforts and all the preparations greatly helped our countrymen in the northern Philippines.

 We were sufficiently warned by the indefatigable weathermen of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, the country’s meteorological and hydrological services agency.  

We also note the efforts of our government officials for successfully coordinating and implementing evacuation efforts. Transportation Secretary Art Tugade, although criticized for many things including the signature MRT mishaps and the recent airport blunder, was in command in his hometown. He tirelessly led the government team. It was a job well done, Mr. Secretary. He was there even before most of the journalists — usually the first on the scene — even arrived, ensuring that the evacuation centers were ready.

 His department made sure communication lines and transportation support would be working again soon after the storm passed.

 It seems we have learned our lessons from Super Typhoon Yolanda — which was really a perfect storm. Of course, the circumstances were much different. Haiyan ripped through a province by the sea while Cagayan was surrounded by mountains.

Rice basket

But of course, the government’s task isn’t done yet. Rebuilding one of the country’s food baskets is equally important especially now that the country is facing a rice problem.

 And unfortunately, it is in the rebuilding stage where the problems surface – red tape, bureaucracy and corruption.

Donations and aid money will pour in but in the past, they got lost along the way, unable to reach their supposed recipients. I hope it doesn’t happen this time.

There’s a need to immediately rebuild Cagayan and Isabela, two of the country’s top corn and rice producers.

Cagayan harvested less than 10 percent of produce from 130,000 hectares of rice fields, said Governor Manuel Mamba. 

The government must provide immediate support for the farmers. In the past, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) recommended strategies on how to manage crops after typhoons including the proper way of drying harvested grains.

Arnold Juliano, a PhilRices agricultural engineer, said that for submerged crops with drainage problems, immediate manual harvesting is advisable to save the grains from deterioration.

In harvesting crops submerged in water or mud, farmers can use the combined harvester provided that the field is already dry, he said.

It is important for the farmers to have access to these dryers.

 Bayanihan

Businessmen can also offer immediate help similar to the outpouring of support for war-torn Marawi. President Duterte, I am sure, would be very pleased. It’s good to note that local carriers Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific already offered missionary flights for rescue and relief operations in affected areas.

I hope those in the construction business, transportation, logistics, manpower, cement and food can also provide help if they haven’t. It is in times of adversity that the human spirit is tested so severely yet it is also in these times that we find the strength to carry on because of the kindness of strangers.

Benguet

Unfortunately, in Benguet, a tragic story is unfolding. As I write this, there are reports that the number of deaths could go up to as high as 100 because of a landslide.

Mayor Victorio Palangdan of Itogon, Benguet said the people were trapped inside a bunkhouse used by miners.

The area has been declared a no-mining zone but small-scale miners still ago there, he said.

This is not the first time we’ve heard of such tragedies in Benguet. In 1999, a whole mountain collapsed in the mining town of Mankayan. In 2008, a similar disaster happened in Loacan.

The residents have become used to it – the ground shakes and in seconds, houses disappear.  The bodies are retrieved, the dead are buried and the living go on living. Years later, it will happen all over again. And that is the real tragedy.

 Iris Gonzales’ e-mail address is [email protected]