How we respond

From what I’ve read and have been taught in the past, the word “saint “ supposedly means to be “Set Apart” or “Chosen”. After being spared from what should have been certain catastrophe, I have no doubt that all of us who live in Metro Manila and Luzon have certainly been “Set Apart” and definitely “Chosen” to do more than just say: “ Thank God, we didn’t get hit! ”

After days of anxiety over the distant but ominous presence of a never before witnessed tempest passing like an Angel of Death, we all assumed the worst and prayed the most, hoping for the best. And here we are in Metro Manila all warm and dry. We say “mabuti na lang” or all is good. “We return to the regular programming” of our lives simply interspersing it with updates and peeks at Facebook and the tube. As the death toll rises, and images of destruction trickle in we say: “kawawa naman sila” or “how pitiful they are”.

And then we watch some more. This unfortunately is the curse of technology upon modern man.

Technology allows us to know in our minds but not feel in our hearts. Our knowledge divorced from feelings and therefore from a sense of responsibility or action.

Because we did not cheat death, because we did not see or feel the shrapnel in the form of flying “yero” or roof metal almost decapitate us there is no second life syndrome, just appointments and to do lists. Because you’ve been spared, you now focus on the Christmas decorations.

All this is reflective of what an author once said: “Until something becomes personal – we are not moved”. Perhaps that is why some people I know make it a point to visit disaster areas regularly to remind them of how disasters affect others at a very personal level. Perhaps they do so somehow hoping to dodge a personal visit from a disaster of some sort. Other people I know proactively do something to help others because they are blessed and know why they are blessed: to be a blessing or source of hope for others. That I believe is the reason why we have been “Spared, Set Apart and Chosen”; so that someone can comfort the afflicted and give hope to those who have no hope left in them. Now is your chance to be a real saint, to complete the circle and fulfill your purpose.

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Every calamity has its own set of unique challenges and with Typhoon Yolanda, once the temperamental tourist was done doing her climactic Sumba in the Philippines, she left us unable to communicate in many places. That’s when the need and the viability of Satellite phones became the topic of discussions among the media, first responders and even the President. For the longest time, we have viewed Sat-phones as super spy stuff, Desert Storm specialized equipment that costs a ton of money and even more costlier to use to make phone calls with.

But like all “new toys” that become standard consumer products in boats, among campers, and many government agencies around the world, Satellite phones costs have gone down dramatically to the current level where they cost almost the same as top end mobile phones. According to Yoly Crisanto who heads the Corporate Communications group of Globe Telecoms, Satellite phones costs somewhere in the area of P35,000 a little higher than the iPhone 5 or the Blackberry or Samsung.  The phones operate on both pre-paid and post-paid SIM cards at an estimated cost of “$1.50 per call; 50 US cents per text”. I haven’t had a chance to check but I’ve been told that Smart carries a package for SAT phones also.

In the US, the phones ranges from $600 to $1,900 and according to reviews I glanced through, SAT phones are highly dependable in extreme situations where normal ground communications are obliterated. Certain models are also wifi and data compatible allowing for the transmission of documents when needed. Admittedly, SAT phones are not practical for day to day use but in the aftermath of Super Storms, or when there are no known cell sites or stuck on a boat in the middle of an ocean, you want one strapped to your body.

With 21 typhoons hitting the country a year, we have enough history to know that during the first 24 to 48 hours it is almost impossible to get essential information from hard hit areas. This is more than enough reason for every major town, city and province to buy a SAT phone or for the government to bid out a program where SAT phones can be issued and maintained by a service provider such as Globe or Smart or one of the top three companies that produce and maintain SAT phones internationally.

Unlike mobile phones, SAT phones is not susceptible to misuse because the nature and means to operate requires that you have to call outdoors and open space. You have to go on top of the building or a ridge with an unobstructed view. They are not meant for convenient everyday use. If you call a SAT phone each call from a mobile to a SAT phone can cost as much as $10 per call and under a managed system, COA and the respective agency can immediately tell if the phone was used outside of an emergency. ET should not have left home without it!

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At the same time that the 7.2 earthquake hit Bohol, Former AFP Chief of Staff and now Congressman Rodolfo Biazon made a statement that the PNoy administration should reconsider or altogether scrap their plans to buy 26 fighter jets from South Korea and replace the shopping list with more Helicopters. That very wise observation and suggestion fell on deaf ears as the AFP brass was quite Gung-ho to have some real force behind the air force and not just air. According to the AFP, it was a done deal that couldn’t be changed.

If the earthquake wasn’t sufficient proof of our serious need for helicopters, Typhoon Yolanda’s destruction now teaches us that not only do we need a lot of helicopters. We also need a lot of transport planes to move troops and supplies to help disaster areas not fighter jets. Sad to say, instead of transporting relief goods and first responders, our transport plane(s?) was reportedly ferrying local and international Journalists. Congressman Biazon should hold an inquiry into how the AFP sets its operational priorities and purchasing in line with actual or real needs.

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