Help Southern Mindanao

By BenCyrus Ellorin

THREE powerful earthquakes damaged not only structures but have also driven people out of their wits.

I can relate to the trauma caused by the mainshocks and aftershocks. I had experienced that in Cebu when a 7.2 magnitude temblor hit Bohol and Cebu on Oct. 16, 2013, which was further aggravated by supertyphoon Yolanda in less than a month.

In my experience covering disasters, storms, and earthquakes, fast disaster needs assessment and relief response are essential. Often it would take two to three days or even more get the whole picture. A good disaster response plan though would need to hit the ground running in the first minute.

While the focus of attention is on the urban centers, along the highways, it took a news story from veteran journalist Froilan Gallardo about trapped geothermal plant workers and Lumad communities way up Mt. Apo. A report initially dismissed by the Kidapawan mayor as fake news. It turned out the mayor was perhaps lost, obviously clueless. 

In May 2008, around 150,000 people perished when huge storm surges brought by Cyclone Nargis swept the Irrawaddy Delta in southern Myanmar. Nargis. The military government of Myanmar initially blocked foreign relief. They were only allowed under strict government regulation 10 days after Nargis struck. 

I had participated in post-Nargis work in 2009 to 2010, survivors and disaster response workers shared stories of dead communities found days after the cyclone struck not because of drowning or related injuries but of hunger.

Several student activists, known leaders of the opposition National League of Democracy (NLD) and celebrities were arrested for doing “unauthorized” relief operations. Among the prominent personalities jailed for humanitarian work was a popular Burmese comedian Zarganar.

Now, here, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ordered regulation of relief efforts. He ordered the accreditation of relief workers doing relief work in earthquake-stricken areas in Southern Mindanao.

Days before he made the order, snapshots of actor Angel Locsin distributing relief goods circulated. The popular actor has been demonized as a leftist. Angel remains free.

Like other disasters, people who have not received relief aid have asked for help by putting up placards. Soon these distressful photos were all over social media. Official relief agencies insisted there are enough relief goods. One official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said those complaining, posting those distress calls are organized to discredit government efforts.

Yesterday, over at Magnum Radyo, an officer of the Ombudsman-Mindanao sought help for Kidapawan City and Makilala town. Jonathan Pineda, a graft investigator assigned in Cagayan de Oro sought an interview from his hometown Kidapawan with station manager Jun Albino to call for help. On top of his list were water, food, and tents. He said in the interview people are running out of water as the water systems were destroyed by the earthquakes. Relief goods, he said, are in evacuation centers, but not everyone has sought refuge there. 

Over at One News TV, a resident called for relief goods and water especially those not in evacuation centers. She explained their houses are fine, but they need water because their water system is damaged and there are no stores open where they can buy food and other basic needs?

Is this what the regional DSWD was referring to as a campaign to discredit their efforts? Is this ombudsman fellow an agitator? The DSWD, OCD and other relief agencies better look into these valid points rather than fill their brains with those nonsense conspiracy plots.

Detestable comments like the retribution tweet comment of Leah Navarro and that one from a former advertising executive have been roundly rebuked. Rightly so.

Die-hard supporters of this administration are quick in pointing out such bigotry. They are quick too to associate those detestable quotes to their political color, link them to opposition personalities like VP Leni in efforts to come up with a generalization about how bad the “dilawans” are. In the process, they too politicized the earthquake.

Epic fail. Wrong. In Cebuano, we call it tabla. Same same. The pot calling the kettle black.

(Bencyrus Ellorin is a former journalist.)