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By Batas Mauricio

IF the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) refuses to accept the number of people who died from “Ruby” coming from the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), why then can’t it not give its own actual body count even if all cities, towns, and provinces in the country have their own disaster councils which have been monitoring those who died from the typhoon?

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PNRC reported early Tuesday that, as per its own count, some 23 or so people died from Ruby’s ferocious rains and flash floods. But NDRRMC has been contesting PNRC’s figures with hammer and thongs, as it were, saying there is a need to wait for confirmation from local disaster councils, maintaining that as per NDRRMC’s count on Dec. 9, 2014, only three persons died from Ruby.

So, which of the two––NDRRMC and PNRC––must we believe? Is it true, as some are now saying, that politics is now shaping the reports of casualties during typhoons, in the light of the desire of the Aquino government to project a “zero casualty” scenario so it could not be accused once again of incompetence and inefficiency in dealing with disasters, just like in the case of Yolanda in 2013?

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Clearly, aside from the death and destruction brought about by rains, floods, and strong winds coming to the country on regular intervals, Filipinos now also have to fear the shame descending on the entire nation as a result of relief goods and donations, coming from local and foreign donors, being pocketed by unscrupulous persons, or are being allowed to rot instead of being seasonably distributed.

This national shame has become a part of Filipino life every time a typhoon or some other calamity strikes, prompting even international agencies and governments to demand accounting of their donations.

I am sure officials of the Aquino government are aware of this anomaly, yet it is clear they are simply brazening it out, uncaring about the black eye given to President Aquino and to his avowed “righteous governance” program by this shameful malady. I will not be surprised if and when, at some point in the future, another calamity strikes, no one will want to help us anymore, for fear that their donations and other assistance will just be diverted again.

I am saying this because in the past, I wrote about this already. On Jan. 13, 2012, I sent the following article to newspapers and Internet and Facebook groups carrying my column entitled “Expired donations for Sendong victims? Paging Red Cross.” Read on:

“Paging the Philippine National Red Cross. Here is a text message, translated from Filipino to English, from someone who claims he is a resident of Valencia, Bukidnon: `Good morning, Atty. Batas Mauricio. I am amazed by the people from government, especially from Red Cross. Instead of helping us victims of Sendong, they seem to be giving us more problems.

“We line up for hours, sometimes for a full day, for the relief goods and donations they will give us. We are happy because, somehow, we receive something. But it is irritating us no end to find out, after we reach our homes, that the products given to us cannot be eaten or used anymore because they have expired! Perhaps, it is better if we change `Red Cross’ to `Black Cross’…from Valencia, Bukidnon.’ The texter’s number is 09268869639.”

Then, here is another article I wrote some two or three years ago, also highlighting the inability of the Aquino government to respond to the needs of our countrymen stricken with typhoons:” Cotabato City Mayor Japal Guiani is standing his ground, and is insisting his constituents have not received any aid from the national government yet despite their misfortune due to the rains and floods that visited the city. And, despite Malacanang denials, I am prone to believe him.

“A report by ABS CBN TV Patrol confirmed Guiani’s lament: millions of relief bags were found stocked and undistributed at the warehouse of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Cotabato City, notwithstanding the clamor for more aid from hapless city residents.

“Indeed, while President Aquino may have authorized the release of some P10 million for the Cotabato City flood victims, and the money was immediately sent, it would seem DSWD sabotaged the Chief Executive by holding on to, and not distributing, the relief bags. Dinky Soliman has a lot of explaining to do here.”

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com

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