NEWS FEATURES | Typhoons in the middle of pandemic: PH gov’t on calamity response
By Ysabel Vidor, Christel Castro, Emilio Escudero
Design by Vince Julius Balaga
Graph by Trevor Phoenix Lomotos
Amidst the pandemic, the Philippines faced a series of typhoons, notably Typhoon Rolly and Ulysses. Questions regarding government preparedness in the middle of the pandemic arose as national briefing was only held hours after the typhoon had made a landfall and not days before it entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). President Rodrigo Duterte was missing in the meeting.
Typhoons Rolly and Quinta accumulated P7.7-billion agricultural damages. Additionally, Rolly left 22 casualties and affected around 68.6 million people. Meanwhile, Typhoon Ulysses’ death toll rose to 69 and 12 people are still missing. It also wiped out over P2.5-billion worth of agriculture and damaged P8-billion in infrastructures.
Overall preparation of PH gov’t
With a global health emergency in existence, the national disaster bureau braced itself to mitigate the detriments brought by the typhoon. While preparedness is prioritized, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) sought to modify some of their plans to inhibit compromising the health of civilians given the pandemic.
“Dati, noong normal times pa, kapag may emergency, sige mag-respond tayo using the usual equipment, using the usual system pero ngayon dahil may COVID-19 na, we have to make sure that the responders and the evacuees are protected against infection,” NDRRMC Spokesperson Mark Timbal emphasized.
In a press briefing, where the President was absent, NDRRMC chairman and defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana claimed that the calamity fund can scarcely be utilized for assistance as the funds depleted due to the previous typhoons. Therefore, aside from the preparations made by the council, NDRRMC sought financial aid from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to grant the quick response funds (QRF) to the government agencies to help in overcoming the damages of the calamity.
Although there are 100 evacuation centers across the country, Timbal claimed that these were built for COVID-19 patients. Schools were then used as evacuation areas by the local government units (LGUs) to accommodate as many displaced families as possible. The NDRRMC limited the number of people to only one to three families per classroom.
The NDRRMC executive director and Office of Civil Defense Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad emphasized the other possible facilities that can be used. “Maraming pwedeng gamitin na schools ang DepEd [Department of Education] at pinapagamit nila as evacuation centers and may leeway yung local government units to use their other facilities as evacuation centers even ang barangay halls na nandoon sa safe na lugar,” Jalad said.
Despite criticisms from civilians on the state’s negligence in preparation for the calamity, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque denied the allegations. During a public briefing he claimed, “Hindi naman tayo caught unprepared dahil naka-preposition naman po ang ating mga pangangailangan.”
Disaster preparedness–not a priority?
The Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards, simply called Project NOAH, is the country’s flagship disaster risk reduction program that started in 2011 pioneering different projects regarding disaster mitigation and prevention which were funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). These projects include hydrometeorological hazard maps for flood levels, storm surges, landslides, and debris flows. An impact assessment tool called WebSAFE and a mobile application called Arko were also developed to provide users information regarding hazard-prone areas.
However, the project was shut down by the government in January 2017 due to “lack of funds”. DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña stated that this decision was made because the deliverables of Project NOAH had already been met. University of the Philippines (UP) professor and Project NOAH executive director Mahar Lagmay opposed the decision, stating that their work is not yet complete as the project’s initiative to locate the country’s flood maps is only 60% complete.
“The Philippines lost its ability to provide its citizens hazard specific, area focused, and time bound warning during calamities. That’s our biggest contribution because we were supplying information that the government was able to use in near real-time because somebody was minding the store… That kind of ability was possible because real-time sensors were deployed and those data were responsible for averting many disasters” Lagmay stated.
With the recent onslaught of a series of typhoons in the country, netizens clamored about the decision of the Duterte administration to shutdown Project NOAH. Some stated that this decision proves how the administration gives less priority to disaster risk reduction and management of the country in times of natural disasters and calamities.
Moreover, the 2020 National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management fund decreased to P16-billion compared to the previous year’s P20-billion fund. Senator Grace Poe emphasized how the administration is investing “far too little” for disaster management and preparedness despite the number of typhoons and calamities hitting the country every year. Earlier, Poe authored Senate Bill №124, also known as the ‘Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management System Act’ which aims to create a disaster risk reduction department funded by at least three percent of all estimated regular government revenues.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Sonny Angara said that NDRRMC’s 2021 budget will be increased to P27.25-billion, over P10-billion increase from the country’s current fund this year. Nevertheless, the P19.1-billion allocated for the National Task Force to End Communist Local Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is likely to be left untouched.
Government negligence on Magat Dam
The whole nation was devastated as the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela were submerged in water due to heavy flooding. Cagayan provincial information officer Rogelio Sending Jr. puts emphasis on the devastating news from their area, claiming, “We are literally in a sea of floodwater — the biggest for the past 40 years.”
Experts demand accountability from dam operators as the catastrophic flooding may have caused the dam to discharge a massive amount of water than what is expected. On November 11, Typhoon Ulysses made a landfall in Cagayan and Isabela and the seven gates of Magat Dam were opened the next day. The dam released 6,244 cubic meters of water per second.
In a statement, Infrawatch PH convenor Terry Ridon stated, “Magat did not make sufficient water drawdown 2 to 3 days prior to Ulysses, as mandated by its protocol, because its gates were not even open 3 to 4 days prior to landfall.” The opening of seven gates on November 12 was excessive; hence, the flood. The massive release of water would have been inhibited if only the gates were opened even before the typhoon made a landfall on the province.
Vice President Leni Robredo claimed that several officials were misinformed on the effects of opening the dam gates due to their inability to create an estimate. “At least ‘yung kausap ko di nya alam. Some of the city councilors I was with, they were not aware if there was such an estimate, pero para sa akin kailangan merong ganun eh,” Robredo stated.
Residents of the province screamed for help due to the torrential rain and flooding and netizens persistently demanded accountability from the government through all forms of media to place all efforts on rescuing the people of Cagayan and Isabela. The hashtag #CagayanNeedsHelp was utilized to emphasize the plight of the victims and ensure rescue efforts.
Left in the dark
The shutdown of the media giant ABS-CBN and its Regional Network Group (RNG) was said to have a drastic effect on the dissemination of necessary information about the typhoons. The network had 21 regional stations reaching about 70 million individuals across the country. Currently, only 3 regional stations (Baguio, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro) remain open.
Danilo Arao, a journalism professor at UP Diliman, stated that ABS-CBN’s shutdown caused “information gaps” especially when Typhoon Rolly hit the country. “While we expect all news media organizations to provide the latest weather updates, I still maintain that ABS-CBN is sorely missed for one simple, four-word reason: All hands on deck,” Arao said.
Aside from the network’s reach, Arao highlighted the importance of language in the dissemination of information. ABS-CBN RNG used to broadcast news in local languages, enabling citizens to have a better understanding of the information.
“When you talk about proximity, it’s very important. But of course, it’s the cultural context that would be key to the effectiveness of a regional network reporting on what’s happening in a particular area,” Arao stated. “So this is not just the issue of the local language being used which would make packaging of information more relatable, more digestible and more understandable to the broader community there.”
Nevertheless, citizens from remote locations who used to rely on ABS-CBN as their main media source are still having a hard time accessing information despite its presence on multiple platforms. Netizens also expressed their insights about the issue stating that the government’s decision to shut down ABS-CBN has neglected them of necessary information about the series of typhoons that recently affected the country.
Situation in evacuation centers
Since COVID-19 still poses danger among Filipinos, the government deployed health monitors in evacuation centers to ensure that minimum health protocols, like social distancing and wearing face masks, are being followed. The Department of Health (DOH) also opted to perform “symptoms screening” in all evacuation facilities as Health undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stated that testing isn’t feasible given the country’s limited national resources
“The goal is zero casualty. Pero ngayon, hindi lang dapat zero casualty, zero infection din dapat in the process,” Timbal stressed.
A total of 346,993 individuals (96,543 families) were evacuated in Bicol due to Rolly and 82,584 individuals (21,000 families) were temporarily seeking shelter in the schools. According to the DepEd, 869 schools were used as evacuation centers, 443 of which are located in the Bicol Region. As of writing, 283,656 (70,784 families) individuals are still lodging in evacuation centers.
However, DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones urged LGUs to avoid using schools as evacuation centers in the future. Instead, LGUs should use general purpose buildings or gyms to serve as evacuation centers.
“Eventually, hanapan dapat ng solusyon dahil alam natin may bagyo talagang dumadating every year, paghandaan na ‘yan na hindi tayo aasa sa mga school [bilang evacuation center],” Briones stated.
Moreover, House Deputy Minority Leader Carlos Isagani Zarate of the Bayan Muna party list emphasized the importance of safer evacuation centers for the citizens. House Bill №5259 or the “Evacuation Center Bill” aims to create evacuation facilities that are resistant to typhoons and earthquakes, averting from the common practice of using schools and gyms as evacuation centers.
Climate leadership, not resiliency
As the aftermath of the typhoons has left massive destruction in different cities and regions all over the Philippines, the topic of Filipino resiliency surfaced as the country faced yet again a series of calamities. Environmental groups are demanding the government to stop using the narrative of Filipino resilience to hide the current problems of the country. Instead, the government should work on genuine climate action.
Aksyon Klima Pilipinas (AKP), a network of civil society organizations working on different climate change issues, said in a statement, “This is an unfortunate reality that the Philippines, one of the countries at highest risk to the climate crisis, can expect moving forward in the absence of transformative actions.”
Furthermore, Greenpeace Philippines urged the Duterte administration to heed the call of the youth and start imposing policy to mitigate climate change and global warming.
“In a country that is regularly battered by strong typhoons, the Filipino youth need protection. One way to ensure they are protected is to set policy directions that put people and planet first,” Greenpeace campaigner Virginia Benosa-Llorin explained.
Meanwhile, a viral Facebook post by Rene Principe pointed out how the aftermath of the calamities is a product of the incompetence of the government. He then condemned different government actions like the defunding of Project NOAH, pursuing the construction of Kaliwa Dam, and the killings of environmental activists.
“THE FILIPINOS HAVE NEVER BEEN RESILIENT, WE ARE SIMPLY FORGOTTEN. As long as we keep tolerating these incompetent policymakers who NEVER listen to the scientists and experts, there will never be [climate justice],” Principe concluded.
