Yolanda: Unanswered questions and politics

It is not my intention to name and shame anyone one year after Yolanda, but I think it is worth pointing out new information that have come to light that can serve as valuable lessons for the future. According to a friend in Washington, D.C. there may have been a serious miscommunication as to when the effects of the typhoon would be felt by those living along its track, thus delaying local government response. According to him, the arrival of the system can be seen clearly in time-stamped CIMMS animation: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/11/08/super-typhoon-haiyan-one-of-worlds-most-powerful-storms-in-history-from-space/.

It would seem that the weather advisory issued regarding the typhoon’s arrival in the afternoon, may have actually referred to the time when the eye of the system would be above the affected areas. Local governments should have been given the forecast containing the estimated arrival of the outer rain bands which could then warn of oncoming strong winds near the eye wall. Very strong winds in this part of the typhoon can generate the storm surge. I understand further that a meeting of national and local government officials was called for 8am.  By that time the storm surge had started and it was too late. If this is true, this may be worth looking into perhaps starting with reviewing PAGASA advisory protocol. 

Many have also asked why the military seemed to have been given the task of distributing the relief goods. In any crisis, it is a given that those in the affected area will most likely take care of their immediate families. At such a time, the armed forces could have supported or conducted organized search and rescue operations. Could they have perhaps saved some of those who may have been buried alive in many coastal areas? Why weren’t they ordered to do so?

Why must there be so much “finger-pointing” and politically motivated statements? We should move on learning from our mistakes. The Japanese, after every disaster, go out of their way to apologize for their mistakes and miscalculations and resolve to do better.

Disaster preparedness

While many questions remain unanswered in the aftermath of Yolanda, it is imperative that investment in disaster preparedness and risk reduction be stepped up.

The Philippine STAR reported: “In a report titled “Can’t Afford to Wait,” Oxfam cited the Philippines as one of the countries in Asia that are most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

Aside from the Philippines, the Oxfam report also said Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia are not investing enough to protect their citizens despite the region’s vulnerability to disasters, and could suffer double the global average losses of gross domestic product by century’s end if measures are not put in place.”

Building a resilient society

As our own contribution ,the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development (CPR),  in cooperation with the Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) and the Manila Observatory(MO) hosted a conference last July 9-10 on “Partnership for Disaster and Climate Resilience”.  At that time, the host organizations announced that they would carry out a three year program consisting of:

• A capacity-building program in 12 disaster-prone municipalities in Samar to strengthen the resilience of their health systems, in partnership with local mayors and with UNICEF. This pilot program aims to generate best practices that could prove helpful to similar communities in disaster-prone areas of the country.

• A series of events on disaster and climate resilience and on the capacities required to reduce the country’s exposure and vulnerability to risks.  The first of these events is planned for February 2015 on the subject of earthquake resilience in Metro Manila and is expected to bring together CEOs, experts, government officials and NGOs.

• An information platform to promote and facilitate the development, exchange and dissemination of knowledge and information on disaster and climate resilience in the Philippines. This web portal will be linked to other in-country, regional and international platforms. The Manila Observatory has agreed to host and maintain this web-based platform and is looking for partners and funding support to implement this project.

• The development of a set of measurable indicators that would  make it possible to track progress in building resilience at the national, local, and business levels. UNDP has agreed to work on this project with the three organizations.”

On Nov. 18, we will meet with World Bank officials in Washington, D.C. to introduce ourselves and discuss the possibility of a partnership. Canadian Ambassador Neil Reeder and our own Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. made it possible for Antonia Yulo Loyzaga (MO), Ernesto Garilao (ZFF) and myself (CPR) to meet with the World Bank.  The next day,  the three of us will also give presentations to the co-sponsored event of the US-Philippines Society/Embassy of the Philippines/ Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on the occasion of the Haiyan/Yolanda first anniversary.

APEC statement on resiliency

In a related development, a White House press statement indicated that:  “The international community must sustain its commitment to humanitarian response, while at the same time being resilient and quickly addressing the transition from relief to recovery. To protect businesses, trade, economic growth, and communities from disruptions, President Obama, together with President Xi of China and the other APEC Leaders, agreed to begin developing measures to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters…….”

Appeal to the private sector

The need for resiliency, as stated above, has the broad and sustained support/appeal of all governments, NGO’s, multilateral organizations including APEC. When one considers the many challenges of our own national government, it is imperative that the private sector bear a very substantial share of the burden. The three partner organizations involved in the resiliency program, perceive their role as convenors for multi-stakeholder dialogue and for bringing partners and parties together to act in concert on the basis of a shared approach to building a resilient society.  I am aware that many businesses have done more than their fair share post-Yolanda relief even as I acknowledge that many corporations are now involved in Resiliency.

Yet, it is my humble opinion that there is an urgency to consolidate the private sector into ONE RESILIENCY TEAM (devoid of partisan commercial rivalry).