Slow recovery

A typhoon is an act of God, and recovering from the destruction is an act of man. We are doing a terrible job of recovering from typhoon "Milenyo."

Ninoy Aquino must be turning over in his grave; the international airport named after him is a national embarrassment. During monsoons the NAIA ceilings leak, the tarmac gets flooded and the airport operates by candlelight. Despite that regular experience, NAIA managers still failed to invest in enough generators in case of a protracted blackout.

So while the Thais were showing off to the world their new, modern Suvarnabhumi international airport, which opened as scheduled last Thursday, passengers at the NAIA throughout the weekend were sweating and groping in the dark. A departing Norwegian reportedly fainted from the heat yesterday. Where does that P550 terminal fee per passenger go?

Power at the airport was restored yesterday, but the air-conditioning remained off because, authorities said, they didn’t want to overload the system. No big surprise — that air-conditioning sucks even on a normal day. NAIA officials should realize that not all people in this world can stand tropical heat and humidity like Filipinos.

The "independent republics" of Metro Manila have slowed down clearing and recovery operations, making a coordinated approach to the disaster impossible. These little republics and their parochial mayors listen to the national government only when it comes to the release of calamity funds.

Disasters tend to bring out the worst in some Filipinos. The Pinoy pirate mentality was evident again with the theft of power cables for the copper wires, further slowing down the restoration of electricity. These thefts — of wires, household aluminum ladders, vehicle side mirrors, cell phones, even manhole covers — thrive because there are lowlifes who buy the stolen items. Law enforcers should crack down on these fences and hang them by their ankles for all to see.

At the height of the typhoon on Thursday I drove to work with Milenyo’s powerful winds howling around me and threatening to blow away more trees and billboards and roofing. My van rocked from the wind each time I slowed to a stop so I tried to drive as fast as I could. But Metro Manila was a huge obstacle course, with the streets flooded and blocked by uprooted trees, collapsed billboards, upturned container vans and stalled vehicles.

We must commend the local governments that sent out personnel even in that dangerous situation to chop down the branches of uprooted trees and clear at least one lane of many blocked streets for vehicular traffic.

That early action as well as the timely suspension of all classes in areas along the path of the typhoon are the only positive things I can remember from the Milenyo disaster.

Everything else merely magnified the problems that have long plagued Metro Manila: uncertain water supply, poor electricity infrastructure, traffic chaos, and yes, the refusal of local officials to ban giant billboards for fear of losing precious revenue.

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Last Thursday I hurdled the obstacle course and arrived early at the office, where our maintenance guys were having problems looking for more fuel for our generators.

Until last Saturday there were long lines at gas stations because fuel had to be pumped manually in areas without electricity. Some gas stations, like shopping malls, simply suspended operations until the lights came back on.

There were cops and traffic aides in the streets at the height of the typhoon, but they probably succumbed to fatigue and disappeared the next night, when many areas were still without electricity and traffic lights were out. Though there were few vehicles in the streets, there was a massive traffic gridlock at the intersection where Roxas Boulevard gave way to Coastal Road in Parañaque. Somehow Pinoy motorists always show their worst during such periods.

It’s been 14 years since the eight- to 12-hour daily blackouts in Metro Manila. Milenyo plunged us back once again to the Dark Ages, reminding us of how so much depends on a steady power supply. Food spoiled in refrigerators. There was no TV, and even when power was restored, there was no cable service. No air-conditioning, electric fan, hair dryer, coffee maker. No shopping malls. No computers so no Internet. No water heater, and for those who rely on electric-powered pumps, no water.

Hotels were fully booked from Thursday; there are people who can’t do without regular showers, proper toilet facilities and air-conditioning. Some of the smaller hotels lost their clients though when their generators broke down late Friday.

Around Ayala Alabang there was a spike in demand for generators. In the coming days rechargeable lamps are bound to be in demand once again.

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What can we learn from this disaster?

For one, we should start paying closer attention to weather forecasts. The science gets better every day, and even PAGASA — the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration — got its alerts right on Milenyo.

The problem is that because of previous inaccurate forecasts, most of us have long ignored PAGASA alerts. Classes at least were suspended early enough; the announcement was made on Wednesday evening with a warning about strong winds headed our way. But Malacañang’s suspension of work in government offices came too late, near midnight. And next time, PAGASA might want to mention that an approaching typhoon is packing winds powerful enough to blow your house down, as well as trees and billboards.

Milenyo proved Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando right in his campaign against those huge billboards. Will the mayors who oppose all his projects finally be reasonable and cooperate for once with the MMDA? Don’t bet on it.

Coordination of disaster relief operations in this country has always been hampered by turf wars and politics. Mayors won’t bow to governors or to the unelected MMDA chairman; opposition mayors won’t even talk to the President or Cabinet members. There are governors who won’t listen to either the secretary of local governments or the secretary of defense who chairs the National Disaster Coordinating Council. The result, as we are now seeing, is chaos.

The NAIA needs new generators, and new officials won’t hurt either. We need a new airport, but for now this is just a pipe dream.

As for the other problems — inadequate water and electricity supply, ruinous politics — we will continue to suffer from these through many more destructive typhoons.