The blame game

After the praises and accolades for the Filipino bayanihan spirit, and after acknowledging with gratitude the bravery of soldiers and ordinary individuals who risked life and limb to save others, people must now face up to the old Filipino practice called the “blame game.” The flood victims — especially those who lost their loved ones — are understandably angry and are looking for somebody on whom to vent their frustrations on, and authorities are passing the blame on each other for the floods that have virtually erased many towns from the face of the earth.

Local government executives especially from the inundated towns in Pangasinan are accusing Napocor and the San Roque dam officials of lying, belying claims that warnings were faxed before water was released from the spillway gates. Loren Legarda’s questions hit the nail right on the head, asking why Napocor only ordered the release of the water at the last minute when dam waters had already reached very critical levels.

Hydrologists however say it is more dangerous to allow the dam to absorb water beyond the 290-meter critical level. They said more damage would have happened if the excess water was not released because too much pressure could break the dam and cause it to abruptly release as much as 14,000 cubic meters per second. Local officials though are not buying this, citing their own experts who said the San Roque dam can accommodate water from the mountains and even the spillage from the Binga and Ambuklao dams in the Cordilleras.

From the way things look, the finger pointing is likely to continue long after the weather begins to normalize and the waters start to subside especially with various groups adding their voices into the din, demanding the ouster of so many individuals. Some are blaming Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro for not fast-tracking the purchase of rubber boats and rescue equipment early in the year through negotiated procurement. But if Gilbert had agreed to a purchase without any public bidding - and if Ondoy had not happened — you can bet he will be accused of irregularities by the same people who are blaming him now.

While it’s true that nobody expected the disasters to happen, the people have been warned a number of times about the effects of climate change, the dangers of indiscriminate garbage disposal, the consequences of squatting on river banks, the perils of building houses below standards set by the national building code, the hazards posed by illegal logging and so many other things that are now being pinpointed as collective causes of the recent devastation.

As things stand, people just have to brace themselves for radical changes in their habits and lifestyles. But more importantly, government has to show strong political will and seriously follow the rules on zoning, enforce building code standards and the like. Hopefully, GMA will really stick to her guns that she will remove all illegal settlers along river banks once and for all.

Let’s not go back to the old habit of ningas cogon and be complacent thinking it’s “weather-weather lang” as Erap Estrada would say, because — and make no mistake about it — the weather will get worse. But most of all, let’s stop playing the “blame game” because somewhere along the line, we are all to blame for what has happened - but the opportunity to start over again is here and now.

Political realignments

There seems to be a lot of backroom negotiations going on especially before the November 30 deadline for the filing of candidacies. Manny Villar is set to announce his vice presidential candidate soon, hopefully at the MOPC forum scheduled on Oct. 29. There are rumors that Loren Legarda has already decided to join him, but Loren says she has to get the final nod from her benefactor, Nationalist People’s Coalition chairman emeritus Danding Cojuangco.

 Former president Joseph Estrada is definitely joining the race with Makati Mayor Jojo Binay as his running mate, although there are rumors that there is a lot of effort to convince Erap to join Noynoy’s group. However, Erap is said to be ambivalent about it because of the civil society members who seem to have a very strong hold on Noynoy — who in turn are not ready to accept Joseph Estrada as part of their group. But if the former president’s plan to run is derailed by constitutional issues and if he gets disqualified, he has repeatedly said that he will throw his support behind Noynoy.

Despite the latest survey released by the Social Weather Stations showing Noynoy leading the pack at 60 percent, eight congressmen and two governors from the Liberal Party have jumped ship to join Lakas-Kampi, which has Noynoy’s cousin Gilbert Teodoro as its presidential candidate. Chiz Escudero of course was disappointed that his former campaign manager Serge Osmeña jumped ship to join Noynoy’s camp. 

But I guess the multiparty system has given rise to multiple rumors, multiplied intrigues, multi-faceted motives and multi-directional movements — and there will be a lot more multiples coming out. Even survey results will also be multiplied a hundred times, with ideology and platform not being part of the political scene. Right now, it seems we’re still stuck with personality-based politics, with the bandwagon mentality that makes people simply go for whoever is on top of the surveys. We’re going to expect a lot of realignments shortly before the November 30 deadline, with a short Christmas break. And then, expect the political season to be in full swing right after New Year.

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