‘State of Common Sense’

Browsing through my Facebook account last weekend, I read a tagged post of a weather advisory from Prisco Nilo, the former head of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). Remember Nilo? He was the guy who President Benigno “Noy” Aquino lll chopped off from his post after typhoon Basyang lashed at Metro Manila and Luzon provinces in July 2010. Nilo was fired after the state weather agency gave a faulty forecast when very strong winds lashed at Metro Manila contrary to PAGASA’s typhoon prediction.

In that post, Nilo alerted his Facebook followers, who included Albay Governor Joey Salceda, about “a potential storm that may hit Eastern Visayas and/or adjacent areas on Dec. 4 as shown by the latest run of the GFS model (from the US Weather Bureau).” GFS is the acronym for global forecast system.

More than two years ago when he was still at PAGASA, Nilo confirmed residents in coastal communities in Leyte were warned that they’re being exposed to high risks of severe flooding from storm surges reaching as high as 12 meters (39.37 feet).

I was asking our PAGASA reporter what happened to Nilo after his unceremonious ouster. It was earlier reported that he migrated to work abroad. Some of his former colleagues though say Nilo, who hails from Sogod, Southern Leyte, is in the country.

Last Monday, Nilo downgraded the alert and announced on his Facebook account that the storm earlier predicted by GFS to hit the country on Dec. 4 has fizzled out. “I can still work in the background, beyond politics and the glare of TV cameras, in the service of our countrymen in my own little way,” Nilo posted in reply to one of his followers thanking him for the weather update.

Gov. Salceda, who is also very active in social media, posted on his Facebook account that it was Nilo who also alerted him about super typhoon “Yolanda” as early as Nov. 3. According to Salceda, Nilo warned him the projected path of Yolanda might hit Albay and other provinces in the Bicol region.

By the grace of God, Salceda noted with great relief that Yolanda skirted Bicol region when it struck the Philippines last Nov. 8. Unfortunately, eastern and central Visayas provinces bore the brunt of the category 5 typhoon as it crossed the country.

Three days later, President Aquino declared a state of national calamity in all affected provinces and regions.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) so far has confirmed total casualty count at 5,240 people. However, this official death toll does not take into account other cadavers recovered but have yet to be identified and processed. With 1,613 reported missing, the number of dead is feared to reach close to the previous estimate of 10,000.

Reflecting from the post-Yolanda calamity, government officials led by the President, senators and congressmen and local government executives were at least in agreement on the need to improve on the pre-disaster preparedness and adoption of climate change adaptation measures. These measures include the “no build zones” in hazard map identified areas that are vulnerable to storm surges, tsunami, landslide and other natural calamities. 

Given the most recent experience of politics entering into the picture of relief operations, the Palace is even open to the idea of a “ground commander” in times of disaster. One lawmaker, Senate majority leader Alan Peter Cayateno, filed a bill seeking to create the Emergency Response Department.

While the objectives of the proposed bill seemed to be laudable, it becomes another kind of knee-jerk reaction. They in Congress, including Cayetano, could have already done this when they passed the law creating the NDRRMC. As officially created by Congress, the NDRRMC is composed of the heads of the various government agencies as members of the council as policy-making body.

The NDRRMC is co-chaired by Department of National Defense Secretary (Voltaire Gazmin) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary (Mar Roxas II). But the executive director handles day-to-day operations at present held by retired Gen. Eduardo del Rosario, who has the rank of undersecretary.

What the lawmakers like Cayetano would like to have now is somebody to be clothed with powers as “anti-disaster czar,” with Cabinet rank and department portfolio. But who would want to be dubbed as the “Secretary of Disaster,” or “Secretary of Emergency?”

I agree though with fellow STAR columnist Boo Chanco who wrote in his column last week that Gov.Salceda is a very good candidate for this full-time “anti-disaster czar.”

Meanwhile, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon Soliman, a member of the NDRRMC, announced yesterday they will stop their relief operations for typhoon victims next month. It’s just four days left before December. So more or less, that’s the remaining window for the thousands of evacuees, the victims and survivors of Yolanda to continue getting sustenance from relief goods.

As of Nov. 25, Soliman disclosed the DSWD has received P44,470,883.59 and $1,592,673.95 cash donations from local and foreign donors. These amounts do not include those received from other government agencies and directly given to local government units affected as well as private and non-government organizations involved in Yolanda relief operations.

Ideally, Gov. Salceda said assistance to calamity victims should shift from relief goods to either outright cash or cash-for-work after 10 days. This way, he said the calamity victims would regain their dignity and recover from their trauma.

More importantly, he pointed out, the rebuilding must start correctly and make sure it takes place out of the hazard areas wiped out by Yolanda. The governor of Albay knows what he is talking about since his province is vulnerable to volcanic eruption (Mt. Mayon) and is in the country’s typhoon belt.

 On his Facebook account last week while Yolanda relief operations were stalled in confusion, Salceda posted this: “What the Philippines needs is to declare a State of Common Sense.”