Frustrated

Half a year after Yolanda slammed into Eastern Visayas, there is still no master plan for rebuilding the disaster zone. When we celebrate the first anniversary of this destructive event, the theme of international coverage of the rehabilitation effort will likely echo what we hear today, half a year after Yolanda.

The UN, ever so diplomatic, described the situation in the typhoon zone as “fragile.” One might interpret that to mean susceptible to breakdown. The misery could return.

The man in charge with overseeing the rehabilitation effort in the Yolanda zone does not seem very happy these days. Panfilo Lacson recently described himself as “frustrated.”

By law, a “post-disaster needs assessment” (PDNA) should be submitted a month after the calamity by the Office of Civil Defense. That should have been December last year. It is now May and that report, the basis for any comprehensive rehabilitation effort, does not yet exist.

Without a master plan, everything going on in the typhoon-devastated areas must be a prolonged and painful process of improvisation. Little wonder that the many NGOs, representatives of multilateral institutions and government workers appear to keep running into each other. Although frantic, all the many efforts could hardly be described as concerted.

This explains why, as the UN notes, so many people are still in temporary shelters. This explains why the victims feel that government is still absent from the scene.

When the typhoon struck, government response was late, ineffective and chaotic. Six months after, the same adjectives continue to characterize the official response.

A couple of weeks ago, the head of the NDRRMC resigned his post ­— ostensibly for health reasons. Now we know why he suddenly became unhealthy. There appears to be a breakdown in coordination among the government agencies in dealing with the challenge of rehabilitating the Yolanda zone.

While praising DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson for being on the ball, Lacson complains about two other Cabinet members who seem to be ignoring their responsibilities as regards the rehab effort. While Lacson does not name them, we could surmise who the two dysfunctional Cabinet members might be. They have established quite a record for bringing chaos where calamity already struck.

Singson is indeed praiseworthy. A consummate professional, he constantly focuses on the job to be done with little interest in politicking.

The two others are the exact opposite. They are consumed by politics. They angle for the cameras constantly, say stupid things for political effect and are overly conscious about protecting their turf. One of them very likely remains bitter about the fact the high-profile job of overseeing the rehab effort was given to Lacson and not to him.

These two Cabinet members are totally dysfunctional. They magnify the general incompetence of this administration. They make the rehab effort even more protracted, adding to the misery the people already endure because of the calamity.

The fact that Lacson chose to complain publicly is indicative of the type of leadership the President provides. If, even after this very public complaint, President Aquino still does nothing, the people of Eastern Visayas have reason to be very disappointed.

Frustrating

Some people, obsessed with protecting their small turf, very easily lose sight of the larger picture and the greater possibilities. This is true not only in the public but also in the private sector.

This brings to mind the bickering now going on between the majority and the minority partners in Alliance Select Foods International, Inc. The company is a rising force in tuna canning and smoked salmon, selling our marine exports to the rest of the world.

The majority Filipino investors in this company recently decided to take on a new strategic partner by way of a bulk sale of new shares. The new strategic partner, Strong Oak, will not only infuse fresh capital into the company’s operations. It will also help open new markets abroad for Alliance.

Strong Oak did due diligence of Alliance’s business and assessed the possibilities for this company down the road. The new strategic partner eventually decided to purchase 430 million of Alliance shares at an impressive 3.3% premium over prevailing stock prices.

With the entry of Strong Oak, Alliance will become a robust company with a worldwide presence. The fresh capital infusion will enable the Filipino company to expand its manufacturing capacity, produce more, sell more and profit even more.

The sale of new shares will necessarily dilute the existing stockholders. That is routine. In exchange, the original investors will have a larger company and more markets. With economies of scale, it should become more efficient and more profitable.

The Singaporean minority partners, however, are opposing the block sale and entry of a strategic partner. The only possible reason for doing so is to prevent dilution. They would rather maintain their share of a small pond than be a smaller part of a larger ocean.

Opposing progress and resisting expansion, they want to hold on to their turf by forcibly keeping the company small. Whatever insinuations they make about the way their Filipino majority partners have run the company should now be completely negated by the due diligence performed by the new strategic partner.

In this case, the minority shareholders demonstrate the same small-mindedness that afflicts the two Cabinet members Lacson complains loudly about. They would rather everything fails than willingly yield turf for the greater good.

In both cases, those who would rather hold turf than risk success are simply pathetic.