To the bat cave

From what has been reported and observed prior to the malingering visit of Typhoon Hagupit, it is clear that many Filipinos have learned their lesson from Typhoon Haiyan a.k.a Yolanda. The government was better prepared, even coming up with the “twining concept” where those who are unaffected are automatically required or called on to help those who are. It is also commendable that the military and the police were called out to be proactive instead of being reactive.

For the first time in history, “Panic Buying” was a welcomed development as it indicated that people were seriously preparing for a super typhoon. Another good thing about the panic buying is that it will surely lessen the crowds and traffic next week when people get into panic buying for their “Noche Buena” and Christmas day celebrations. Speaking of “panic,” if you didn’t care much about the coming storm before, chances are the barrage and flood of media special reports and coverage must have been enough to frighten and confuse even the most indifferent among us. Yes it is always better to err on the side of caution but the amount of reports, commentaries and posts plus the equal amount of conflicting forecasts was enough to give some people a migraine. What I found utterly ridiculous was how some reporters for lack of anything to report simply talked about the howling wind one day before the storm was actually in the area. Heck! Winds were howling in Lipa City several days before the storm because it was part of the season.

On the other hand, I appreciated the report about people running or moving into caves because these would provide them stronger cover than the government built temporary shelters in the Visayas. Perhaps this should be studied further by local governments in terms of establishing their locations, determining their safety and usefulness, marking them and integrating them into future evacuation or emergency relocation plans. It’s really a half and half deal since a lot of the caves I’ve seen are usually low and below. But some are high up and in-land and as far as typhoons go; why not! Of course during earthquakes, even snakes and other reptiles have enough common sense to move out of the caves.

As I write this column on Sunday afternoon, I am still able to call as well as read Facebook updates from friends in the Red Zone. This means that the Telcos both Globe and Smart have done a good job especially with mobile transmitter repeaters. This certainly deserves a lot of compliments as they too have done well.

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Coming out of Typhoon Yolanda, many of the volunteers and responders wrote down their individual resolutions in order to do things better the next time.

A number of us said we would “build better and stronger” 4 X 4 vehicles that could push or pull debris and trees, cars, or anything that got in the way. Some of us have, complete with tents, jerry cans, trailers, chainsaws even. Some of us said we will be better organized and ready to respond at “a drop of a dime” translated as a phone call away if ever another big one is forecasted; I think we dropped the ball on that one. Some of us said we would even pre-position ourselves to be near the zone and we won’t wait to be called. Truth be told we are “Waiting and watching.” We thought about buying our own Sat phones but that proved to be more complicated than we first thought.

As Kermit the Frog once said: “It’s not easy being green.” Green in this case is being an amateur or a non-professional disaster responder. You may have the biggest heart, a pond full of goodwill, but as many have learned, you don’t simply go into the storm because you can. You go because you need to and because you can make a difference.

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The number 1 guy at the PNP has just been suspended for 6 months. The number 2 guy reportedly retired on the same week that the number 1 guy got suspended. So by order of ascendancy the number 3 should temporarily take over. Of course having a number and being in line does not always put you in front when politics and more politics is involved.

So it is with keen interest that I watch if General Leonardo Espina who made a name for himself as a no-nonsense Police Officer especially as head of the Highway Patrol Group will be in the running or get the assignment. I’ve never met the man but his public performance convinces me that he could contribute to improving the image and the overall performance of the PNP. He is a good communicator who actually gets things done even if it involves punishing or removing people under his command. I have no idea who else is under consideration but from what I’ve heard Espina is next but could be hopped over because he has the uncanny fortune of being in the right place at the right time and doing the right thing.

The worry is that Espina might do too good of a job that it would permanently close the door on the currently suspended PNP Chief. The question is who will make the choice? Will it be PNoy who is the patron saint of the Chief PNP, will it be Secretary Mar Roxas who wants a tight grip on the PNP, or will the “Generals” choose between loyalty to class or loyalty to country? Whoever does, just remember that your choice has nothing to do with the person as much as it has to do with the future of the institution.

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