Expect more typhoons to come

The damage could have been more but the preparations before the onset of Typhoon Juan decreased deaths and destruction and for that, we offer prayers of thanksgiving. We also congratulate and urge those who led the whole nation in more effectively managing this latest typhoon to carry on and continue installing the best effective disaster/calamity management system and network possible.

Sadly, there were still those who lost their lives and many areas damaged. As it is a given that our country will still experience more typhoons from here on, we need to try harder as a nation to learn to manage and control the destructive force of typhoons.

There were flashes of good news despite the strong winds and rains, however. The volunteers were there again, just like those who risked their lives and limb for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. The bayanihan spirit always appears like bright sunshine amidst storm clouds. The Pag-asa reports and manner of communicating with the public has improved, with people more informed about different types of typhoons as well as about how to better provide safety measures for themselves, their families and communities during typhoons.

With Typhoon Juan out of the country, there are again the political typhoons that are threatening to disturb the peace and security of our nation. Cotabato had just experienced another bus bombing while the SEC had to be cleared due to bomb threats.

From here on, both natural and human-made typhoons can be expected to hit this country. The political typhoons can come from many directions and sources. Aside from the political alignment in Congress and elsewhere in the country, predictably, there are those courting the military to side with those who do not wish to see the new administration under P.Noy succeed. And those who seek to topple or destabilize this new government are all over, from all branches of government as well as from the private sector allied with those in government.

These oppositionists do not want to hear good news such as the recent survey results that showed less Filipino people reporting themselves as hungry. They also do not welcome reading news about corrupt and tax evaders being charged. They also do not welcome news about stability and contentment among the ranks of the military.

They prefer to read news about the SC allowing the midnight appointees of the previous government or about mistakes and errors of this new government. Where the new government wishes to succeed, the oppositionists wish for the new government to fail.

It will not be surprising if the bombings in Mindanao and the bomb scare in Manila will be followed by more similar incidents elsewhere, especially in strategic locations throughout this country.

Destabilization is the name of the game of those who wish to regain their power and privilege which have been allowed to continue and flourish through decades. These power-lovers will not stop until they have totally destroyed anything, anyone, any group that blocks their way. Like merciless typhoons that leave so much damage behind, all that the power-lovers care about is their power, their survival and sustainability.

The way to control natural and political typhoons is to always remain vigilant, to be organized, united and be well-prepared for their unscheduled appearances. Constant prayers and spiritual vigilance will come in very handy as well. Like the case of Typhoon Juan and other past typhoons, while each typhoon may leave us weaker, each experience with typhoons can also make us stronger, more united, and more ready for the onset of other future typhoons.

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