Times like these, it's a crime to be silent

Calls have been made by some people for Filipinos to move on and help the country recover from the ravages of supertyphoon Yolanda instead of trying to find someone or something to blame for the second disaster that swept in after the storm -- the very slow response of government to the humanitarian crisis that ensued.

If the calls are as well-meaning as they are being made to look like, then those who made them should take heart in the fact that the criticisms were in fact the single biggest reason why the relief operations actually started speeding up.

Criticisms, however harsh, can never stand in the way of a government response that is functional, efficient, and aggressive. On the other hand, no amount of well-meaning praise can crank up the engine of a dead machine.

So, for as long as they remain objective and fair, let the criticisms go hand-in-hand with the relief operations and the rebuilding that must come afterward. Let them be the catalyst for positive action, as they almost always seem to have. Let us not gag the Anderson Coopers of the world for telling it like it is.

If the calls are meant to shield Noynoy Aquino from a potential political backlash arising from his mishandling of the situation, then all the more must the calls be rejected. Not only is Noynoy ultimately responsible for anything that happens in this country, he is also hardly the paragon of taking responsibility.

To refresh the memory of everyone, and most especially those who made the calls, Noynoy is the country's foremost practitioner of finger-pointing and blaming. To this day, halfway into his term, Noynoy has never stopped blaming Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for everything.

In fact, I was sort of expecting Noynoy to blame Gloria for Yolanda and its aftermath. That he did not was one of the very few times that I truly appreciated what he did or did not do. For Noynoy is very adept at blaming. Why, Noynoy even exports blame to other countries.

Remember when Noynoy went to South Korea right after a powerful earthquake struck and destroyed many places in Bohol? In a speech he made there, Noynoy again launched into a scathing criticism of Gloria. Those who made the call for an end to criticisms should specifically direct their call to Noynoy.

Allow me to jog the callers' collective memories a little further. In his very first public appearance after Yolanda struck, Noynoy did not issue orders that could have shifted the situation dramatically. Instead, he started blaming and criticizing local officials for their crippled response.

Even more curiously, Noynoy started blaming those who, in his brain, gave out wrong casualty estimates, as if there is ever a precise estimate. In fact, so obsessed is Noynoy with casualty figures (he wants it low as if he is God) that he is probably behind the sacking of a police general who said 10,000 may have died.

Noynoy is the number one blamer and criticizer in this country. He refuses to take responsibility for anything unless it is good and flattering. And yet, even in that, he is very duplicitous. He actually takes credit for some of the good legacies that Gloria left behind.

And now there are people who call for an end to criticisms? Under different circumstances, maybe yes. But not under existing conditions. The shortcomings and failures are so glaring they do not even beg to be seen and recognized. They leap out at you with a presence you cannot ignore or deny.

For example, thousands are fleeing and have fled Tacloban, Ormoc, and other areas in Leyte. Many of them are now virtual refugees in Cebu, Manila, and other places. Even businessmen fled. Criticisms had nothing to do with their fleeing. They all fled because they feared the situation had spun out of control.

And the only way things can spin out of control is if no one is in charge. And yet some people have the insensitivity to call for silence. Go tell that to the dead and dying. There are simply times when the only way forward is to make a lot of noise.