Disaster and leadership

First there was a 7.2-magnitude earthquake. Then the strongest typhoon made a landfall in Samar and Leyte. And now there's typhoon Agaton morphing out of an LPA that refuses of leave the country and dumping unceasing rains across Northern Mindanao and Davao provinces. Thousands of lives have been lost but the body count is still going on what with rampaging floods and landslides. Thousands of survivors have been rescued but their situation is still critical because funding is inadequate for food, clothing and shelter.

Millions of pesos have been spent for quick-response measures. But millions, even billions more, are needed for rehabilitation work and livelihood projects. Will the government be able to answer these needs? And since there are likely to be more typhoons and other natural calamities in the months to come, will there be money for these?

To prepare for these happenings, there's an urgent need to reprogram the 2014 budget to make it responsive to emergency needs. The money for calamities under the current budget is only P7.5 billion, a small amount indeed. Compare this to the money labeled as "budgetary support to government corporations" which is P70.8 billion (why spend for these agencies when they are revenue earning?) or to the realigned PDAF in the vicinity of  P20 billion or to the presidential social fund reported to be more than P100 billion, or to other items which are not urgently needed, and you will realize there's money, much money in fact, for disaster—related spending programs—this is, if the leadership cares.

The big question is; will the PNoy administration come to gasp on the need for a radically enlarged outlay for disaster preparedness and response? If it does not, then we should prepare our tears for the hundreds or thousands of lives that will be lost when disaster strikes again. And we should steel our conscience to the sufferings of survivors who cannot be adequately fed, clothed and housed because there's no money for them.

Right now nobody is talking about how to lighten the burden of the Mindanao victims of Agaton or how to fast-track the rebuilding of Tacloban and other areas. They're busy arguing about the PDAF scams and the burgeoning scandal of  the Corona impeachment. They are arguing about rice smuggling. While PNoy, criticized for his lukewarm response to Yolanda's rage, is still licking his wounded pride because of a diminishing acceptance index. Yet the way events are happening he is in for more disappointments. Rice smuggling, unabated corruption in high and low places, rising cost of living, rising incidence of crime and violence, massive unemployment-the ghosts of these will hasn't him and his cohorts even during their waking hours.

Disappointment seems to characterize the reaction of many Pinoys whenever talks about their president surface. Three years ago they ushered him into the Pasig Office because they believed he could make a different kind of governance. "Daang Matuwid" mesmerized them. They thought that with this mantra of leadership things would be different. But as the mountain folks say, "The difference is the same."

What the people desire is that when disaster strikes, the Messiah of a leader must be right on ground zero to sound the bugle call for life-saving missions. But you know this did not happen in Bohol when the earth shook, nor in Tacloban when the sea stormed the land. And now that people are being washed away like driftwood by rampaging floodwaters in Mindanao, where's the president?

Few days ago an ecumenical gathering of holy men representing different church groups prayed for the Philippines and its people. More significantly, President Aquino himself did a prayer-talk. All were in unison as they implored for God's protection in light of successive calamities that hit the country. But no one prayed for a more dynamic and proactive leadership. How sad!