Missionary collaboration

There is no denying that typhoon Yolanda devastated a large part of the Visayas group of islands with the eastern seaboard being worst hit. The horror that the cataclysmic weather disturbance wrought to thousands of families will be written in our books and etched in the memory of many for generations to come. But, we, in our nation's sentimental nature, should not be contented with sad memories. While it is good to remember terrible past events, it is better to act on them now, in the hope that we heal the wounds faster and make ourselves able to meet, God forbid, another disaster in another future time.

World attention is on Tacloban City, in Leyte and neighboring towns or what is left of these places. Just turn your television on CNN and BBC and you will find out that their anchormen and field broadcasters can pronounce, without trace of error, the names of these places, evidence that they have touched these grounds and shared the untold miseries of the residents. Not only that. When more than a dozen huge planes, they call C130, landed in Mactan, the relief team members among their passengers talk of Tacloban. It is Tacloban they came for and want to help rehabilitate. And, rightly so. I am therefore of the opinion that the bulk of transnational succor seeks to address, quite fully, the critical needs of the ravaged Leyte.

That, somehow, leaves our island province, a little bit out of the loop, so to speak. Even the attention of the national leadership is less focused on Cebu. Every time His Excellency, President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III and his cabinet meet the press to respond to many questions, they obviously have in their minds the humongous problems of Tacloban.  Very little do they talk about Cebu.

I am sure that Cebuanos understand the predicament. While our problems are indeed real, those in Leyte are beyond imagination. Certain as I am, that Cebuanos do not feel deprived, this is the time that our leaders explore ways to help the Cebu towns that felt the brunt of the typhoon. We, Cebuanos, can, in our own resourceful ways, do it.

Let us count the figures. According to reports, the most devastated localities are those in the northern tip of the province. Bogo City, Borbon, Tabogon, San Remigio, Medellin, Daanbantayan, Bantayan, Sta. Fe, and Madredijos. There are nine such local government units.

In our province, three cities are fairly rich. These are Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, whose annual budgets breach billions of pesos. Legal technicalities may be worked out in order to allocate some of their calamity and other funds for relief work. For the purpose of channeling their available monies, each of these cities can adopt a damaged local government. Cebu City, for instance, can take Bogo City and help it in its rehabilitation efforts. After all, Bogo City Mayor Junie Martinez also calls Talamban as his home. Lapu-Lapu City can adopt Daanbantayan town considering that their mayors are family. Mandaue can choose San Remigio, for reasons I like to believe I know, but I have no permission to say here.

That leaves just six towns to attend to in order that they may be able to recover soon. His Honor, the Provincial Governor Hilario Davide III, can create six missionary groups out of the remaining local government units. The four cities of Toledo, Carcar, Talisay and Naga may separately head a group. We exclude Danao City because it was partly hit by the typhoon. Such other more economically stable municipalities as Balamban, and San Fernando, may opt to lead the other groups.

However this missionary collaboration may be called, I am optimistic that when the leaders of all these nine Yolanda-devastated places confer with those of the nine groups of adopting local government units, they shall be able to chart how they can frame a doable program within their means and work together to achieve the desired end of recovery. It is really a matter of bridging their minds and our high officials have to act quickly.