A code of ethics for disaster victims and donors
It is in the worst of times that the true character of both victims and donors are best seen and exemplified. As had been demonstrated in far too many disasters and calamities, from Ondoy, Sendong, Pablo, Yolanda, and Ruby, from the Bohol earthquake to the eruptions of Pinatubo or the ''eruptus interruptus'' of Mayon, people have shown the best of their positive character and also the worst. Ethics is defined as the science of proper human behavior, the appropriate deportment for a particular situation like a time of crisis. Thus, if we may propose a code of ethics for both victims and donors and all others in times of disasters and calamities.
First of all, survival is the primary responsibility of the people themselves. It is only in situations that are beyond the capability of the people to cope that the government has the duty to undertake rescue, relief, rehabilitation and recovery operations. The donors come in not as a matter of duty but as a matter of compassion, voluntary, spontaneous and out of the abundance of the donors' hearts. The people who live in disaster-prone areas owe it to themselves not to place their own lives in situations of aggravated risks. They must take the initiative to exercise utmost precaution and extraordinary diligence to avoid unnecessary hazards to themselves, their families and their communities.
The donors, or those who take it upon themselves to help, not out of compulsion but out of spontaneous expression of concern and solicitude, should not do so with an air of arrogance or pretension. If they just want to get a PR mileage by being ''epal'' and take pictures for every kilo of rice that they donate, ethics demand that they should either remove themselves from the scene, or stop gaining social acceptance out of the miseries of others. Donors should not trumpet to the city and to the world, whatever goods or services they have offered to the victims. The true value of the donations should not be lost under the self-righteousness and the self-centered fixations of modern-day pharisees.
The victims may plead for help but have no right to sound too demanding. If the donations come in late because of stormy seas or damaged bridges, the victims of calamities should not use the print or broadcast media to lambast the government or insult the prospective donors and volunteers. Given the very difficult situations they are in, they should not be pressured to act arrogantly or angrily. Instead, as much as possible, they should endeavor to maintain their humility and polite composure. The mass media should not exploit the situations either and should refrain from abetting, much less propagating sensationalization of intrigues and miscommunication.
The first protocol in calamities and disasters is to save lives, first and foremost, not to salvage properties. That can be done as an inferior priority, if there is still time. Rescue comes before relief, and relief operations should precede recovery of dead bodies. Rehabilitation should be done later. Ethics demand that the victims and/or their communities and LGU's should express their gratitude to the donors and the volunteers. And NGO's that receive donations should prepare and publish a true and timely accounting of all cash and goods donated. Nobody should make money out of relief goods and donations. Nobody should gain political mileage out of others' grief.
Times of crises should not be used as times of politicking or intrigues, finger-pointing or anger or fault-finding. It is a time when all of us, victims and volunteers, donors and recipients should reflect deeply on the meaning of these difficulties to our purpose in life. And understanding all this is what matters most.
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