Leyte and Philippine Politics
Yesterday, it was Ormoc. Now, it is Leyte. Tomorrow, where will tragedy strike?I was just watching the footage of Leyte's St. Bernard 2 days before it was stricken with the tragedy that we as a nation, are now facing. Lush green vegetation covered an entire area that has now become a pile of mud with dead bodies buried six feet under. How could we have allowed this to happen to our lands?
We have seen this happen before. We have long recognized the fact that we have been unprepared to face a number of calamities. But what have we done about it? In the greater scheme of things, it is not always how we react to certain situations that happen, but it is on what we have done before things could happen. A lot of things, a lot of deaths could have been prevented. Proactive. We all know what that means. We all know what that takes. But almost always, we all know we are too busy to help other people save their lives.
Leyte - we knew it was going to happen. It would probably take some time and an extremely huge amount of rainfall to make this mudslide happen...but it COULD happen. And it DID HAPPEN. The likelihood of it happening was probably at 50%. Risk? Probably. What was the mitigation plan? What was the contigency plan? NONE. ZERO. NIL.
Why? Only 1/3 of that land is populated. How many votes does that translate to? Only a few. So there my friends is your answer. Where the votes count, the money goes. That is the spirit of Philippine politics.
Pardon my sarcasm but truly, I am equally amazed and annoyed about the state of our nation. First, we have taxpayers who DO NOT enjoy the benefits of their taxes, as much as the masses and non-taxpayers do. Second, we have a government who is tolerating squatters and people who are sucking out the funds coming from the taxes of hardworking people, in exchange for VOTES. Third, we have people pointing fingers in the face of tragedy. Fourth, we have athletes who make money just a little bit above the minimum wage. Fifth, we have engineering works that are not coordinated leaving roads drilled, closed, drilled closed, drilled, closed all year long. And lastly, we have substandard roads in our central business districts where most of the taxes are filed and paid.
Indeed. Only in the Philippines.
But despite all that, I love being a Filipino. Today, I hope this will be the last tragedy we will allow to devastate our lands. Tommorow, I pray that we will continue to rise up to the challenge and make a difference.
posted by `teardrop @ 2/21/2006 11:56:00 AM
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