Some are natural, others are man-made

The video clips shown on local and foreign TV channels during the weekend gave us an idea of the destruction brought about by what has been called “the most powerful typhoon of 2013 anywhere on Earth.” Early warnings of approaching disaster failed to mitigate the fury and strength of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” as she crossed Central Visayas before leaving the Philippines on her way out toward Vietnam.

The sight of women and children being rescued from the rising waters and clinging to ropes for survival brought to mind our own experience in 2009, when Tropical Storm “Ondoy” barged into our home without any kind of advance notice. In less than an hour, the main living room became a “swimming pool” of murky waters, much of it from the creek just beside our house that in the past was a source of playful delight for children. There were scenes never witnessed before: a refrigerator floating on its back, a television set bobbing up and down alongside various pieces of furniture and other appliances, and so many books, family albums and documents under water and beyond recovery and restoration.

Ondoy made life difficult for us. But after seeing what happened in Tacloban City and other places in the Bicol region and the Visayas, one can only be grateful that we escaped the wrath of Yolanda. Metro Manila was spared the strong winds that were supposed to create the most difficulties for the National Capital Region in terms of fallen trees, buildings and electrical posts. By Saturday afternoon, the clouds had disappeared with the sun coming out, providing a feeling of warmth and comfort for many who were expecting the worst.

It is time for all of us to help in any way possible. The desperate conditions of many of our countrymen should be addressed immediately by the community and all government agencies.

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While Yolanda was barreling her way toward Palawan, I remembered the sailors and Marines stationed in “the loneliest outpost of the Armed Forces.” As I mentioned last week, we have eight Navy personnel living on a rusting relic of World War II, the Sierra Madre that was grounded on the Ayungin Shoal sometime in 1999.

I checked with the Philippine Navy, and the officer in charge for public affairs, Lt. Commander Gregory V. Fabic of  PMA Class ’97 informed me that the men on the Ayungin Shoal were in good spirits in spite of living conditions made more difficult by Yolanda.

Commander Fabic mentioned that there are actually nine similar outposts scattered over different reefs in the Spratlys. The largest detachment is at Pag-asa. The men are rotated every three months and are given hazard-duty pay equivalent to 50 percent of their base pay (similar to the flying pay of Air Force officers). Perhaps their greatest discomfort is the lack of vegetables and meat in their diet. All the detachments are under Naval Forces West, headed by Commodore Natalio Abinuvan, with headquarters in Oyster Bay, Palawan.

Incidentally, the Flag-Officer-in-Command PN Vice Admiral Jose Luis Alano is presently in Italy in connection with the Navy’s procurement of three helicopters AW109 for reconnaissance, surveillance and disaster response missions. These are due for delivery next month. Another two helicopters are scheduled to arrive next year and are equipped for combat operations. The helicopters are funded with revenues from the Malampaya Project, like the recent purchase of two Navy Coast Guard cutters, the RPS Gregorio del Pilar and RPS Ramon Alcaraz.

AW stands for AgustaWestland, a British-Italian multinational helicopter design and manufacturing company based in Italy. The AW109 is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seater, multipurpose helicopter with a range of 930 kilometers and top speed of 285 kph. The Philippine Navy is getting a complete package from AgustaWestland—training of pilots, avionics and spare parts. Several Navy officers have already completed their flying training and should be coming home soon.

This is in contrast with the Philippine Air Force that has been trying to purchase some 20 helicopters since early last year. Last week, the government announced it had signed an agreement also with AgustaWestland for eight brand new helicopters for the PAF. The attack helicopters are equipped with 50-caliber machine guns and rocket launchers.

The questions in the minds of some Air Force officers are: What happened to the planned purchase of 20 helicopters that was announced earlier by no less than Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo, a retired Air Force officer? Are the eight helicopters also being funded by the Malampaya Fund or is the money from the AFP Modernization Fund?

By the way, just for the information of all concerned, if we go to Wikipedia, one will find the following information covering the sale of an earlier version of the AW109. The report reads as follows: In 1988, the sale of A109 helicopters, an earlier version of the AW109, to the Belgian armed forces, resulted in a bribery scandal alleging that the company had given the Belgian Socialist Party over 50 million Belgian francs to secure the deal. The scandal resulted in the resignation and conviction of Nato Secretary General Willy Claes.

Among the countries that have purchased the AW109 are Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Malaysia and New Zealand.

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Perhaps even more destructive and far-reaching than Yolanda and profoundly affecting the entire society has been a man-made disaster—the pork barrel scam that led to the diversion of billions of pesos in fund allotments into the pockets of our legislators and their accomplices, instead of being used for the benefit of their constituents.

We can rebuild the lives of people; repair infrastructure that has been destroyed; restore basic services for homes, schools and hospitals. However, it is far more difficult to restart government institutions that have become symbols of greed and corruption. Unless the guilty are punished, our society will not be able to move forward.