Risky formula for inaction during crisis

Being an expatriate Filipino, I am eager to read news from the Philippines. That’s why I appreciate eNews, which the Inquirer launched in order to reach out to Filipinos wherever they are and have access to an Internet link.

Reading Inquirer news reports stirs in me a mix of emotions. I get high when the news is great and I grieve when the news is sad. However, there are times when I am taken aback when the content is unbelievable.

Let’s take the news item titled “Food issue prevented early deployment of troops to Tacloban” (News, 11/15/13). Is the report of Dona Z. Pazzibugan true—that National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chair Eduardo del Rosario withheld sending troops to the stricken areas for lack of food rations?

If Philippine troops could not be commissioned to preserve peace and order in stricken areas on grounds that Del Rosario cited, how can the Armed Forces of the Philippines send troops to fight in the jungles where there are no restaurants or grocery stores to buy food from?

I thought soldiers were trained in jungle survival and how to stay alive when their food supplies are completely used up? If the report is true and Del Rosario’s state of mind reflects the way our troop commanders think, decide and act, then it would be impossible for us to find a solution to the problems in the typhoon-ravaged areas.

—BOB GABUNA,

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