‘Win-win’ in relief and rehabilitation

Now that former senator Ping Lacson has agreed to be the “reconstruction czar” in the “Yolanda”-affected areas of Eastern Visayas and all the way to Palawan and Mindoro, the focus is steadily shifting from rescue and relief (and counting and identifying the dead), including relocation of evacuees, to rebuilding from the ruins of the towns and cities leveled by the supertyphoon.

I am sure Lacson will not lack for advisers and experts, those whose opinions he seeks out, those who offer their unsolicited, perhaps even unwanted, advice, and those who will begin carping and complaining even now, before the work has gotten off the ground.

The criticisms and complaints may all be part of what a congressman memorably called “the noise of democracy,” for rarely is consensus observed or even created. Especially in a national project which has not only captured the imagination and sympathy of the world, but more so, attracted resources in the billions of dollars, whether in the form of actual cash, loans, grants or in donated goods and services.

Many early critics began sounding the alarm even as the world’s governments announced their intent to help the Yolanda survivors. Commentators warned that the government should make every effort to track and account for all the money that has been directed the Philippines’ way, if only to deflect fears and speculations that much of the donations will be siphoned off into “ghost” projects and bogus nongovernment organizations.

After all, it’s not as if this is the first time that government money, even money from foreign governments, has been diverted to less-than-worthy causes, such as the budding fashion career of a daughter of Janet Napoles. Media outlets and even citizens’ groups began advising the good-hearted donors to channel their donations to private entities and institutions, warning that government channels are less-than-reliable, if not downright suspect.

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Is such skepticism justified? The Commission on Audit report on the use of funds set aside for typhoon survivors in Mindanao shows that huge amounts went to fake NGOs created by the likes of Napoles with the actual connivance of local officials and legislators.

And yet, Fil-Am political scientist Cesi Cruz, who recently received her PhD from the University of California, San Diego, and did field work and studies here during the last two elections, comments that Filipino politicians, both local and national, may at times be useful, if not indispensable, in distributing the benefits that follow in the wake of a major disaster. (Disclosure: Cesi Cruz is a niece, the daughter of my sister Chona and her husband Willy, and her piece was recently published in the Washington Post.)

This strikes me as “counterintuitive,” so deeply cynical have we Filipinos become about our political culture and politicians.

Cruz doesn’t mince words. “Credit claiming” even when it is unwarranted is “so common” that it has become a dilemma for relief organizations wanting to help typhoon survivors without contributing to “dysfunctional politics in the localities.” But, she observes, “while politics can undoubtedly impede relief efforts, the solutions are not as clear-cut.”

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Local politicians, she observes, are so adept at claiming credit for assistance, even if all they did was welcome the donors, that they “can employ a variety of techniques for claiming credit even when they have no influence on the allocation of aid.”

Bypassing local governments in relief efforts, adds Cruz, “may not necessarily be the best approach… Local politicians are well-positioned to provide logistical support and assistance on the ground. In avoiding the bad apples, relief organizations may miss out on the assistance of local politicians who are willing and able to give a hand.”

And ignoring local authorities altogether can lead to worse results, Cruz points out. “It’s possible that politicians may decide that it’s better to commandeer the relief goods or prevent relief organizations from operating in their localities in the first place.” (The imbroglio between the Bohol mayor and the Red Cross is a case in point.)

Cruz’s suggestion: “Instead of preventing politicians from claiming credit, we should focus our efforts on making sure politicians have ways to earn it in the first place.” Since politicians are able to earn credit even when it is clearly undeserved, she writes, “it may be better to give politicians an opportunity to pursue well-deserved recognition instead.” She cites counterpart contributions, or creating incentives to support the initiatives. “Applied to disaster relief, politicians can contribute some of their campaign funds for the relief efforts or they can use their status to raise funds and provide manpower.”

By “incentivizing” local authorities who help in disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts, instead of constantly checking them on suspicions of corruption, perhaps we can arrive at a “win-win” solution that benefits disaster survivors, the government, and the politicians.

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Also, now that the major sites of Yolanda’s devastation are slowly making their way back to “the new normal,” other places similarly hit by the typhoon are clamoring for a bit of notice, and for much-needed help.

One of these places is New Washington, Aklan, best known as the hometown of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, which has largely fallen off the radar of relief efforts.

Cecile Dela Cruz, a resident of New Washington but now based in the United States, writes that she and some town mates now living abroad are pooling money for food packages to tide over the survivors during the Christmas season. Now that we can turn our attention to other towns badly in need, she asks for everyone’s support for New Washington.