Last Year, in September 26, 2009, the Philippines was devastated by Typhoon Ondoy (International name: Ketsana) and followed by typhoon Pepeng. Many of the communities in Metro Manila, especially homes in Quezon City, Marikina, and Rizal are stricken by typhoon Ondoy while typhoon Pepeng mainly struck regions and provinces outside Metro Manila.
Ondoy started in mild rains in the morning and did not stop. It was amplified by Global Warming causing climate changes in the country and elsewhere. Global Warming is caused by the continuous emission of harmful elements such as Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) that destroys the ozone layer causing the earth to absorb more heat emitted by the sun. In addition, Chlorofluorocarbons are mainly caused by heavy industries and pollution.
Due to climate change, Ondoy as being a typical typhoon, became a strong typhoon bringing forth heavy rains and strong winds. This phenomenon caused the rivers and creeks to be filled by more water. This is why the authorities decided to open the spillways of the dams creating devastating flashfloods to different parts of Metro Manila. Aside from this, different infrastructures also caused improper flow of water such as the Shoemart (SM) Marikina, a large mall owned and operated by a Filipino-Chinese businessman, Henry Sy.
The National Disaster Coordinating Council or NDCC is a known government agency that should respond to disasters. It is the agency responsible in helping the victims of the disaster, temporary relocations, and rescue operations. But they failed to meet these responsibilities because of lack of funds. It was reported that the funds for disaster management was used by the then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for her luxurious travels abroad. This was mainly the reason why NDCC failed to function in the midst of Typhoon Ondoy.
Due to the typhoon, many families lost their properties, livelihood, homes, and even their loved ones. Many families were affected, but most of all, the most affected are children.
One of the children we have been interviewed is Nicole Kathleen P. Patigdas. Nicole is 12 years old and she lives in Baranggay Tatalon,Quezon City. According to her, their area was burnt in fire due to live wires and was immersed in flood. The only thing left in their house is their toilet. From that experience, she felt traumatized and she easily gets afraid every time it is raining very hard.
After that devastating experience, she had seen the big buses and big trucks carrying relief goods and the people helping them. She saw the former president, Gloria Arroyo waving her hands to them. Arroyo was choosing the families according to the number of the family members that she will bring to Malacañang. Because Nicole has 10 siblings, her family has been chosen to be relocated to the grounds of Malacañang for a short period of time.
When they were in Malacanang, Arroyo’s staff only gave them breads and soft drinks for the whole day, not being able to eat a so called “real food” for Filipinos which is rice partnered with cooked vegetables, fish or meat. Her mother kept on complaining to the media when she was interviewed but they did not respond.
The next day, Arroyo announced that they will be relocated at Towerville in the province of Bulacan. On their way to the relocation site, they had observed that it is very far from school, from the market, and even from possible jobs or livelihood. The structure of the houses is not sturdy and it is not furnished. Staying there, they experienced being robbed, their properties being nabbed due to the situation that the place has not yet established a system of livelihood for the people and the people are thus desperate to survive. Having observed this situation, Nicole and her family decided to return to their place in Baranggay Tatalon, even if they have to face again the risk of floods and other calamities.
This is not just an isolated case; thousands of families and their children were affected by typhoon Ondoy, creating trauma to children and it is a more complicated situation for families in the slum areas.
The government should do budgetary appropriation to avoid mishaps in coming typhoons and to prevent poverty to rise due to calamities, and moreover, for the children to have a safe place to live in and be protected.
We are hoping that the nightmare that Ondoy and Pepeng had caused us, especially to the children will not happen again and that the government could act on disasters properly and in a timely manner.