It is hard to watch the TV evening news these days without your heart being tugged and your sensibilities roused by the havoc wrought by typhoon Sendong in the Mindanao region, especially in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.
The stories of death were simply terrifying, the devastation simply shocking and the grief of people simply disturbing.
Even for somebody watching the news, the anxiety, the pain, and the loss of love ones can be felt deeply inside you, that it would be better not to view it at all for it can be emotionally draining.
But, it never happens that way. It is in viewing the tragedy and the succeeding events unfolding that you rationalize and lament over it and mumble prayers of strength, acceptance and hope, that things will be better and the rebuilding of lives will be easier for those affected. If that is the only help we can give, then so be it. I have always believed in prayers. We can only thank the many individuals, companies, cause-oriented groups, civic organizations, government institutions, etc, that have helped in many different ways.
What really happened? Where have we failed? Why has nature struck back with fury?
That the inhabitants of this region were not prepared for this type of calamity to befall them is not a reason at all, unless it was a tsunami that engulfed them – the likes of Japan’s tsunami.
And neither can we blame the much talked about global warming that is causing climate changes. Not even finger-pointing at Pag-asa, the nation’s weather bureau, for not adequately issuing the warnings, when the public were properly informed before hand. Enough is never enough when something bad happens. Somehow something, somebody, has to be blamed.
We always have had typhoons in the country. It’s strong in some places, weak in others and still seldom does it occur in places where it is not considered a typhoon belt. That is how it has always been. It could rain for days and the rivers, creeks, canals and other waterways, either man-made or natural, will take care of the volume and convey it to the lakes or seas to be deposited there.
But, what has not been the same in this country is how people have managed to destroy the environment in the name of progress. How the unscrupulous amongst us have raped it with impunity and how the influential and wealthy amongst us have become rapaciously greedy.
I am talking about the plants, the trees, the forests and the mountains.
I am talking about how they have become now – slashed and burned, uprooted, illegally logged, and denuded. The soil softened and vulnerable to landslide.
I am also talking about how the natural conveyance of water – rivers and creeks – that have been scandalously encroached upon by land developers.
All these combined becomes a formula for a grave disaster as what has happened during typhoons Ondoy and Peping in Luzon, and now with Sendong in the Mindanao region.
I have learned about this when I was in my teens in the 60s, when the flow from days of heavy downpour cascaded down the slopes from the mountains of Baybay, Leyte bearing countless logs and stump of trees of all kinds to our pristine Dunka-an river, clogging and ultimately toppling the bridge, but not before the whole town (now city) of Baybay was inundated with mud.
It cannot be denied that the same thing has happened in Cagayan de Oro when you see the large number of logs, some strewn all over the place, but most gathered in one place because that is how far its weight has got them landed.
Can you blame nature for unleashing its fury on man? Not at all. Nature is man’s friend.
But, man can only blame man for his unscrupulousness and greedy nature. Man can only blame government, which is run by men, for its indifference, for its inaction, and for its own corrupt ways. Man is man’s worst enemy.
There is only one and sure way of preventing natural tragedies of the magnitude we have seen in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan that was brought about by typhoon Sendong.
Implement the laws of the land, our environment and surroundings, strictly and firmly and start prosecuting those that violates it.
Let us not blame nature because man will always fell short of controlling it.
But man can control man, and it will be both the national and local government’s undoing if it continues to neglect their mandates and its leaders terribly fail to exercise political will.
~ very true. we also have donation drives here to help and spread the word. hope you can check this out. this causes page contains causes and the recent ones are for typhoon sendong victims. thanks and more power! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bliss-Steps/331007077841
Thanks for organizing yourselves for a worthy cause. Very glad to know you exist and in the nation’s midst showing concern and giving assistance to the poor, the sick, the afflicted, and the unfortunate victims of disasters. May your tribe expands and your efforts rewarded. God bless!
people have a habit of thinking only of themselves.. Like people clean the house but the garbage is dumped somewhere else and not caring really if it’s other people’s problems already as long as it not theirs anymore.
Yes, everything you’ve said are true. Unless, we all strip ourselves of so much social and environmental indifference all these that happen to us will keep on haunting us again and again. The call has been – not only for us to prepare our gifts, but to be mindful and cautious on what has been given to us by the almighty.
Well said. Thanks.
How true indeed! Their convenience is other people’s misery.
My name is Eddie A. Masorong, a native of Marawi City, a Bachelor of Science graduate of the University of the East. I was born in 1960 and I always recall my childhood days when as a young boy I saw everyday, every 15 minutes from dusk till dawn,logs transported by big trucks bearing the company name Maranaw Timber Co., a logging concession owned by Mr. Spencer, an American. On the side, in Lanao Norte, another concessionaire Findlay, also an American was busy cutting down centuries old trees and transporting them to Iligan City for export. They were operating for decades and they practically denuded Mindanao of its forest reserve. What it took nature centuries to build the Americans only took about two decades to destroy. I do not know of any other term that will described the wholesale destruction of Mindanao’s vast forest cover. They destroyed Mindanao’s ecosystem, the Americans at least laid down the foundation of the destruction of Mindanao’s ecosystem. When the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1898, the Philippines was ceded to the United States to the tune of US $20 Million. As part of a reimbursement process, American companies were awarded logging concessions. And these trees which are, actually, an extension of our dear life, were sacrificed and traded in the open market for a handsome profit. And sure, the Americans, sad as it may seem, were reimbursed with the US $20 Million. Of course, when the Americans left, Filipino loggers followed suit. But actually what was left were the younger trees. The centuries old trees were no longer there. In the early 1990s during the height of power outages in Mindanao, we conveyed the message to the people of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro City to help in the rehabilitation on the Lake Lanao watershed with massive tree planting. As recepient of cheap dependable power resource thru the Agus River Power Grid, we thought that the people there would respond to our initiative. But to our dismay, we only made it to the City Council Resolutions of both the Cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro City. No less than City Mayor Lawrence Cruz, who was then City Councilor in 1994, became a sponsor to a Resolution supporting Operation: Green Watershed. They approved to donate a property of the City Government for this project. We hope to launch a Marshall Plan to rehabilitate and rebuild Mindanao’s forest cover.
Thanks so much for your insights. There is nothing like a first-hand observation that has been deeply ingrained in a young boy’s mind. Not after we come of age that we realize the fatal consequences of their atrocious acts. The sad thing about it is that the rape of our forests did not stop with the Americans. It continued and made even worst by greedy, influential, corrupt and conscienceless Filipinos to the country’s detriment. Circumvention of our environmental laws has been done with impunity all these years with authorities adopting the principle embodied in the three Mizaru monkeys of “see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.” I wish you guys luck as you embark on rehabilitating and rebuilding Mindanao’s forest cover. Again, thank you.
Nice post. Thanks for sharing. I hope that preventative measures can be put in place soon. One thing that can be done which costs nothing is each individual take responsibility for their garbage and put it where it belongs instead of throwing it all over the streets, rivers, and everywhere else.
Could not agree with you more. Thanks.