By
IF
we were to award prizes at this stage to those who have performed
beyond measure in the worst humanitarian disaster ever to hit the
country, the runaway winners would be the various foreign governments,
the United Nations, the Swedish furniture maker Ikea, (the biggest
private donor), the Buddhist Foundation Tzu Chi, which was the first to
offer “cash for work” in Tacloban, and the nameless little children to
whom no gift for the Yolanda typhoon victims was ever too small.I was hoping to see high-up on the list the names of some of the world’s richest who have been actively campaigning for the “health” of women and children through contraception and abortion. But I suppose they were much too busy with their usual concerns. Digging for survivors under the rubble would apparently contradict their mission; natural calamities are fortuitous instruments of population control.
Were awards to be given also to the non-performers, the honors would most probably go, hands down, to President B. S. Aquino III and his Secretary of Interior and Local Government Manuel Roxas II whose most creative response after a half-eternity of indifference and inaction was the appointment of an unvetted rehabilitation czar without a clearly defined operational program, budget or structure.
Without any fanfare, the foreign governments came in with their cash, ships, planes, troops, engineering equipment, food, medicines, blankets, tarpaulin, etc. and mounted their rescue and relief operations unfazed by the blazing absence of government leadership or participation.
Armed with all the powers of government on the other hand, Aquino and Roxas played small-town politics with the city government of Tacloban under the watchful eye of CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, ABS-CBN, and GMA-7. They were as slow and niggardly in their response to the death and destruction wrought by the super typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan as they were as quick and extravagant in their uncalled-for and hilarious appearance at SM North EDSA last Sunday after a jewelry store was robbed of some P5 million worth of merchandise by the so-called “Martilyo Gang.”
The biggest aid contingent came from the United States, commanded by Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery of the USS George Washington carrier strike group, homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. It included several warships, Hercules transport aircraft, P-3 surveillance aircraft, C-2 Greyhounds with a payload of 10,000 each, Seahawk helicopters and Osprey tiltrotors with a payload of 20,000 pounds each, and 13,400 troops to do the actual rescue, relief and rehabilitation work.
President Barack Obama had been scheduled to visit Manila after the Asia Pacific Economic Leaders summit in Jakarta last October, but had to cancel both Jakarta and Manila because of the US government “shutdown.” Secretary of State John Kerry was supposed to take Obama’s place instead, but also had to cancel because of early forecast of bad weather.
Apparently, these cancellations made the White House even more watchful of what was happening in the Philippines. So when Yolanda struck, Obama was among the first to mobilize relief operations for Eastern Visayas.
On top of that, Congressmen Christopher Smith (R, New Jersey) and Trent Franks (R, Arizona), whom I had the privilege of receiving in my home after their flying trip to Tacloban on Nov. 25, said the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance is always on standby, ever-ready to rush rescue and relief assistance to victims of natural disaster.
Kerry has since come to Manila, and reinforced US commitment of assistance to the country’s recovery and defense program. This has undoubtedly strengthened America’s position in the consciousness of many Filipinos who at heart remain “pro-American.”
A recent survey conducted by Pew Research Center in the US is reported to have shown that of 10 nationalities polled, Filipinos led the Israelis 85 to 82 percent) and all the other US-friendly nationalities in expressing continued admiration and support for the US.
Unquestionably, this record will be very difficult to top or match at this point, among the Philippines’ close allies. But coming close to the US, to the surprise of only a few, is Japan. Japan was the enemy in the last war. Filipinos who cooperated with Japan during its brief occupation of the Philippines and the formation of the KALIBAPI and the Japanese puppet republic were called “collaborators.”
But since then Japan has behaved impeccably as a neighbor, trading partner, and member of the international community. The increased tempo of official cooperation in economic and security matters, to which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Aquino have sought to contribute during the former’s visit to Manila and the latter’s visit to Tokyo for the 40th commemorative ASEAN and Japan Summit, is proof of the growing long-term interdependence between the two.
It was with genuine affection that the typhoon victims welcomed the members of the Japanese Self Defense Force that came to bring relief, without any hint of what happened during the war.
This state of friendship has been achieved after much work on both sides, not the least of which by the ambassadors of the two countries. To the long line of highly effective Japanese ambassadors posted in Manila, Toshinao Urabe, the present ambassador, is a worthy addition, with a keen sense of what Japan and the Philippines can do together to help build an Asia Pacific region we all want to see.
The ambassador’s father, Toshio Urabe, was a highly respected figure in the diplomatic community during the Marcos years. As minister of information then, I had the privilege of enjoying his friendship. I could say without any reservation that he was a great friend of the Philippines. The present Ambassador Urabe is not a lesser friend of the country.
Adversity has obviously strengthened beyond measure our bonds of friendship with the US, Japan and other like-minded countries. Is there anything we can do now to make sure this does not create any insecurity in any other part of the Asia Pacific region?
fstatad@gmail.com
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/12/20/winners-and-losers/
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