In unity of the typhoon victims, a little slash in party budgets will go along way The Christmas Season is very fast approaching. Many municipalities and cities had already held their Christmas tree lighting events. The employees and schools, and other organizations and corporate world are noticeably excited talking about their plans for the Christmas parties, although other sectors opted to use “year-end party” to avoid, escape or delete the use of Christ in this very special event of the year. In some big corporations, private or government, event organizers plan fabulous parties allocating millions of pesos for Christmas parties: hotel and resort accommodations, sumptuous foods and drinks, big raffle prizes and surprises, parlor games, bonuses, and entertainment packages, and take-home packages. Others, those in the middle-class offices, suffice themselves partying in the offices with simple but exciting games and prizes, concluding with exchange gifts. But these excitements and grand planning had yet to be “dream comes true” as not-so-expected typhoons visited the country in the least expected months: October, November, and probably December! And unfortunately, these downpours entered the country in almost the same path: Bicol Region, and northern Luzon. According to PAG-ASA, in September, Tropical Cyclone “Julian” entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and delivered so much rain water causing communities to flood and crops destroyed. However, haven’t have enough rest, people was to endure another disaster with the entry of Tropical Storm “Kristine” as it entered the PAR in October 25 until Oct. 25 severely affecting the province of Isabela, and the rest of Region II, IV and V. TS Kristine was immediately followed by Super Typhoon Leon which passed near Batanes Group of Islands. And With almost without a break to breath, on November 7, TS Marce with wind speed equal to Signal #4 devastated Northern Cagayan, Babuyan Islands (again!). And worse, Aurora and Northern Luzon was again soaked in by TC Nica on November 11. TS Ofel followed immediately in Nov 12, and was immediately turned super typhoon by Thursday, November 14, before hitting Cagayan at 1:30 p.m., while being reinforced another TS Pepito. The full extent of the damage or impact of the multiple storms is still to be determined as they are still ongoing. The NDRRMC reports that more than 207k houses were damaged across 17 out of the 18 regions in the country. Damage to infrastructure has reached US$179 million (PHP10.56 billion) however the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reports that field validation is still needed. While most of the critical lifelines have been restored access may be impeded by the incoming storm. The occurrence of seven typhoons in less than two months had brought millions of Filipinos to, seemingly, helplessness ground. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as of 14 November, more than nine million people or around 2.4 million families were affected by the storms, displacing more than 600,000 people, of which 160,000 people still remain in evacuation centers (EC). The “storm train” damaged at least US$119 million (PHP 7 billion). Reports said that the province of Camarines Sur incurred the highest agricultural damage estimated at $39 million (PHP2.3 billion), damaging 33,145 hectares, and affecting 34,260 farmers and fisher folks. Hear’s To Watch. President BongBong Marcos, through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, appealed to the Filipinos, especially the government agencies and offices “to refrain from having a grand Christmas celebration this year, following the onslaught of multiple typhoons in the country.” The call is in empathy, compassion and solidarity with the millions of Filipinos, directly and indirectly affected and continues to grieve over lives, homes and livelihoods lost during the typhoons that pounded us in a span of less than a month” The call is very timely, and indeed reasonable. It is time to be sensitive to the feelings of those suffering. And in the spirit of Christmas, maybe the government agencies may consider donating even a tiny part of their allotted budget for the party to the victims of the recent storms. Also, Hear’s To Watch is inviting everyone to pray for the souls of those who perished.(HTW)
