The Philippines had two calamities sweeping across it yesterday. Storm Lando did not come unannounced.
Since its presence got into the weather watch radars, people did not believe it packs something as dangerous as its doomsday prophets project.
Every local government unit swore they knew what this typhoon packed in its over 600 kilometer cloud cover.
Everyone of them also professed they warned communities of the impending threat: real or imagined.
That still however resulted to millions of people evacuated, billions of agricultural losses and at least 18 deaths.
Then on the same day, a friend texted us about the earthquake happening in Manila.
No, it was not the feared Big One. It was even way too little some people in the city literally walked through it. Those on pretty stable positions however perceived the movement and smirked.
Seconds later, people spilled into the buildings corridors, out to the streets, impervious to the usual protocols that must be activated in cases like this.
The earthquake drills that they showed on television and documented on newspapers hardly happened. Hotels and residential tall edifices did not stir. Hotel and establishment workers did not shift to alarm mode. All they did was just allow people to slide back to normalcy.
Good no one was reported hurt as the earthquake which occurred in Looc Mindoro was too far out at sea and did not trigger the Marikina fault.
Of the two incidents, one gave us a preview of what would be the people’s response to a government warning during a storm.
Another gave us an idea how useless this educating people have become, especially for a threat like the big earthquake.
There is however a bigger and more calamitous event from these two unfortunate incidents happening a day.
When these popped up in the same day, no less than the government cashed in on it like it allegedly did during the past calamities. It has been proven to work in deaths. Now this must be like it.
On national television, we had flooding victims, people rendered homeless by Pablo’s wrath. They lined up for food and social relief.
And we had presidential candidate Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo roro-ing their way into the deluge sheepishly handling out food stuffs.
There should be nothing wrong with it if both were not filing for any posts. And if this government had opted for a non-political entity dishing out food packs.
But Roxas has ceased to be the Interior and Local Government Secretary and, the allegedly meek and mild Robredo has just morphed into that dish-rag of a trapo.
You see, if she did hand goods for her brother Bicolanos, it can be overlooked as human nature.
But she knows it is going to draw her flak and she still did it because her party is that which dances to the upbeat of death and suffering.
In a country where its leaders profess to stick it to the rule of law, and simply thrashes an election law flaw, because it does not apply to them is an incident sadder than sorry.
We have just created a calamitous situation when our aspiring leaders can as casually toss the law. Now, would you expect the people to believe in the government’s fair warning?
