Rainbows after the deluge - Leonor Magtolis Briones
THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNANCE | LEONOR MAGTOLIS BRIONES | 10/26/2009 12:25 AM
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More than enough has been said and written about the magnitude of the destruction that three successive typhoons—Ondoy, Pepeng and Ramil—brought in their wake. Unforgettable scenes from television, newspapers and individual cameras are worth more than thousands of possible words. Each Filipino is haunted by particular horrific images . My personal horror was watching on screen six or seven people clinging for dear life on a raft—perhaps a loose roof?—as it tossed and turned in the raging flood. People were trying to throw ropes at them as they watched the raft approach a bridge. The raft was swiftly swept under the bridge. The people ran to the other side of the bridge to watch out for the raft to emerge. By the time the raft surfaced, only one person was left.
Another wrenching scene was the sight of the junction of Pasig City and Marikina turned into a vast sea of water which people were crossing by foot, by raft , and whatever makeshift conveyance they could lash together. The look of desperation and fear on their faces was starkly captured on television.
Rehabilitation and repair
Right now, the country is in a lull before the next round of storms and other calamities. The threat of a forthcoming earthquake has set people a-quaking.
The extent of the damage of the three typhoons is beyond counting. This is specially if we consider the floods which hit Negros Oriental, Southern Luzon and Mindanao on January 1 and February 27 , also during this year.
The psychological trauma of these disasters cannot be costed, of course.
Estimates and programs for rehabilitation are frantically being cobbled. The House quickly passed a resolution realigning P12 billion from the Unprogrammed Funds of the President’s Special Purpose Funds. On the other hand, the Senate’s resolution provided that the P12 billion would come from gas sold from the Malampaya wells.
Recently, the papers reported that an additional $1 billion would be raised from bonds. This is in addition to the funds already raised from the Global Bonds.
The international donor community is preparing to assist the Philippines in rehabilitation and repair. The World Bank is convening the donor community this week for the Philippine Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) in order to determine the magnitude of assistance needed by the country.
Local Capacity Innovations and Incentive Mechanisms
Yes, policy makers and the donor community are busily calculating how much is needed by the country and how much the donors can contribute. This is all well and good. Developments and decisions will surely be captured by the media which wants to bring good news to a public inundated with bad news.
In the meantime, unknown to much of the press and the public, a regional meeting dubbed as a “Learning Event” is quietly taking place today in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. The focus is on the unit of governance which is the first line of defense in calamities: the local government unit. The theme is on local capacity innovations and incentive mechanisms.
The Learning Event is jointly organized by Galing Pook Foundation; SNV, an international NGO active in capacity building for local government units; the Bangkok and Manila offices of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) , Silliman University and the Province of Negros Oriental.
Sixty participants are here today.. They are from 12 Philippine provinces and seven countries—Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Pakistan.
The list of participants from the provinces reads like a veritable who’s who of successful and multi-awarded local government units and their executives. All of them are recipients of Galing Pook and other prestigious awards. They are coming not just to listen to lectures and presentations. They will share stories about their successes and challenges with international participants.
Other presentors are from the organizing institutions as well as the Department of Interior and Local Government and the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance.
Exhibits of award-winning projects from the different provinces will also be displayed.
The presentations will cover the entire gamut of local governance, ranging from MDG goals to participatory governance. It is interesting to note that disaster preparedness and watershed management are among the presentations.
Rainbows after the deluge
Everyone is familiar with the story about Noah and the Great Deluge. Many Asian countries have their own version of the story. The Great Deluge destroyed all living things but saved Noah, his family and the living creatures in his ark. God then promised that he will not send a great flood to destroy the whole earth. The rainbow is the sign of this covenant.
The devastation in many Asian countries are followed by rainbows of hope. One of these rainbows of hope come from localities where partnership among governments, civil society, business and communities have shown that local innovations do work.
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