Yolanda Aftermath is a Defining Moment for the Aquino Administration

Media Release 
14 November 2013

Reference: Rosalinda C. Tablang – 0927-9259413 / (+632) 929-8109
President, Samahang Operasyong Sagip (SOS)


It’s all too obvious, PNoy’s cabinet is working overtime in glossing over the truth about the real situation in Typhoon Yolanda-ravaged regions to cover up for the Philippine government’s incapacity and inefficiency in preparing and responding to the worst disaster to hit the nation yet.

This is Samahang Operasyong Sagip’s (SOS) analysis to the all too many parrots (read: cabinet members)singing one song in defense of PNoy’s inadequacy to respond to millions of affected populations.

SOS president Rosalinda C. Tablang said that it is too immature of the government to use the argument that “nobody expected the effect to be of this magnitude.” Hence, the justification for the snail-paced and bureaucratic response.

“In a disaster situation like this, the national government is the last entity that we need to hear appalled by the density of the aftermath,” Tablang responded.

She specified that it is the national government’s task to “prepare for the worst and have all contingencies on board” because weather authorities and media groups have been warning of Typhoon Yolanda’s strength days before it hit the Philippine soil.

Tablang also slammed Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras for saying “I don’t think it is an acid test of this administration. This is an acid test of Filipino people. How well we handle this crisis will matter a lot. Yes, there will be challenges but we will move on.”

“To say that this is not an acid test for the Aquino administration is blatant denial of the truth. PNoy’s government has been through typhoons Sendong, Pablo, and habagat and the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in the Visayas. He has gone through all of these disasters with the same inefficiency as what is seen in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda,” she added.

Whether they like it or not, this is a defining moment of the Aquino administration, Tablang said.

“We would like to remind the Aquino government that what the survivors need are food, water, shelter, sincere and concrete assurance and not empty promises,” Tablang ended.##

Flooding in the Metro, not the poor people’s fault – Samahang Operasyong Sagip

The government’s lack of comprehensive plan to solve flooding to including the unabated cutting down of forest trees, lack of flood defenses or control and most importantly, disaster preparedness and failure to address the root causes of people’s vulnerability to the effects of disaster, not the poor people, are the reasons why almost a hundred people died and thousands more were displaced from their homes because of “Habagat”.

This was Samahang Operasyong Sagip’s (SOS) reaction on the “typical victim-blaming” attitude of the government on the massive flooding caused by the southwest monsoon that badly hit Luzon and affected  89,114 families, left behind 92 people dead, destroyed thousands of homes and damaged P616 million worth of crops and infrastructure.

Christ Ian Mostrales, a registered nurse and coordinator of SOS said that Mr. Aquino should deeply look into the reasons why millions of Filipinos remain vulnerable to the effects of disasters year in and year out.  He stressed that “political and economic disenfranchisement further push the majority poor” into situations and places that put their lives and limbs at risk. 

Instead of blaming the poor for the flood, Mostrales said that Mr. Aquino should review his previous decision on the cancellation of 19 projects under the “Post Ondoy and Pepeng Short-Term Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project” a few months after he assumed office in 2010.  The project sought to repair damaged flood control facilities in Luzon that were ravaged by the two typhoons.  In the absence of a better blueprint for flood solution, Mostrales said that the administration even cancelled the P18.7 billion Laguna Lake dredging project which aimed to permanently solve the flooding in Laguna and adjacent provinces and cities.  Earlier this year, around 79 percent of the P7.5 billion Quick Reaction Calamity Fund was already spent – leaving only P1.6 billion for the typhoons that are expected to hit the Philippines this year. Government allotment for disaster preparedness, mitigation, and rehabilitation has had meager share in the national budget.

In exchange for these long-term solutions, the Aquino government resorted to stop gap solutions like the clearing of waterways and drainage systems of all makeshift structures that block them – with DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson saying “even going to the extent of blowing up structures that block waterways to ease flooding”.  

Mostrales reiterated that the statement is insensitive especially considering that most families whose houses have been demolished in Damayang Lagi, Quezon City and Isla Puting Bato in Tondo Manila experienced a double whammy when their new homes were ravaged by floods.  The “illegal structures” of urban poor families are not the main problem why there is flooding and demolishing these structures will not solve the problem of flooding and congestion. 

“Who would want to live in dirty esteros, landslide-prone areas, river side, break waters, or shorelines if these people were properly employed, earning a livable wage, or were not displaced from their lands in the countryside because of large scale mining and land-grabbing?” 

“The Philippines experience an average of twenty tropical cyclones per year.  Hence, the government should focus more in long-term structural enhancements and more importantly, capacitate the people by providing adequate social services and equal economic and political opportunities to mitigate the adverse effects of disasters,” Mostrales ended.

SOS is a network of organizations, volunteer health workers, professionals and students that aim to render assistance to disaster victims through various responses such as disaster preparedness and mitigation initiatives, relief and medical missions and post disaster rehabilitation efforts.  It was formed in the early 1990s in response to the big earthquake and lahar flows of Mt. Pinatubo. ##

Reference:         

Christ Ian Mostrales – 0923-1016178 / (+632) 929-8109

Spokesperson/Coordinator, SOS

 

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Once again SOS Samahang Operayong Sagip is appealling for ur help. Hundreds of Families in NCR are now displaced due to continous and Heavy rain. Any help.... FOOD, Clothings, Medicines are welcomed. Volunteers for relief and Medical Mission are also needed.

For Cash Donations, please send it through the following bank account:

Account name: Samahang Operasyong Sagip, Inc.

Metro Bank
Savings Account # 636-3-63608747-6
Swift Code: MBTCPHMM
Metrobank-Examiner Quezon Avenue Branch,
1517 Ave Maria Bldg, Quezon City, Philippines

Pls Call or Txt Ian CP# 09231016178 for details

thanks you...

‎

TO ALL SOS MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

February 10, 2012

To all our Volunteer and Members


Dear Friend’s of SOS

Samahang Operasyong Sagip (SOS) with Balsa Mindanao or Bulig Alang sa Mindanao is a citizen-led Mindanao wide formation responding to the crisis brought about by typhoon ‘sendong’ carrying out humanitarian assistance and environmental advocacy to Northern Mindanao. The multi-sectoral and interfaith group has already conducted its 3rd wave of relief, medical, psychosocial and documentation services especially to the hardest hit and less served communities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

Community Based Health Services – Northern Mindanao Region (CBHS-NMR) has led the medical team in providing needed health services in the affected communities in Cagayan de Oro City (CDO). Balsa Mindanao’s third wave of medical missions in CDO was conducted from January 13 – 16, 2012. Areas served were affected families at the evacuation centers at the Agusan Elementary School and Brgy. Indahag, and at the affected communities at Sta. Cruz, Brgy. Consolacion, Villa Angela, Brgy. Balulang, and Tambo, Brgy, Macasandig. These medical missions have served a total of 577 individuals.

But much remains to be done. The next phase, rehabilitation and reconstruction, is a long way process that entails a comprehensive and participatory course of action. Crucial is the role of the victims and survivors themselves.

CBHS-NMR’s assessment of the health needs of the affected families in the evacuation centers has revealed that most medical aid rendered were mostly curative, thus only addresses immediate health concerns. In this regard, CBHS-NMR aims to strengthen the capacities of communities on skills that promote health and prevent disease. Specifically, we intend to conduct health education activities in the evacuation centers and distribute hygiene/first aid kits. Listed below are the dates, target beneficiaries, and the contents of the kits.



DATE AREA BENEFICIARIES
Feb. 17 Brgy. Agusan Evacuation Center 64 families
Sitio Pita, Brgy. Bonbon 80 families
Feb. 18 Tibasak, Brgy. Macasandig 401 families
Mandumol, Brgy. Macasandig 113 familes
Buena Oro 26 families
Brgy. Indahag 57 families







In this regard, we are once again asking for your urgent support for this mission. We would like to solicit the following types and quantity of medicines for our medical kits.


Target Quantity Item Details
750 pcs. Hydrogen Peroxide (30 ml)
750 pcs. Isopropyl Alcohol (60 ml)
750 pcs. Cotton
750 pcs. Povidone Iodine (30 ml)
1500 pcs Sterile OS (4 x 4 inches)
750 pcs. Plaster
1500 pcs. Oresol Packs
150 boxes Paracetamol 500 mg tablets
150 boxes Aluminum Magnesium
150 Mefenamic Acid
750 pcs. Liniment (60 ml)
750 pcs. Skin Ointment




Yours Sincerely,




Ms. Rosalinda Tablang




Christ Ian Mostrales, R.M., R.N.
SOS Coordinator

'Sendong' turns Cagayan de Oro into a virtual no man's land

'Sendong' turns Cagayan de Oro into a virtual no man's land

Dear friends and volunteers of SOS,

Dear friends and volunteers of SOS,

Greetings of hope and Peace from the Samahang Operasyong Sagip (SOS)!
Typhoon Sendong (international code name: Washi) washed away entire villages as it whipped the southern part of the Philippines in the early hours of Saturday, December 17. In its aftermath, Typhoon Sendong left a trail of flattened homes, broken bridges and upended vehicles in the Northern Mindanao Region. The cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan on the island of Mindanao were worst hit when typhoon hit shore late on Friday and early on Saturday, sending torrents of water and mud through villages and stripping mountainsides bare.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), typhoon Sendon affected a total of number of 26,928 families or 142,961 person in 190 barangays, in 24 municipalities and cities in the 13 provinces of Region VI, Region VII, Region IX, Region X, Region XI, CARAGA and the ARMM. Death toll mainly caused by flashfloods and landslides which swept away houses into rivers and out to sea induced by Typhoon Sendong has reached 632, mostly were women and children (Philippine National Red Cross on the other hand, reported more than 800 persons dead); 16 persons were injured; 432 were rescued while 82 persons more are still missing. As retrieval operations are still going on, thousands of families are still staying in evacuation as their houses were destroyed and swept away by flash floods. The NDRRMC reported that a total of 6,917 houses were damaged.

SOS’ network partners in the affected regions are right now responding to the disaster situation and are appeal for immediate assistance. The Panday-Bulig Relief and Rehabilitation Center, Rural Missionaries in the Philippines-Northern Mindanao and the Community-Based Health Services Association-Mindanao reported that the affected population are in great need of food, water, clothing, blankets, medicines, etc.

Let us make the season of Advent a season for helping and sharing as we share and give our help to the families severely affected by Typhoon Sendong. The office of the Council for Health and Development which houses the SOS secretariat will be opened for your food and non-food donations. Cash donations can be deposited to Samahang Operasyong Sagip Inc. Savings Account # 636-3-63608747-6 swift code: MBTCPHMM Metro bank- Examiner Branch Quezon City, Philippines

SOS will also be announcing later the schedules of food and medical relief that will be organized by our Mindanao-based partners and also hope that you can also help and join these activities

For More Info. Please Contact Christ Ian Mostrales R.N, R.M (SOS Coordinator)

Thank you very much for the continued support.

Respectfully yours,




Rosalinda C. Tablang
Chairperson
Board of Trustees

Samahang Operasyong Sagip Account Number:

Please send your donations to

Samahang Operasyong Sagip(SOS), Inc.
Room 206, Anita Bldg.,
284 E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave.,
Quezon City, Philippines

For Cash Donations, please send it through the following bank account:

Account name:
Samahang Operasyong Sagip, Inc.

Metro Bank
Savings Account # 636-3-63608747-6
Swift Code: MBTCPHMM
Metrobank-Examiner Quezon Avenue Branch,
1517 Ave Maria Bldg, Quezon City, Philippines