Blaming ourselves

 

LAST week, the country was reminded of the national tragedy that befell us – the onslaught of natural fury that megastorm Yolanda brought us to bear.

On our TV screens and newspaper pages, images of unimaginable vast swathes of destruction of lives, homes, farmlands, stores, infrastructures, churches, schools, etc. reminded us how vulnerable we are. With this hindsight that we enjoy a year later, it was simply not possible to blame anyone, not even the government for its initial helplessness to cope with the tragedy that no one thought possible. Individually, we could only take part of the blame because of our own negligence and refusal to heed calls for the protection of our environment and our laws to protect ourselves.

With hindsight today, there are a thousand and one lessons that could be learned by our government leaders, community leaders and above all, by our families. The foremost of all, is the lesson to be learned from congestion and population. The social impact ranges from illegal occupation of areas that are vulnerable to natural calamities. Another is the need to take to serious planning as a vital exercise in governance. Then, there is our notorious tolerance for “Bahala na” and “Pwede Na” that contribute largely to the communities’ failure to protect and save members of the family from certain tragedies.

Between the 1990 killer earthquake that hit Dagupan and other cities with 7.4 intensity on the Richter scale and lasted for 45 seconds, the series of 12 feet deep flooding and the Yolanda experience, it can be said we have seen the worst that can possibly befall our communities. If anything of lesser impact hits our communities and still experience losses and sufferings in the same magnitude, we shall have lost any moral ascendance over anyone to blame anyone.

We shall only have ourselves to blame

 

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Blaming Binay

 

IS Vice President Jojo Binay’s self-destruction for real? Seemingly, yes.

First, he hit some of President Aquino’s men for their alleged incompetence.  When Mr. Aquino defended his allies by telling Binay “he can leave the Cabinet anytime,” Binay didn’t budge.  Second, Binay stood up the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, flying to Cebu on the same day that he promised to appear at the hearing that is probing alleged corruption charges against him.  And third, Binay backed out from a Nov. 27 debate against Sen. Trillanes, torpedoing a much-awaited word war that he himself had brazenly hurled at the lawmaker last month.  The series of Binay black-eyes might yet hurt his 2016 presidential bid as already, his ratings are nose-diving unstoppably.

No one to blame but Binay himself.

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