Benigno Aquino Says Death Toll Likely Lower Than Feared

[SubicSteve]

And STILL not a word or centavo from the rich families that steal from their countrymen daily.  Only wish the media would shame them into helping, or better yet see an uprising on social media sites telling everyone to mob the department stores and send the stuff where it is needed.

[Papa Carl]

Hear Hear, well said Subic Steve. These rich politically aligned families have been bleeding this country dry long enough. 

 

Unfortunately just as in other countries, business owns and controls the government.

 

To make it worse, the people vote with "popularity votes" not with people who can get things done.

 

Who pays...., always the same, the Filipino family.

 

 

I am not saying that he is any better or any worse then most have been, or that he has any better people working with or for him.

 

But there is no infrastructure in this country to handle these types of disasters. Too much political infighting, not enough action.

 

 

Papa Carl

[Jake]

And STILL not a word or centavo from the rich families that steal from their countrymen daily.  Only wish the media would shame them into helping, or better yet see an uprising on social media sites telling everyone to mob the department stores and send the stuff where it is needed.

Yeah.....I hear ya Steve.  Unfortunately, all the rich and powerful are physically incapable to donate themselves as

representatives of the people.  Don't you know they're stuck in a customized Mercedes wheel chair with glittering

neck brace adorning their remorse and concern for the people.....he, he.  Did you guys hear about what the mayor

of Tacloban did to show his concern of his people?  

 

It will be an daunting task for any organization to tally up the death toll.  Hell, they can't even get their chit straight

after that destructive earthquake in Bohol.

[JJReyes]

I cannot account for why relief efforts are taking so long but I have been trying to keep up with what is happening by following both the Filipino and international newspapers. One thing I noticed was that the international papers were reporting differently what Aquino (and others) was supposed to be saying than what the Filipino papers were reporting.

 

Prolonging the misery increases the aid amount from foreign individuals and governments. It also permits reporters like Cooper Andersen from CNN to fly in so they can inform us about the terrible tragedy. That's the way to increase ratings and get advertising. I get upset watching reporters flying around with television crews in military helicopters to film the devastation. Those helicopters should be used to transport food and water to isolated areas. 

 

I don't know about the super wealthy, but in fairness to upper middle class and professionals in Metro Manila, there are on going pledges to donate their Christmas bonuses.  Year end parties are also being cancelled and the money saved to be donated. The restaurants and hotels are upset because they derive most of their profits from expenditure during the holidays. The same for retail outlets. 

 

The big question is who do give your monetary donation and how sure are you it will go to typhoon victims? My wife and I and our two sons have set aside some money to give to a needy family in Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao. Families made homeless by Typhoon Pablo are still homeless. They will remain that way because all the attention is now on Tacloban and Ormoc. The amount we are giving is sufficient for the father to build a modest house on donated land. The family is still living in a small tent. 

[Dougbert]

I agree, to a certain extent, that the press presence can be disturbing to watch as they are clearly taken care of, have water, food, transportation, etc.  But if there were no western press coverage, you'd have only local coverage which is controlled to a large extent by the rich and powerful there.  I'm no fan of CNN or Anderson Cooper, but I saw his report yesterday.  He was clearly affected by the experience and pointed out the lack of any organization five days after the event in the relatively large city of Tacloban.  He specifically called out the mayor of Palo as having done an excellent job, both in preparing his town and its people before the storm, and also handling the aftermath (collecting and burying the dead, etc.).

 

Here's what one of the local talking heads had to say about it:

 

http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2013/11/14/1256607/korina-sanchez-reacts-anderson-coopers-mali-mali-report

 

Well, AC was there on the ground in Tacloban.  He saw the damage, talked to the people, smelled the dead bodies, and reported what he experienced first hand.  Did Ms. Sanchez leave her comfy studio in Makati (or wherever it is) to see for herself what her fellow Filipinos were experiencing?  Apparently not, but she had time to criticize someone who did. 

 

I'm pretty cynical about the state of the US media, but when it comes to disasters, most people, including reporters in the field become human again.  Someone has to ask the hard questions.  Why hasn't the government worked with private air carriers to provide airlift to areas with working airfields?  Where are the hundreds of ferries and small vessels that could easily evacuate some of the more desperate?  Why aren't the ports being cleared and made usable?  It really is hard to understand the apparent lack of response almost ONE WEEK after the storm hit.

 

My fiancee's BPO call center colleagues in Cebu City have been organizing their own food drive (not with help from their employer) and are planning to obtain vehicles to transport food and water to the north end of Cebu themselves because there are people up there who are also in bad shape and are not on the news.  Pretty sad state of affairs.

 

Bangon kapuso!

Edited November 14, 2013 by Dougbert

[JJReyes]

Dougbert, I agree that international reporting is needed. My criticism is they should be using private, civilian helicopters. News organizations like CNN can afford to pay. The Philippine government is too accommodating. They should learn to say, "No." The military helicopters are there for relief work, not to give rides to the media.

[Dougbert]

I guess I see it as a necessary evil, to some extent.  If there were no western media there with access to transportation there would likely be a lot less international aid arriving now.  The real tragedy is the Philippine government's inadequate preparation and inaction to assist its people, not the western media.  If this is what's happening in Tacloban, what's happening in the smaller towns and villages where no one has gone to help?  I remember Katrina and the FEMA fumbles and this is at least 10x worse.

[Dougbert]

Update on death toll--now 4400+.  Very sad.

 

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/14/21449340-typhoon-haiyan-un-dramatically-raises-death-toll-to-more-than-4400?lite

[Mike S]

Well the US aircraft carrier along with some support ships is now in place and using it's helos to distribute goods to the needy ..... they have already distributed water to one of the towns outside Tacloban ..... something the military .... local and federal government have been sitting on their hands over .... the Phils HAS helos and C130's BUT as with the disaster in Bohol don't want to use them for fear of them crashing (that's what one government official said) ..... much better to fly news media around so they get lots of exposure .... the people as usual come in second or third or whatever .....

 

The Brits are also sending a carrier so between the two something will now be done instead of bickering and infighting during the dick measuring contests being done by the ones supposedly in charge .... JMHO

:cheersty:

[Dougbert]

I usually hate watching CNN, but I watched AC360 tonight and was generally impressed.  AC is clearly affected by what he's seen there.  I even checked the AC360 FB page and found hundreds of positive comments from Filipinos thanking him for showing the truth and begging him to dig deeper into the lack of response from the PI government.  He has shown the world what it is that attracts many of us to these people--strength, caring, resilience, happiness, etc.  They showed a bunch of people and kids just trying to get back to "normal" in the midst of all of the destruction and tragedy.

 

I'm glad the big support is finally arriving.  I hope the doctors in all of these makeshift hospitals get the support they need to treat the injured and sick.

 

I have to say--"well done, Anderson."  I still can't stand most of the garbage on CNN (or American news in general), but might watch his show from time to time.