Saturday, August 09, 2008 Editorial: Calamity preparedness
IF CALAMITY strikes, Kapampangans have nothing to worry about. There is enough food supplies to meet contingency. In money terms, the province still has P40 million in reserve should any proportionate need arises.
That is the assurance from the province welfare and disaster point person, Luchie Gutierrez. With the rainy season still a couple months to its termination and at least three to four more typhoons expected to hit the country, it is good to know that the Provincial Government is fully prepared to meet any challenge in Gutierrez area of responsibility.
The higher hope is that no calamity of huge proportion will have to test where Gutierrez's – or the Provincial Government's – money her mouth is. Based on experience, no government has really been able to cope with a calamity of significant magnitude. The tragedy of Hurricane "Katrina" in the United States still lingers as a fitting reminder.
Still, the proclaimed readiness gives the public the peace of mind that it deserves, especially in these difficult times of spiraling fuel and food prices.
Even sans a natural calamity, the current situation should merit enough concern and adequate response from Gutierrez or the Provincial Government. Given the twin impact of skyrocketing prices and poverty, a lot of people must already be feeling they had been struck by a calamity of great magnitude. One shocking outcome is that, as a recent poll survey showed, most people have already cut down on their food expenses.
That's no brainier: people cannot simply match the cost of living - increasingly rising beyond reach - with what they earn.
Perhaps, Gutierrez can look into this before any calamity-preparedness becomes meaningless or too late to make any real difference in the lives of those who need it most. The other thing is, it is possible that no calamity may take place at all, and the huge stockpile of food items and other relief goods being readied for such an event may just have to be distributed anyway rather than rot in storage.
The point is looking after the welfare of the public requires not just being proactive and prepared, but addressing people's needs in a timely and realistic way that goes beyond mere technical description.
It might be better to feed or clothe a poor man now before the next typhoon comes along rather than after the calamity and poverty shall have placed him in direr strait. Creativity and compassion can be useful in this respect.
