IT LOOKS like hazard signals are on and everywhere, suggesting more disasters, natural and human-induced this year and God knows till when.
Earthquakes struck Mindanao and other parts of the country last year 2019, inflicting incalculable damages, and still the earthquake hazards continue to haunt people in other country’s urban and rural corners.
Few strong typhoons hit agriculture-rich and populous provinces last year, including the violent typhoon Ursula which brought havoc in provinces hit six years ago by Yolanda and turned their Christmas into nightmare.
Several damaging fires also struck few big urban centers since summer last year till early this year.
Taal Volcano partially erupted this year yet the damage is immense, and the threat of a bigger and violent eruption continues to hound few provinces like the sword of Damocles hanging over them. The trauma on eruption victims is widespread itching a new terrifying psyche among hundreds of thousands especially to mothers and children.
The reported significant drop in the fish outputs of both commercial and municipal fishing in the Visayan sea, a major fishing ground in the country, sent chilling message to local and national public officials prompting them to ban fishing in said ground for a year or so, which also ignited the ire of local fishers who depend on the sea for their living and survival.
Food poisoning also hit few provinces including a city and urban center in Negros Occidental.
The most recent and still developing is the discovery of a deadly variant of coronavirus that reportedly originated from China, and now spreading several fold faster than the wild fires in Asia and beyond.
I don’t know if there’s a connection to all of this.
What is obvious, however, is that climate change and nature’s free fall to disastrous human activities and the unbridled plundering projects and the wars of hegemony by powerful capitalist countries and multinational corporations led by the US are causing so much destructions of humans and planet biodiversity, the established support systems of human life.
In their race for political, economic and military hegemony, these established G7 powers and their cohorts in third world countries destroy the life support systems, triggering breaks in the foundations of this planet, wiping out natural sources of life and cures to human illnesses, and warming up the earth causing the pervasive alteration of atmosphere which damages agriculture.
With the star wars, greens and other futuristic sci-fi movies that have become part of our cultural upbringing, I even entertain that these viruses, super storms and other geoclimate changes could be part of the modern weapons developed by these powers just to ensure their dominance and eventually their hegemony.
Possible? I think so. These countries especially the US have a long history of wars of aggressions worldwide, utilizing all possible means, including chemical weapons and nuclear armaments, to destroy their enemies and impose their will.
Just like the terrorist ISIS and the Bin Laden myth, all made in USA, planted in their enemy territories, to create and justify wars, is it possible that new variant coronavirus could also be made in USA, planted in China, and create chaos there and everywhere, to justify bigger interventions, and divert attention of the US citizens and world communities on the brewing impeachment of President Trump?
Well, I don’t know. But I believe anything and everything is possible now because the planet is now at war with its humans, or with the powers who couldn’t care less with the future of humanity and this planet.
Indeed, disasters here and there, left and right. But as I always said and stand, we can control the disaster risks by raising the capacities of the people and communities to manage hazards and vulnerabilities.
I always believe in the power of the people to chart their destiny. It starts with acting like a sovereign people, and fighting like real warriors of the olden times.