“It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.” – Ansel Adams
Two in a row, with the threat of Mt. Kanlaon eruption and series of more earthquakes. The loss of lives and property remain unaccountable that left a complete devastation in the Negros Island Region. These natural tragedies added a deep cut psychologically and emotionally especially among those who lost their loved ones.
From the other perspective, typhoons Tino and Uwan affected agriculture quite significantly due to strong winds, flooding and landslides. With the continuous onslaught year-in and year-out the sector has been gravely suffering from the worsening damage inflicted into it. And, whether we draw lessons from it, its current state profoundly explains.
DEBILITATED AGRICULTURE
We have just been hit by a “doublekill” with a blitzkrieg of blows. Arguably, as an agriculture island region our economy largely depends on it thus, we need the sector to recover. We have no choice but to pick up the pieces. But as to how we can recover is a question only actions can answer.
A case in point is Canlaon City in Negros Oriental where its vegetable industry has been wiped out resulting to skyrocketing prices and its supply is on a historical low. Okra now costs 6 pesos a piece, so that it is even more expensive to cook pinakbet than a rilleno. With most of the vegetables coming from Canlaon going to the major cities of the island, it is seen that vegetable prices may seem comparable to fuel prices. Domestic production of vegetables as the major economic driver of the city will take a considerable period of time. Moreover, the city reels from loss of lives and the destruction of its major infrastructures
The island’s agriculture sector is in a debilitating state with an estimated 1.4B pesos damage affecting major crops such as rice, corn and sugarcane. It can be argued now that it is on a downfall trajectory. Moreover, our top agriculture product, sugarcane, was estimated to have lost about 4 billion pesos according to SRA, in the entire Visayas and presumably more than half of it is in Negros covering almost a thousand hectares of production areas. Painfully, this demise causes more harm to small planters and agrarian reform beneficiaries as a major consequence.
VICIOUS CYCLE
This country sits on faultlines, hosts to many active volcanoes in the world and faces the Pacific and is one of the 10 most vulnerable countries to natural disasters. For the Philippines, these disasters now seem to be a natural occurrence that logically have served as lessons for us to become wiser in dealing with them – in terms of preparedness, management and mitigation. Unfortunately, we are only fond of knowing but not much of doing. This is a feared practice developing into a culture of dependence and blame-game smacks of accountability. This vicious cycle that expects a different result but doing the same thing over and over again is apathy.
Generally, when calamities strike policymakers, major actors and stakeholders ensure relief assistance, quick field assessments, and prioritize repair of infrastructure. These are crucial and necessary at the most immediate but are purely reactive. What is utterly absent is the strategic framework on preparedness, impact mitigation and management of disasters for a country whose major leverage against disaster is prayer despite fully understanding the cause of the problem.
POLITICAL CIRCUS
This country is now suffocated by a political turmoil where a large segment of the public becomes numb. Yes, there is anger and hatred but whether it is elevated to a certain level of a unified and coordinated formidable political actions remains doubtful. This anger and hatred are overshadowed by fear and confusion that this political sarsuela thickens and muddled with more characters and plots become twisted, whose ending remains open-ended.
With the worsening impact of natural tragedies only aggravated by greed and power and the search for accountability, transparency just got more bleaked, highly confusing and direction-less.
WISH
I wonder what can possibly be an antidote to a culture of greed and corruption that looks more of a deliberate action. Quite a cheap trick. Yes, I join the call for transparency, accountability and justice but I want to see “December justice.” Once proven, jail the thieves at least for the tax they stole. Sadly, not for the lives and irreparable ecological ruins they caused.*
