We are a country always facing calamitous events or disasters. During the rainy or typhoon season as what we are going through right now we experience merciless downpours causing floods, landslides, and other effects. And due to climate change, such have become more intense or stronger causing more serious damage or harm to property and life and limb. Over the decades, however, our responses to disasters have been the same– antiquated. These are mainly to save victims by bringing them to evacuation centers, usually public school buildings serving as temporary shelters. Food would be given, often times just noodles and sardines or some rice. Then when the typhoon is gone, the victims are usually let loose to go and pick up the pieces of their lives just by themselves. Then we console ourselves by saying, at least, they are alive.
How about their livelihood? Society or the government often do not care about that. But such must be a big concern or a priority. Utmost assistance must be given especially when they had businesses that got battered or otherwise razed to the ground. For that means not just the owners will go hungry but also their employees who might be in danger of increasing the already numerous number of jobless.
Providing employment is job one as far as the government is concerned. Thus, the numerous incentives being extended to those who put up MSNEs which include trainings, access to capital, marketing, etc.
In the case of businesses ran down by calamities, such might not be problems as the owners would not be starting from scratch. They already have the knowhow to run their businesses, even the markets for their products. All they need would just be to be enabled to pick up the pieces of their businesses. Sure, they might need capital for capital expenditures or to start rolling again. But, at the very least, they already have the experience which is the most important thing.
As of now though, government doesn’t have an agency or department specializing in helping businesses to rise from the destruction caused by a calamity. There should be one to provide all the needed help for the sake of not just the victims, but the country as a whole.**