Data released by the government show that about 5,488 were evacuated during the height of Typhoon Betty. The typhoon only hit a small portion of our archipelago. And it did not really hit hard. It was ridiculous to call it super typhoon when it was very weak compared to other “normal” typhoons we used to experience during rainy seasons.
But despite its weakness as it failed to make a landfall, the number of those who were evacuated reached several thousands. It is very revealing of the huge backlog in government efforts to provide decent housing to those who are really in need. Such also can mean failure to provide jobs or economic opportunities to a huge chunk of the populace.
If one can afford to have a house, no matter how humble but could withstand a regular typhoon, why would he or his family opt to be evacuated with all the inconveniences, if not humiliation, it entails.
Among the first priorities of a young Filipino couple is to have a house and lot. Thus, the incapability to acquire one means the lack of disposable income for that purpose. It means none of the family members might even have a stable job from which a decent income could be earned.
This in turn reveals how bad our priorities as a country had been. All politicians would admit that our government is riddled with corruption. Going just by the amount of the budget for infrastructure projects which go into the pockets of corrupt public works contractors and their political padrinos or co-conspirators, this would be more than enough to finance low cost housing for those who are really in need.
Or looking at it from another angle, such amount could have been used to finance job generating ventures. But then again that would be also riddled with corruption and no jobs might even be generated.
Then there are the bad policies. Every time we needed something, anything at all, the easy solution implemented is to import these. Take, for instance sugar and rice. Any expected shortage is not met by any creative solution but to import these. Whatever small amount of foreign currency we have is drained into foreign coffers because our attitude is always to take the path or point of least resistance. Are we that helpless and stupid devoid of any creativity?
So we will always have thousands and thousands of people being evacuated every time a typhoon no matter how lousy in terms of strength comes along.
How can we realize some meaningful change in our conditions? Easy. Any effort should start at the top, especially when it came to implementation and the discipline and honesty required for any serious attempt towards that end.**