Tag: bopha

6 dead so far as #Hagupit (#RubyPH) tears through #Philippines’ central islands

December 8, 2014 benign0 4 Comments

Thanks to “the largest peacetime evacuations the country has ever seen” mounted in preparation for the coming of Super Typhoon Hagupit (locally code-named “Ruby”), death at the appalling scale seen during last year’s devastation wrought by Super Typhoon Haiyan (locally code-named “Yolanda”) had been largely avoided so far. According recent forecasts, the next major populated…

Civics, Government

Deja vu all over again as Typhoon Mario’s devastation of Metro Manila mirrors Ondoy’s in 2009

September 19, 2014 benign0 26 Comments

Today may as well have been a day in September 2009 when Typhoon Ondoy struck and devastated Manila. Back then I wrote about the Philippine government’s utter failure to step up and provide relief to hundreds of thousands of its victims (a failure to be repeated many more times since), and how Metro Manilans pretty…

Civics, Development, Environment, Government

Korina Sanchez is Mar Roxas’s wife! (and other insights gleaned from the Yolanda disaster)

November 17, 2013November 17, 2013 benign0 34 Comments

Did the Filipino people elect their leaders so that they could be given a “break” in times when their leadership is needed the most? It seems that’s exactly what they did. Many Filipinos are already quite aware of the embarrassingly cringe-worthy manner with which Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III and Department of Interior…

Civics, Environment, Government, Media

Manny Pacquiao: do pro boxing and national politics mix?

December 14, 2012 benign0 21 Comments

Thanks to GR Post commenter ‘FelYounghusband’ for a comment she posted on my previous article “Where was Philippine Congressman Manny Pacquiao when Typhoon Pablo devastated Mindanao?” as it eloquently consolidates and summarises commentary posted by a few others. The following excerpt I believe encapsulates the point FelYounghusband and a few others were trying to bring…

Glitz and Glamour, Politics, Society

Where was Philippine Congressman Manny Pacquiao when Typhoon Pablo devastated Mindanao?

December 12, 2012 benign0 40 Comments

The other day I came across what I thought was a pretty poignant tweet coming from one of the humour Tweetizens I follow. It went something like this: Our boys in helmets who fight our battles halfway around the world should be paid more than the boys in helmets who pass around a ball in…

Culture, Environment, Media

Que horror! President Noynoy Aquino failed to watch the Manny Pacquiao fight!

December 11, 2012 benign0 81 Comments

I mean, really, does one need to even make a press release about something one did not do? I’m referring to a recent statement issued by MalacaÃ±ang with regard to the level of interest Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III has shown for a big event that had transfixed Filipinos over the last couple…

Civics, Government, Lifestyle, Media

Typhoon Pablo casualty could hit 1400+ as Filipinos mourn Pacquiao defeat

December 10, 2012 benign0 20 Comments

The casualty toll in the aftermath of Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) could reach more than 1,400 which is almost equal to the carnage wrought by Typhoon Sendong (Washi) in 2011. According to recent reports, the human toll is rising as search-and-rescue efforts to recover the missing drag on… The toll from the powerful typhoon that swept…

Culture, Environment, Government, Media, Society, The South

Ph Government pats itself on the back for level of preparedness as Typhoon Pablo batters Mindanao

December 6, 2012 benign0 119 Comments

As bodies recovered in the aftermath of the devastation wrought by Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) in pile up in makeshift morgues all over Mindanao, the casualty statistics begin to approach the levels hit by Typhoon Ondoy’s flood waters which engulfed Metro Manila in 2009. However, the level of importance the Philippines’ seat of culture and governance…

Development, Environment, Government, Politics, The South