Tag: disaster response

Filipinos need to end their love affair with mediocrity and ‘pwede na yan’ mentality

July 9, 2014August 4, 2014 Ilda 118 Comments

My views are not very popular with Filipinos. I guess it’s partly my fault because I like posting topics that some might consider taboo and boring. But it’s not like I discuss religion or make fun of other people’s religious beliefs. Granted, I like talking about Philippine politics and society in general but I really…

Civics, Culture, Development, Economy, Featured, Government, Lifestyle, Media, Politics, Society

Five things the Philippines needs to develop to become a great nation

June 8, 2014June 8, 2014 benign0 31 Comments

The following are the five key pillars that form the foundation of what could make Filipinos’ aspirations to build not just a better Philippines but a great Philippines a reality. No amount of nebulous campaign slogans and promises delivered in flowery speeches will replace the need for solid foundations for development and progress. Here is…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Development, Economy, Government, Society

What caused the 6-month delay in the release of funding for repair of schools destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan?

June 2, 2014 benign0 13 Comments

It’s always the same, year in and year out. The opening of the new school year in the Philippines never fails to make headline news. The figure now is twenty million. That’s the number of Filipino school kids who trooped to their classes today — a number just short of the population of Australia. Their…

Development, Education, Government

Typhoon Haiyan victims to be showcased to European delegates as ‘poster children’ of ‘resilience’

May 30, 2014 benign0 8 Comments

So now the disaster left by supertyphoon Haiyan (a.k.a. Yolanda) that struck central Philippines in November 2013 will serve as a platform to “showcase” Filipino “resilience” to European delegates visiting Manila next month. From the 4th through the 6th of June, the Philippines will be hosting the Asia Europe Meeting’s (ASEM) Manila Conference on Disaster…

Civics, Government

Death in fire of Haiyan victims – mother and her six children – fails to make headline news in Philippines

May 29, 2014May 29, 2014 benign0 7 Comments

Indeed, how much a society cares for the least of its members is reflected in the headlines of its biggest media outlets. The Washington Post recently reports… MANILA, Philippines — An overnight fire razed a tent used as a temporary shelter by survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, killing a woman and all six of her children,…

Civics, Media, Society

Hey GI, ten dollah, love ya long time…

March 17, 2014 Kate Natividad 37 Comments

I read with interest benign0’s recent piece Is the sex trade all Filipinos have to offer to visiting US troops?. It was quite an eye-opener for me. I realize now why this country is screwed. We not only have an inept government, we also have idiots leading the “activist” movements that are supposed to be…

Culture, Politics, Religion

Would Pharrell Williams approve of Haiyan victims dancing to ‘Happy’?

March 14, 2014 Kate Natividad 26 Comments

I mean, seriously, WTF? That video showing Filipinos dancing amid the devastation left by Typhoon Haiyan in Leyte is in bad taste plain and simple. There is nothing to be “happy” about what happened there. And no amount of dancing will change the simple fact that what happened to Tacloban is nothing short of horrific….

Civics, Culture, Glitz and Glamour, Media

Typhoon Haiyan in hindsight: Romualdez could have been set up for blame had PNoy been a bit shrewder

February 18, 2014November 8, 2021 benign0 20 Comments

So it’s been 100 days since the disaster wrought by super-typhoon Haiyan (a.k.a. Yolanda). A one-hundred day anniversary is an arbitrary point following a seminal event where the average talking head observes the tradition of dipping into that fountain of useless wisdom called hindsight to tell a story. Here we go, then. First, the facts….

Civics, Government, Media, Politics