Malacañang Admits Deficiency in Yolanda Preps,Response; PNoy Takes Charge

Malacañang admitted on Thursday it may have encountered some inadequacy in the preparation and response to super typhoon Yolanda, which devastated parts of the Visayas region Friday last week, Gma News Online reported.

Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. said during a press conference, “Kung meron pong mga pumupuna, tinatanggap naman po natin iyong kanilang pagpuna. Hindi po natin itinatanggi na maaaring nagkaroon ng mga pagkukulang. Pero iyon po ay bunga na rin ng mga severe constraints.”

“Hindi naman po sinasadyang huwag pagtuunan [iyon] ng pansin,” he added.

President Benigno Aquino III, in a televised speech on Thursday night, said the government was prepared for the threat brought by Yolanda. Coloma, despite his admission about the government’s shortcomings, still stood by Aquino’s statement and said they tried to prepare for all “possible eventualities”, Gma News Online said.

“If we review the transcript, the President warned of storm surge na maaaring umabot ng up to six meters. Kaya in terms of the framework that is prescribed by law, na-anticipate naman po ng ating pamahalaan iyong mga possible scenarios katulad din po nung mga nakaraang pagkakataon especially in the case of Typhoon Pablo,” Coloma said.

He added “So in terms of preparation, in terms of emergency alert, masasabi po natin na ginawa po ang nararapat at naaayon sa batas na tungkulin ng pamahalaan,”

Coloma said there are really just some things out of their control, adding that all that’s left is to learn from what happened. “Sa isang malaking organisasyon, any complex organization will involve many permutations, many nuances of operations; at mahirap mag-imagine ng totally perfect world na lahat nalang will fall in machine-like precision,” Coloma said.

He added “At dahil po nakakapulot tayo ng mga mahahalagang aral, gagamitin po natin ang aral na napulot natin para mas maging mahusay po ang ating pagtugon sa susunod na pagkakataon,”

Reports said the death toll due to Yolanda went up to 2,357 according to the latest figures from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). About 3,853 were injured and 77 are still missing.

The Online News reported officials have projected fatalities to be as high as 10,000 if all can be counted. Many people are missing or washed out to sea.

The NDRRMC reported a total of 1,732,477 families or 8,007,200 people have been affected in 8,819 villages in 43 provinces. Of these figures, 74,246 families or 359,574 people are staying in 1,099 evacuation centers.

The government has been criticized by international media for the slow delivery of relief goods to areas affected by Yolanda, Gma News Online reported.

Local governments which usually provide the first responders and take the lead in delivering immediate relief, have been decimated, with many personnel killed, missing, or unable to perform emergency duties, Gma News Online said.

Report said local police have also been paralyzed that resulted in a security vacuum in some areas and rampant crime. In the absence of local government effectiveness, the national government has stepped in, but its exact role has been unclear. The lack of power and communications has slowed even assessments of the damage, report said.

Aquino is in charge.

Coloma has said among the government’s priorities are the immediate delivery of food, water, medicine, and medical assistance to the victims; and the provision of temporary shelters for displaced residents, Gma news Online reported.

He also said they are prioritizing the restoration of power and communication services; of land, sea, and air transportation services; and of the “normalcy” of essential government services in hardest-hit areas.

Moreover, Malacañang said the President is in charge, in the middle of the confusion and finger-pointing accompanying one of the worst crises in the nation’s history, Gma news on said on Thursday.

Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene Almendras, at a press briefing on Wednesday, said “The [one] calling the shots is actually the President and the Cabinet members,”

He added “This will come out to be one of the largest logistic and relief operations that the Philippine government has ever done in history and the President wanted to make sure that we have aligned everything.”

Almendras explained that Aquino gave all his Cabinet officials their own assignments and that if he “sees fit to appoint [just one point] person, he will.”

He said Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman is “on the ground to make sure that the distribution [of relief goods] happens.”

“I am helping her Usecs (undersecretaries) and her organization here to handle those things,” he added.

Almendras also said Transportation and Communications Secretary Jun Abaya is in charge of “anything that has to move,” Gma News Online reported.

Source: Gma News Online