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PNEJ CDO/Iligan mission representatives: Imelda Abano with EV Espiritu (PDInquirer), Noel
Gapasin (ABS-CBN Baguio),
Henry Tacio, Prime Sarmiento, Dino Balabo, Rhaydz Barcia
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The Philippines is the most disaster-prone country
in Asia in 2011 claiming nearly 1,500 lives
from calamities like floods, typhoons and earthquakes as reported by the Center
for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. And when it comes to reporting,
journalists have a crucial responsibility and role to play whenever the country
is facing a difficult situation.
In the aftermath of a
tragedy, journalists have the vital power of shaping one’s perspective in
presenting the big picture and the human story of individuals struggling to
survive.
Just a month after Typhoon
Sendong struck the cities of Cagayan De Oro and Iligan, a team of journalists
from the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists (PNEJ) visited Northern Mindanao. They saw first-hand the situation
there wherein they said that the sense of devastation is still hard to bear as
communities and lives are slowly being rebuilt.
Imelda Abano, President of PNEJ and a correspondent
of the BusinessMirror Daily Newspaper, said the visit there was important as the media play a vital role in
educating the public about disasters, warning of hazards, knowing the situation
in the affected areas, alerting government officials, relief organizations and
the public to specific needs in this case in Iligan and Cagayan De Oro.
” Our reporting about human
stories and disasters can also bring positive change to the community and to
the nation. Of course we know our limits in getting our stories by being
mindful that victims be treated with dignity, respect and with a lot of
patience. On the other hand, scrutinizing disaster prevention and recovery
efforts puts the government on notice,” Abano said.
Henrylito Tacio, a Davao-based journalist, said that as the team reached the areas hardest hit
by the disaster on December 16 and 17 last year, those human stories began to
emerge.
“ I never thought that the
devastation brought by Typhoon Sendong was really that phenomenal,” Tacio said.
“ What I heard and seen on television was tragic. But seeing it personally was
another story. It was a heart-wrenching talking with the people who were
victims of the deluge.”
Tacio and other journalists
in the team observed that a month after the devastating typhoon, both cities
are still packed with debris, and hundreds of thousands of people are living in
evacuation sites and shelters.
Here are the other
perspectives of the journalists who visited Cagayan De Oro and Iligan cities:
Prime Sarmiento, Xinhua
CDO is clearly not prepared
with with this kind of disaster, given that this is something that never
happened before. I hope that they will use this experience to prepare a more
comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction Management plan.
We can no longer be
complacent. At the same time, this is a wake up call on all of us – what ca we
do to prevent illegal logging and environmental destruction that affects
everyone.
Dino Balabo, Mabuhay Bulacan / Philippine Star
In both cities, non-government
organizations seemed to serve as the backbone in helping residents back on
their feet. The local government units seem to be mired in politics, when they
should be the ones leading the reconstruction and rehabilitation.
As far as disaster mitigation
and preparedness is concerned, I am glad the officials realized its importance,
but wonder if they will actually do something. Awareness is one thing, and
doing the job is another.
Rhaydz Barcia, correspondent Manila Times / Reuters
As a photojournalist who
covered the disaster in Northern Mindanao for
several weeks, I saw vast of logs strewn coming from the mountains to the
lowlands and to the coastal communities.
Sadly, the local government
units of the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro have no concrete disaster
preparedness and mitigation measures that could help and expedite the
rehabilitation efforts to bring back or restore the lives of the flood-stricken
communities in Northern Mindanao despite of
the enacted laws on Disaster Risk Reduction.
PNEJ’s visit in Northern
Mindanao (CDO/Iligan) would not be possible without great assistance from: the
Albay Team of the Province of Albay who were there giving medical and relief
assistance to the survivors; The Holcim Philippines have greatly oriented the
journalists on the assistance and relief operation given by the business
community such as theirs during the first month of the tragedy; The Oxfam
Philippines – funded Humanitarian Response Consortium for accompanying the
group and introducing their project assistance in the evacuation centers in CDO
and Iligan.
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