The Conversation

November 9, 2013. It appeared to be a conversation limited to the parties concerned, instead of a publicly significant briefing that will dictate the prospects of life, valuables, estates and socio-psychological welfare of a lot of citizens.

His Excellency Simeon Benigno Cojuangco Aquino the 3rd was talking to General Emmanuel T Bautista, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP) as the government underlings of member agencies of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) were holding a press conference. No bigwigs from member agencies were ever present from start to finish, except the lowly underlings reporting: "HERE ARE OUR PREPARATIONS, WE ARE AT STATE OF READINESS SIR!"

Thank God, for the brave and confident assertion of General ET Bautista, the President became very relaxed for so many days thereafter. "There are communications lines to Leyte, Sir!" Thank God for that. That was the statement upon where a lot of lives and so many other expensive things had hang upon.

This small statement was relayed to the people at the NDRRMC Press Briefing and to all the people in the public who were watching this press conference.

While everything was being aired on national media in real time, the chief briefer, presiding officer Department of National Defense Undersecretary Edmundo del Rosario, at the Press Conference at NDRRMC instructed the key people immediately upon receipt of the report of CSAFP's statement to the President at that conference to "check if there is a long line (millitary communication lines) to Tacloban." There are of course no military communication lines to Tacloban. Since the 1990s or earlier, the Department of National Defense, has been calling to Tacloban using the Cebu long lines, and from there the Cebu military long lines operator will just dial the Tacloban / Leyte Operator who will then patch the call to desired target phone number in Tacloban or other reachable part of Leyte.

Because there are no communication lines, a snap decision was made: Set up the communications lines! Damn it! The President Simeon Benigno knows there are communication lines! That there is contact with Tacloban. While the execution of that very quick decision was being made, this was followed by the post in the AFP facebook.com account that:

AFP Opens Communication Cells in Tacloban, Mactan, and Roxas City 

November 10, 2013 at 5:57pm Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City—To address shortages in communication facilities following the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Yolanda, the Armed Forces of the Philippines deployed communications systems in three cities in Visayas today, November 9. A communication cell was earlier established in Tacloban City Police Station and the Base Ops, Villamore Air Base to augment communication requirements for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response operations. Two more in Roxas City, Capiz and Mactan City, Cebu are on their way to monitor rescue and relief efforts. Aerial recon and damage assessment is alsoon-going over Cebu, Panay Island, and Tacloban. Earlier, two C-130 aircraft transported a crisis action team, a medical team, and power generators to Bohol along with 12,000lbs of assorted relief goods. The AFP will continue to assist the NDRRMC in command post operations particularly in restoring command and control and through logistics and communications assistance. AFP Chief of Staff General Emmanuel T Bautista gave his orders to the Central Command and Southern Luzon Command to prioritize disaster response efforts and make available all of its air and naval assets for immediate assessment of damage; rescue, and transport operations. He also ordered other Area Commanders and their DRTUs to support Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) efforts when requested. Helicopters are already deployed for relief transport, rescue, and damage assessment operations. (Released Saturday, November 9, 2013)Prepared by Public Affairs Office, AFP

November 10, 2013. In a matter of hours following the receipt of that statement, after Yolanda devastated everything in Leyte and many other places, people were killing each other in Leyte. Tens of thousands were dead, a large number littering the streets. Those in evacuation centers themselves who were supposed to be in safer places, free from the onslaught of the storm and storm surges, unfortunately were close to the sea. Within the walls of the concrete evacuation centers, they perished. While you do not need to bring people to unsafe regions when impending calamity is at hand, these people were evacuated from danger zones to possibly more dangerous evacuation centers where they had to die out of the insensitivity of others.

It will be recalled that this site has been battling with the UNISDR world wide campaign to promote community resiliency during disaster. This advocacy has been repeatedly asking for policy regime change for re-engineering approaches to disaster prevention. calling also for intelligent relocation, in the midst of asking people to strengthen their resiliency to calamities. Relocation to safe areas, when the path of disaster lies within their habitats so as to avoid unnecessary deaths, loss of property, crops, valuables to calamities that are long foretold beforehand.

This advocacy has also been egging the government to modernize. The latest in the relentless efforts are the proposals to the Chief Philippine National Police (PNP) to finally set up the long-advocated integrated comm center at its real estate in Bicutan, Taguig City. Failing to get a really warm response from Chief PNP and his lieutenants, except for the grant of a brief conference of small time underlings at the Directorate for Information, Communication and Technology Management briefing room the advocacy group attacked the Commission on Elections and proposed the setting up of the comm center anew.

The comm center idea has been floated as early as during the time of the late President Corazon Aquino; a modernized satellite, data communications facility was strongly pushed at the time. It was repeated during the presidency of Fidel Valdez Ramos, with Joseph Ejercito Estrada and then when Gloria Macapagal Arroyo came to power. Upon sitting as president, Simeon Benigno the 3rd was also given the same proposal. Up to now, the only communication that appears to be very expensive and relevant to this country's communications specialists is the demeanor of Napoles and the sins of Senators Enrile, Revilla and Estrada.

The PNP attitude is that they are building their own integrated system. We were actually told that already before the briefing in January-February 2013 of this year. That is the reason why we jumped from proposing a small Dial 117 for Police Assistance system to the integrated one because Chief PNP wanted a seamless, all-in-one integrated system.

The Comelec attitude on the other hand, is, well, we don't know that as yet. Perhaps the Chairman of the Comelec has been trying to get the approval of Simeon Benigno the 3rd but keeps getting bumped off on this type of agenda that is meaningless to the powers-that-be.

Resulting from this lack of a communication line that the CSAFP had confidently reported to Simeon Benigno the 3rd to be present, is the reported "Worst Disaster to hit PH"-Inquirer. Facebook and other social sites reported tens of thousands dead in Tacloban City Philippines alone.

November 11, 2013. Extreme hunger begets anarchy. Anarchy spawns murder, killings, more deaths and loss. Simeon Benigno the 3rd has been mulling declaring a "state of emergency". But he should have done that eons ago. In the Zamboanga Siege, Simeon Benigno 3rd ruled out that declaration. ABS CBN reports that he might. However he dilly-dallied on the Tacloban declaration and may not after all make that call. He even walked out of the disaster briefing meeting. Simeon Benigno 3rd is frustrated, the report says. To someone at the NDRRMC meeting who asked for placing the area under a state of emergency, the 3rd told him in reply, "But you did not died, right?" And ABS-CBN reported that the presidential guards were ready to arrest the questioner, who probably was a private sector member of the NDRRM Council or an observer invited to the same meeting.

Lest there be future misconceptions, the chief of staff of the Philippine armed forces, whoever he might be, should no longer make useless utterances to the Commander in Chief, frustrated or not, this regime or in the succeeding administrations.

This is all sad and was simply caused by a lack and failure of communication. There is another storm coming. It is hoped that it won't be as powerful as Yolanda. But at the end of it, there must be no more stalling on the setting up of a really decent, integrated comm system. That will spell survival for many and relieve the country of the stress of people walking like zombies on the streets for lack of food and shelter, killing looters who are out of a mere piece of food that can assuage days-long hunger and so many manifestations of anarchy, widespread psychological trauma, breakdown of law and order and suffering of great social loss.

In Aklan, in Capiz, in Samar - hundreds dead thousands missing, as well as still so many areas in the country, help is sorely awaited. It is dearly hoped that aid will come and comm lines will be secured - even if Mr. Manuel V. Pangilinan has to loan the government under emergency circumstances thousands of satellite phone units. After all, a large number of our good friends in the New People's Army including my own cousins in Leyte-Cebu have been happily reporting successful communications, internet browsing, facebooking, tumblring, piniting, blogging, wordpressing, using the Smart ACES Satellite mobile! Superb service! our NPA relatives say. CSAFP should be ashamed.