The Long View
In defense of Esperanza Cabral
By Manuel L. Quezon III
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:49:00 10/26/2009
Is criticism tantamount to subversion, and is asking questions treason? Opinion ends up deeply divided on these matters during times of national emergency or crisis. Two examples will suffice.
In the frantic days immediately after Typhoon “Ondoy,” there were instances in which Richard Gordon was criticized because Red Cross volunteers were kept waiting for what turned out to be a photo opportunity that never took place, because Gordon didn’t turn up. Gordon is in a particularly sensitive position when it comes to these things, because of the nonpartisan nature of the Red Cross, and his partisan identity as both a senator and presidential aspirant, an unprecedented situation for a chairman of the PNRC.
But in typical Gordon fashion he faced the situation squarely enough, explaining the photo-op scheme wasn’t his, and furthermore, vowing no such thing would ever happen again. While some of his admirers continue to have ruffled feathers over criticism having been ventured in the first place, the chairman himself did the right thing: there is no such thing as lèse majesté when it comes to the elected head of a humanitarian organization who also happens to be an elected official – and who has to finely balance the at times contradictory duties of the offices he holds.
When Typhoon “Pepeng” struck, the President ordered the Mansion House in Baguio opened to the public as an emergency shelter. Three busloads of students from Taguig were allowed to park in the premises that night, although the students weren’t allowed to alight from their buses. The next morning, when the President went to Baguio, the buses were asked to leave. Everyone in Baguio City knew what happened, and how a humanitarian order by the President ended up thwarted by her flunkies. This only goes to show that even the best-intentioned policies can be ruined by crude or contradictory implementation.
The twin tragedies of Ondoy and Pepeng brought out the best in so many people, but also exposed the shortcomings of the public and private sector when it comes to providing relief and rehabilitation assistance. The biggest shortcoming of all, in terms of officialdom, is that it enjoys very little public trust. As government tried to manage the outpouring of support from people overseas for typhoon victims here at home, quite a bit of nudging had to take place for officials to realize that they had to go the extra mile in terms of explaining existing regulations and to offer reassurances that aid would go where it was intended.
Secretary Esperanza Cabral of the DSWD has been, on the whole, patient and committed to the utmost transparency and accountability in the handling of donations, while taking pains to explain what her department is doing – and how it pains the rank and file to operate under a climate of mistrust born, not of her current handling of the twin crises, but of the mishandling of previous ones.
In recent days Cabral’s been upset over a blogger asking some pretty pointed questions based on her experience as a volunteer in the DSWD warehouse in Pasay City. The issue, shorn of all the emotionalism that’s come to surround it, is simply this: Is the DSWD moving fast enough in dispatching donated relief goods, considering the continuing need of so many citizens for relief?
The blunt answer is, the DSWD could be moving faster, and it took the public outcry caused by the blog for the government to start sounding a call for more volunteers, which sidesteps the question of whether it’s a wise or even necessary policy to rely on volunteers for a line agency to fulfill its functions. The DSWD has done a lot, as it is; so the public interest lies in figuring out how it could do better – which it can’t do, without the public participating by means of criticism and helping in problem-solving.
What struck me immediately about the controversial blog entry was that the problems the public has come to associate with officialdom and relief were notably absent. There was no pilfering, no looting, no diversion of relief to line official pockets. This, in itself, is a colossal achievement: the warehouses are secure, items are tidily kept and they presumably end up where they should. Another thing that struck me was that the secretary has proven true to her pledge to be transparent and accountable about donations: they are publicly available, on line, listing monetary donations, and donations in kind, and the disbursement of relief goods.
Some things could stand improvement, in terms of the record-keeping of the DSWD, for example in terms of donations being recorded in one manner, but recorded, in the disbursements, in another: canned goods recorded by the box upon receipt, but sent out in batches of actual cans, for example. This makes for a confusing, not to mention untidy, inventory system that leaves too many gray areas when the time comes to reconcile inventory received and dispatched. Or take items having to stay in the pipeline until a monetary value can be assigned: either a more comprehensive database of values can be created, or donors urged to provide this information.
When the whole issue was at its most ferocious, some people expressed uneasiness about the repercussions of questioning the DSWD and its methods. This is an unwarranted fear; the DSWD has come to realize it has to explain its policies and methods to the public; and it has armed the public with facts that confirm its assertions. On the whole it has been a healthy exercise in accountability that should reassure foreign donors and the citizenry that, ultimately, Cabral serves.
* * *
THE column included the following note: READERS are invited to visit http://blogs.inquirer.net/current/ to see relevant readings on the issue of the DSWD warehouse, to see eyewitness accounts, the department’s accounting of donations and how the system can be improved.
* * *
HERE is what was published on Inquirer Current (since many readers seem to miss clicking the link above):
Yesterday, the Inquirer’s editorial, Turtle-paced relief, looked at the controversy caused by a blog entry that questioned the speed at which donated relief goods made it out the door and into the hands of intended aid recipients. The editorial gave DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral’s response to the questions raised in the blog entry, but also pointed out that the DSWD’s own records showed a senator, congressmen, and cabinet members intervened in the release of relief goods, contradicting Secretary Cabral’s own policy of making relief and rehabilitation “politico-proof.”
The editorial also mentioned the 2006 South Leyte Mudslide, which had relief efforts marred by officials plundering relief goods and sending often inedible goods to the victims (Stella Arnaldo in her blog, points out the deterioration of the DSWD and corruption in its ranks dates back to the Marcos administration; the Guinsaugon tragedy took place under the current administration’s watch and partially explains the climate of hostility or suspicion that surrounds government relief).
By way of Cabral’s pointing out that the DSWD and government has to attend not just to relief, but rehabilitation, the problems involved, in the context of the 2006 tragedy, are illustrated by this detailed report, CDRC reports on Guinsaugon relief, circa 2007. There is great frustration over the seemingly-insurmountable problems our country faces, and how even people who want to help, sometimes find their efforts met with official hostility, or indifference, or even when embraced, ends up appearing to be too little too late: I tackled this in a previous entry, Republic of Sisyphus.
Today, my column, In defense of Esperanza Cabral, looks at the same issue: it essentially distills the findings I discussed at length in my blog entry, Flooded with relief. There were two incidents I mentioned by way of illustrating an ongoing debate on whether it is healthy or productive to question how officials go about their duties in times of emergency. The first concerns PNRC Chairman Richard Gordon and incidents such as the one chronicled in Urban Hermitage and in the blog of Faith Salazar, the response of the PNRC Chairman was to vow that no such things would happen again. Absolutely the correct response, considering an unusual burden Gordon has to bear, as the elected Chairman of a neutral humanitarian organization, while being, at the same time, an elected senator and presidential aspirant: balancing all these is something no previous chairman has had to contend with.
The second concerns the public relations snafu at the Mansion House in Baguio City, see Random Thoughts.
For his part, Paul Farol in Asian Correspondent believes raising questions can be counterproductive to relief efforts. Tonyo Cruz also in Asia Correspondent takes a contrary position.
For readers who want to come to grips with the issue, here are some relevant readings.
The whole controversy was sparked by a blog entry titled Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo? (A special report from a volunteer) on October 21 (a timeline of the issue can be found in Bayanihan Online). There was a Philippine News story on October 23. The DSWD Secretary responded with a statement, as follows: Statement of Dr. Esperanza Cabral on the issue of relief goods in the DSWD Warehouse. In a response to the Secretary, Beting Dolor of the Philippine News boils down the issue and public opinion on the matter:
In times like these, I expect the DSWD to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The DSWD says there are not enough volunteers. I disagree. There are tens of thousands of Filipinos willing to help. The DSWD should have gone to the schools to ask for volunteers. There are countless employees in the private sector willing to help. The DSWD could have asked the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police to help. I expect the department to take a more pro-active rather than a reactive stance. I expect the secretary to DEMAND that everyone help out. Lest we forget, human lives are at stake.
The value of the public fuss lies in the Secretary responding to the issues raised, by asking for help, which she did by contacting Gang Badoy, who has taken it upon herself to muster volunteers to help the DSWD (the only inaccuracy in the Secretary’s statement is that they are operating around-the-clock, which is not true in terms of the DSWD Relief Operations Center in Pasay: both in terms of the duty hours Cabral recommended to Badoy, 3-11 PM, which if true, meant that when we went we should have seen things winding down, or if round-the-clock as Cabral said, then certainly there would have been more activity than the sleeping guard and fluffy white dog we encountered: and that, incidentally, was the purpose of checking by going to Church Street that night). Another problem is that the relief effort, even if government-sponsored, relies on volunteer manpower and the DSWD did not make calls for volunteers until it was faced with questions raised by the blogger. One lingering problem, too, is that the DSWD, when presented with volunteers, has told some that they’re not needed; but if volunteers are persistent and say they want to help with UNICEF, then they’re allowed in -to the same compound. Please take time to read Been there done that DSWD! in Deviliscious’s Blog, which clarifies the issues quite thoroughly, and deserves being quoted at length:
There are 5 (if my memory doesn’t fail me this time) huge warehouses. 1 warehouse housed the goods from UNICEF. The rest housed rice and other food stuff. The UNICEF goods are packed as starter packs for those families who have been relocated due to the floods. A starter pack consists of cooking pot stuffed with towels, bath soap, laundry detergent, water jug stuffed with 4 blankets, 2 plastic mats. These are then picked up by trucks and supposed to be delivered to the relocation centers. The rest of the warehouses pack food and snack packs, as far as I know because I did not actually pack one. Distribution is centralized through DSWD.
Those are the facts as I’ve seen them.
The blog that started it all, after checking the posted pics and what I actually saw, referred to the UNICEF warehouse. Is there corruption? I don’t think there is. At least not at the warehouse packing stages. Ensha and the volunteers seem intent only on the job at hand. (Bless you guys!)Security seems strict and I see no signs of pilferage. I’m not sure what happens after the goods leave the warehouse. I just hope they get to their supposed destinations. Someone needs to check on that.
Is there intentional hoarding? I don’t think there is either.
Goods are just moving slow. I posit 2 reasons:
1. There are not enough volunteers. Ms. Fabian says that on weekdays they only get around 40 volunteers. When I came there, there were not more than 15 working on a Saturday even when I posted on my FB page with my 1800 “FB friends”, several FB groups totaling around 400 members, twittered it, and SMSed to 20 buddies. 15/2000 is not a good ratio. Gang, I hope you are more successful. No volunteers.
2. Limits set by the management. When I was told that DSWD is no longer accepting volunteers for the weekend because there were already a lot of volunteers from UPS. I don’t have the exact count but I saw several hundreds. However, after 2 hours of work, I noticed that the other warehouses were empty. I strongly think the 5 huge warehouses could accomodate and harness at least 1000 per warehouse. When we were repacking at Red Cross Rizal in a 40sqm room, we had 600 volunteers at some points and managed to release 1000-2000 packs per mission and we ran several missions per day. The DSWD warehouses should be able to improve their output. They could run 24/7 on continous shifts when volunteers and managers (from DSWD, UNICEF, or volunteers) running the packing lines. In business, we call this a good problem. It is a scale problem.
My recommendations:
- Train more packing line managers from staff and volunteers.
- Run the lines as a 24/7 operation with your trained line managers.
- Make the schedules public. Use social media, the internet, radio, whatever. (I know of some who volunteered but returned home when they were told they need no more volunteers. If I, myself, [emphasis mine] did not ask for UNICEF, the peeps at the DSWD office wouldn’t have volunteered the info. Clearly, we have communication problem here.)
- Get more volunteers.
Those are my recommendations to the people in charge of the warehouses.
And there’s also this informative video by the same blogger, which was uploaded to YouTube:
Now early on it became clear that the climate of suspicion concerning the DSWD and all officials engaged in relief, is the sad history of previous relief efforts being marred by controversy. Combined with the wounded amor propio of DSWD officials and employees, you have a case of official denial combined with hostility aimed at all criticism and reaching for the bureaucratic equivalent of a gun to silence dissent (talk of the DSWD mulling filing libel suits against the offending blogger).
The thing is that the DSWD from its Secretary on down, can only be accused of working at government speed, when the public demands working at the double -a clash of cultures.
On the other hand, as I pointed out in my column, the DSWD can take pride in it opening up its activities to greater scrutiny than perhaps ever before, which is both good and bad. Good in that it proves that even if it’s doing its work more slowly (the DSWD could’ve easily said, but at least more methodically) than the public might desire, it can claim it’s being a good steward of the relief goods entrusted to it.
Consider the records that represent full disclosure the department’s prepared and put on line.
The DSWD has published its list of Cash Donations Received online. It has also put up, online, its List of Donations Received, and the NROC (National Relief Operations Center) Summary of Releases.These are official documents, the public record, and as I mentioned in my column, fully in keeping with Secretary Cabral’s pledge to be transparent and accountable for the aid and assistance given the Philippine government by public and private donors, here and abroad.
There are many ways to look at these documents to see what information they provide. Here are some that I attempted.
For example, you can look at the documents to see whether, in the face of the Secretary’s pledge to make the distribution of donated relief goods “politico-proof,” whether her pledge was carried out to the letter:
DSWD Disbursements to Officials
Based on the information above, provided by the DSWD itself, it’s clear that much as Secretary Cabral wanted to keep relief efforts “politico-proof,” goods were released to administration officials: the Vice-President, three cabinet members (Bello, Reyes, and Gonzales), a senator (Revilla, member of the ruling coalition), two congressmen related to cabinet officials (Reps. Puno and Ermita-Buhain), and other congressmen affiliated with, or considered friendly to, the administration: friendlies include Reps. Abayon, Arquiza and Pizarro who are party-list representatives that accompanied the President on her USA trip, while Antonino and Crisologo (listed on his biodata as NP but on the roster of Lakas-Kampi), are partymates of the President.This is a detail of public interest not just because of the Secretary’s pledge, but because even if one assumes good faith on the part of the officials concerned, the impression that relief was released by means of the intervention of these officials -all of whom are affiliated with the administration- makes suspicions of partisanship unavoidable because reasonable.
Or, you can take a look and see which goods were sent to the Relief Operations Center established in the Presidential Palace:
DSWD Disbursements to Malacanan
This is of public interest, because early on during the Ondoy relief efforts, the Palace center found itself with no goods to repack; it had to ask for relief goods from the Ateneo de Manila University’s relief operations.This is a detail of public interest because it raises the question of whether this was the most efficient allocation of relief goods, considering relief goods were also being donated directly to the Palace for volunteers to repack and distribute.Here’s another way to look at the public records provided by the DSWD. I decided to collate the donations made by the “big” donors, specifically international organizations such as the World Food Program and Unicef, foreign governments and related agencies such as the governments and embassies of Spain, France, Jordan, the Peace Corps, and large domestic corporations such as San Miguel Corporation and the Coca-Cola company:
Institutional Donations to DSWD
Recall that one of the causes for the furor over the blog entry on the DSWD warehouse, was frustration with what was perceived to be the less-than-optimal speed at which foreign-donated goods were being distributed; there were even questions raised, by some, concerning whether or not foreign-donated goods were being set aside and only domestically-produced items sent out.What do the DSWD’s own documents tell us, is what I wanted to know.In the first place, the question of foreign-donated goods being set aside raised a red flag, in the context of previous disasters, when officials kept foreign goodies for themselves and sent domestic products (sometimes past their shelf life) on to actual disaster victims.
There have also been many cases, formally and informally reported, of relief goods being sold on the black market for the private gain of officials and their friends. On the other hand, no one -not the original blogger who raised questions about the DSWD warehouse, or people who have gone there since- said any actual pilfering was going on.
Would the records bear this out? Because, as I said in my column, it’s a remarkable achievement in itself, for the DSWD warehouse to be secure, the donated goods intact, and no cases of pilfering reported.
The records, on the whole, to my mind, bears out the assertion of the Secretary of the DSWD that they are taking care of donations, and that they’re getting out the warehouses in relief packs. However, it’s extremely difficult to prove this conclusively, simply because of one thing: the manner in which inventory was received, is not the same as the manner in which inventory is reported as having been dispatched.
Consider this effort, which I began and which some other online volunteers participated in:
Institutional Donations to DSWD
It proved extremely difficult to match many items. The official list of donations received often listed inventory in a manner that was not retained in the list of inventory released. This is an inventory record-keeping problem that can be solved by adopting methods used in big grocery chains, and maintaining a consistent reporting system throughout, from the arrival of goods, to their being loaded on the trucks.Basically, it would seem one method was used to keep one list, and another to report what was sent out, with no attempt being made to establish common parameters to make reconciling the two lists easy.The result is that there appears to be more rice sent out than was released, and a discrepancy in the number of blankets received and sent out. Even figuring out whether as many 1.5 liter bottles of Coca-Cola were sent out as were received, or the same number of boxes of bananas donated were sent out, and the time that elapsed between receiving donations and dispatching them, is difficult.
Another effort, also by an online volunteer, this time focused on summarizing the items released, based on the items themselves and their reported unit cost:
A subsequent effort was this one, undertaken by an online volunteer, who tried to approach the problem by sorting the goods by kind and then reconciling the numbers received and number sent out: Releases Donations Thru NROC-1
There’s a need for additional data, too: for example, are family food packs composed of items taken from various sets of donations? If so, since the food packs are, presumably, standard sets, they’d represent standard deductions of inventory from other pooled items, so it should be possible to quickly calculate and report where inventory ended up, even if piecemeal.In addition, I have permission from the creator of the following three documents to share with you that volunteer’s efforts to sort the data provided by the DSWD to see what patterns might emerge.As the volunteer explained it, what was attempted was to generate new report views using MySQL database. The data from donation list and released summaries of the NROC were downloaded . Three report views were generated. Original DSWD Data for NROC
The first (above) is ORIGINAL DSWD DATA FOR NROC: a compilation of 2 dataset (donations and released items via NROC). This is basically the set of data used for the next two report views. Caveat: this needs to be double-checked against published data of DSWD just to be sure there aren’t any inadvertent discrepancies.
Second:
Dswd Data for Nroc – Sorted by Date/ In, Out
DSWD DATA FOR NROC – SORTED BY DATE,INOUT (above) in which the combined dataset by DATE and according to flow of donation (Is it a donation entry or is it a release entry) was sorted. This gives a general idea of the flow of activity regarding donations via NROC. First items out the door were door were blankets, clothing, baby supplies, food packs, noodles, water, water jugs, toiletries, etc.While donated pretty early on, medicines continue to remain in storage.As the volunteer who prepared this document pointed out,
Unilab donated as early as Sept. 29 various medicines. Donations of medicine and medicine supplies from Kingdom of Jordan came in by Oct. 06. Donations of medicines from Phap Cares came in by Oct. 06 and Oct. 08. Donations of medicine from PNOC came in by Oct 10. There is one instance of UNICEF food & non food family kit (3,000 Pesos/pack) and several UNICEF Pabaon Packs (3,000 Pesos/pack) released on several dates. They may or may not contain medicines at all. One odd thing here is if these packs are from the UNICEF warehouse or not. I think someone who is familiar with medicines needs to review the list. It’s important to know if the medicines donated are of non-prescription type.
Finally:
Dswd Data for Nroc – Sorted by Item Name, Date In/Out
DSWD DATA FOR NROC – SORTED BY ITEM NAME, DATE, IN OUT (above) in which what was sorted was the combined dataset by ITEM and then the flow of goods in chronological order. This is only partially useful since the item names caused some discrepancies in the display.All these unofficial, partial, volunteer, efforts are simply attempts to look closely at the information government provides, and to see whether the documents bear out government’s assertions.On the whole, the documents are step in the right direction. Their usefulness, however, is compromised by some flaws in methodology that are obvious from the moment one tries to sort the data and compare lists. These flaws can be rectified, and should be rectified, because they prevent the records from serving their true purpose, which is to provide a clear, transparent, accountable reference system for the goods entrusted to government for the benefit of the people.
Personally, I don’t see how the government or its officials was hurt by questions being raised. In the few days since the whole issue came to the fore, consider what was achieved:
- The DSWD finally seized the opportunity to call for volunteers, and the private sector responded.
- The DSWD was able to inform the public, foreign and domestic, about how it goes about utilizing foreign and domestic relief donations.
- The public was accorded ample opportunity to scrutinize the records of the DSWD, which it has been providing all along, and furthermore, the public was able to propose improvements to the manner in which donations are recorded as having been received, and then dispatched.
The sound and fury along the way is a small price for the good that was achieved, and more so, if the DSWD decided to implement and adopt some of the recommendations made by a public every bit as concerned as the DSWD is, to bring relief to typhoon victims. It would be a terrible mistake, simply from a public-relations perspective, for the DSWD to attempt to file lawsuits against the blogger who dared to ask questions: it would only fortify, in the public’s mind, that the DSWD was caught going about its business in a lackadaisical manner, and only tried to look busy afterwards.
Postscript:
As if things didn’t need to be more confusing, there is another, official, list of donations received by the DSWD, aside from the other one linked to, above! I am reproducing it and related documents here, simply for completeness and in case interested readers want to examine and compare the documents.
Here is the one I linked to, above, saved online as a Scribd document, and which was the basis of the various exercises shown above:
DSWD in-Kind Donations Received
And here is the other one, brought to my attention only after I’d written my column, and which was not used in the various exercises shown above:DWSD NROC Donations Received as of 01 Oct 2009 0500H
And here is the official list of disbursements (releases),also saved as a Scribd document:DSWD NROC Summary of Releases
And, just for archiving purposes, a copy of the DSWD list of monetary donations received:DSWD Statement on Cash Donations as of 23 Oct 2009 1645H
Concerning this list, the comments of a volunteer might be of interest to readers:
I like the way DSWD tallied the monetary donations.
They even included if the monetary donation was provided with an Official Receipt or not. The thing is, while that was good, something else was missing. There is no indication at all if any of these funds have been used already.
Currently, all people are focused on the actual goods for repacking and distribution but there is a large pie of the entire donations thatis not yet being moved it seem. That is, if we take the lack activity when it comes to monetary donations. I personally think, not only the slow movement of the relief goods should be given importance or highlight. A question should be raised if the fund was already used.
Look at this figure based on DSWD’s documents:
DOLLAR CASH DONATION (as of 23 Oct 2009) —- US$ 212,508.57equivalent to 9,562,885.65 pesos (when using conservative Forex rate$1 = 45pesos)
PESOS CASH DONATION (as of 23 Oct 2009) —- PhP103,799,354.06
TOTAL CASH DONATION IN PESOS —— 113,362,239.71 pesos
DONATIONS VIA NROC (as of 24 Oct 2009) — PhP 59,426,418.75 (thereare entries w/o monetary values yet)
DONATIONS VIA CO (as of 16 Oct 2009) — (no total figures were provided but there is a monetized value which I did not compute anymore) TRUCKING SERVICE (as of 01 Oct 2009) – (no monetary figure was provided at all)
TOTAL DONATION (CASH + GOODS + SERVICES) ———– 172,788,658.46 pesos
RELEASED DONATIONS (as of 24 Oct 2009) — Php 45,263,281.28 (thereare entries w/o monetary values yet)
% OF RELEASED vs IN-KIND DONATIONS = 76.1669% was only released = 45,263,281.28/59,426,418.75
% OF RELEASED vs TOTAL DONATIONS = 39.928% was only released = 45,263,281.28/113,362,239.71
I suddenly remember visiting one website before who raised funds online.
The site owner/blogger even received a cash donation personally. She disclosed online how the money was spent. Can’t remember exact details but I remember the blogger mentioned that sheshared a portion of the cash to a person/group who were in need of funds for their relief effort. Then In addition to that, the shopping expenditures (for the relief goods her own group planned to distribute) was even provided and any cash leftover was even mentioned.
There is nothing wrong with vigilance and it just amazes me that some people react in an onion skinned manner made worse with the help of a timid if not moronic media focusing on “rotting relief goods” which was clearly a figure of spits errr speech. In times of crisis people act or react differently, but when it comes to government officials, employees and people resigned to accepting corruption as a way of life, it seems they all respond uniformly….. onion skinned highly emotional response thus the issue raised are oftentimes sidelined and idiotic personal attacks ensues…….
Mr. Quezon…
I’m not surprise anymore what is going on the distribution
of foreign aid to the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. I’m sorry
to say that the Filipinos are known for corruption. And it
is a pity on the side of the poor people that supposed to get
the aid are being denied.
Gloria Arroyo down to the lowest govt. officials should quit.
They are not worthy to serve the people of the Republic of
the Philippines.
Pssst…rainy season’s coming to an end. Sunny days are coming. Let’s just wake up from this nightmare and let’s forget about the whole thing ’til the next rainy season alright?
In the mean time, I propose we discuss dinnergate. And Mikey’s mansion in LA. What’s happening with those?!? How soon we forget! How’s the Ombudsman going with the case against Mikey and Romualdez and the congressmen?
See, this Ondoy has brought us nothing but amnesia.
When people in a democratic country ask questions of utmost importance, that is an exercise of their Constitutional Rights.
They should never be deleted, intimidated or banned from this right to express their opinions, thoughts and comments.
But when an issue is not answered in a manner that the people will have sufficient and satisfactory affirmation that the event in question will be resolved or not then, the government agency owes it to their people to come out clean and accept the responsibility and say that “sorry we messed up”. The agency must exhibit and demonstrate the ability to come up with a workable solution to fix the so-called mess.
But in this issue, all we hear are denials and self-serving, white washing of something that is already too obvious.
All the excuses are laughable and flimsy. The STENCH is already wafting around the world.
After a month that Ondoy struck Manila, and today being the 26th of October, while you could see the evidence in black and white that Foreign Aid are still sitting in Warehouses around Manila Airports, then, something is really rotten in DSWD or whatever moniker or acronym you call yourselves.
All the rhetoric and good words being graced upon Cabral will not change the situation one bit. When every moment a family is sleeping on wet floors, children sleeping without food on their stomach, the dying are not getting much needed antibiotics, the thirsty are not getting clean drinking water, then, by the grace of God someone is responsible for these double tragedy.
You people were put in that government service to be a civil servant looking after your constituents. No more excuses, no long discourse, just get to work and do a good job this time.
If you can not perform your duties well, then the signal is go. Someone who is more competent could take over.
This is a shame of world wide repercussion.
“Pretty pointed questions” included a bald accusation that goods were “rotting” in the DSWD warehouse.
We can’t act innocent Manolo. People are not that stupid. Ella the Blogger did not have a leg to stand on and she even made a CNN I Report out of her blog. As if!
Look, been at this game too long not to smell an SEO-gimmick from the KSP. It’s easy to make true OR false accusations and let the innuendo make it viral.
But whose foot are we shooting if not ourselves.
Didn’t we learn anything from the golfing incident?
As one of your commenters says “The STENCH is wafting around the world.”
Right! The stench of gossip and rumor-mongering.
DJB, I seriously doubt if this has anything to do with Internet marketing. Put yourself in her place. It’s been a month. I had a cleaner who cleans my apartment once a week who borrowed money again from me because they didn’t have a thing left. You also have to account for Cabral’s excuses. I was struck at this in particular: that they were stockpiling for Ramil. Those donations were for Ondoy with a little for Peping. There was also the lack of urgency: no calls for help because they were under-manned and no calls for volunteers.
Cabral also failed to appreciate the public distrust towards government. She been living under a rock in the past few years? She also lacked appreciation for the special urgency the populace has put to this particular crisis? Her employees were working 24/7? Not entirely true. Then there were comments from “DSWD employees” (quote-unquote) describing the drama that was calamity relief. If they can’t do the job, why be martyrs? Why add to the misery? Is it so difficult to ask for help when you cannot do the job?
They are blaming commenters for being talkers and not doers, and yet how many people would’ve helped them if they simply described the situation in media and ask for help?
These government offices should realize they do not only answer to the politicians; they have to answer to the public, too. We are the principals, here. Kung sa corporation pa, we are the shareholders.
I have re-read this article for the third time. Now with the input of Filipino students from our University here in USA.
With due respect to the writer Mr. Manuel L. Quezon III who is also the owner of this blog, we just can’t seem to say amen to your long and obvious adulation for Ms. Cabral. In the end, you had declared her a heroine. So, why do we have a problem with the job that she is supposed to have performed competently in the first place?
The lack of leadership, the ignorance that Volunteers will just come knocking on her office doors without being called. The callousness on the sufferings of the masses which are the same people whom she should be serving. Oh, maybe she is enjoying a nice hot meal daily in the comfort of her mansion, maybe she is not affected by the flood either. She does not have any relatives who are now displaced. She always have clean water to drink. Unless, a person who is sitting in a powerful position has the genuine compassion then, we do not need any debate or squabbling over whether she performed her job well or not. It should have come out naturally from a generous, well intended public servant. Yes, Ms. Cabral, you are a public servant. Your paycheck comes out from the very people that you consider your detractors. The ones you disrespect every chance that they speak of your incompetence.
However, the evidence all point outs that foreign aids are not handed out to the needy whom we saw sitting on their rooftops and waving for rescue to arrive. The picture of a young man clutching the lifeless body of his baby found from the muddy flood waters.
Mr. Quezon although your article is so beautifully written and I am sure Ms. Cabral will frame it in her office, you must bear in mind that you missed the true VICTIMS in this whole tragedy. You failed to even urge DSWD or Ms. Cabral herself to expedite the delivery of the aid into the hands of the needy. I was expecting that at least you could lend a strong voice on behalf of the poor who are never heard from their sufferings. The countless tears are never published. The people whose little belongings were swept away to sea. The many funerals of the faceless, voiceless victims. The children whose cries from hunger were never heard.
We, the Americans are deeply affected by this. But we can only do so much since you guys are thousands of miles away.
And yet with the modern Internet technology, we are as close to you people as never before. We jumped in and mobilized to send aid as soon as possible not only to Filipinos but also to Samoans, Indonesians, and Sumatrans.
Foreign Aid has arrived in your country. Now, open those crates and deliver them to the needy without further delays.
No time to grandstand and defend your statuses. You have a job to do. That is to reach those victims now.
Ms. Cabral trying to fix her public image is considered null and void. She could do that after she delivers the goods.
Let me see some actions from her. She is the boss right, so boss, do some work now. Please make things happen.
Please give out some USA fresh clean water and corned beef and canned Spam meat to the hungry now.
Enough of that cup of noodles and palm mats called banig.
Give out all the goods that USA, Japan, Kingdom of Jordan, Spain, France, etc. has sent. Those goodies are meant for the VICTIMS. Do not set them aside and keep them for whom?
sigh. its really the sweeping cynical comments like that of mr casino above that twists the situation and creates hate and anger where really there is no reason to do so. And yes. Using the headline ‘Rotting goods’ is more than just Pointed commentary. Its just simply untrue. Not that i am saying the dswd is a perfect agency and cabral is the perfect leader, but there are better ways to go about improving their services and getting accountability than through the internet mob rule we see going on. But thats me.
DJB, I disagree. Hopefully you’ve also read http://blogs.inquirer.net/current/2009/10/26/related-readings-on-dswd-and-relief/
LovelySoul, and have you read http://blogs.inquirer.net/current/2009/10/26/related-readings-on-dswd-and-relief/ three times?
Ganyan naman madalas. Pag merong nag criticize dito sa web, ang tipical na banat ay:
a. “Inggit lang yan sa ‘yo.”
b. “SEO gimmick lang yan.”
c. “KSP lang yan.”
Haaaaaynaku.
Ba’t di na lang kasi i-address yung mga isinulat, punto por punto?
Tutal, given naman na maraming blogger na KSP, naghahanap ng trapik, interesado sa SEO ek-ek, o kaya’y inggit.
Pero yung isyu, sinasagot mo ba, DJB?
Ay, KSP/SEObsessed blogger ka nga pala. 😉
Ito ang tanong ko…
Totoo ba na yung mga magagandang donations (yung imported) ay hindi binibigay ng DSWD kasama ng mga lokal/ordinary relief goods? Nire-reserve nga ba ito para sa post-rehab efforts?
Kudos to you, mlq3. You are a man truly worthy of your good reputation. I praise you for bravely taking a stand and giving your fair opinion regarding this issue. Distrust in the governemt sparked a furor after a blogger wrote about her experience, despite her claims being unverified. This is understandable as we have faced disappointment after disappointment in the past. But the truth is that there are still a a few officials in government who are dependable and highly capable. While it is true that the DSWD has had to explain a lot, I believe that they have done so satisfactorily. As you said, ultimately Cabral serves.
Can you also do the same study on the donations received and distributed by the ABS-CBN and GMA foundations, Red Cross, etc.?
Mr. Manuel L. Quezon, when I wrote my last comment with PST Timeline of Sunday 25 oct 2009, 3:34p.m. here while it was Monday morning over there in your country, I do have with me a student from the Kingdom of Jordan and 3 Filipino Business students. We all swear that your so-called SUPPLEMENT was not posted. It is now. How could we missed it when it shows the photos of Ms. Cabral and her Pres Gloria? How could four young, intelligent students missed such articles? All we saw was your “eulogy” for Ms. Cabral. Please do not try to deceive us. It is now Sunday, 25 Oct 2009, 6:52 p.m. PST here.
Do not add new supplements and then will sarcastically say that we did not read it. Come now Mr. mlq3 be fair.
Manolo,
The fact that those goods are still in the hands of government, rather than in the hands of the victim is criminal enough.
One cannot use the policies to justify delays. Heck, those policies are there to protect the integrity of the process and the institution, and not to delay the distribution. DSWD should have designed a process that takes these so called impediments (policies and accounting procedures) to optimize their work.
Dude, these volunteers are volunteers. They come when they want and when they are available. There are ways for the government to augment its workforce. The only thing they need is to think about it and have a personal committment to implement it.
And Manolo, the question on hand is why are these goods not moving. That is the only question that needs to be answered. And Ms Esperanza unfortunately fails to explain the why of this controvery.
abscbn asked Ms. Cabral to have a look at the warehouse. She refused. Why? Security? Dude, the best way to secure these stuff is to get it to the hands of those who need it and to those who are intended to get it.
But you did try to put up a brave fight for DSWD. Sadly, the trust has been cracked and expect the worst the next time a calamity strikes. And when that happens, the government should not blame the volunteers, who didn’t not show up, or those who showed up and puked at their system and told the whole world about it.
lovely, the supplement was posted on inquirer current at 1 am, and linked to at the end of the column, but since not everyone apparently bothered to click the link, i tacked it on here, too, just to make sure.
john, as i pointed out in my column, the whole case of the dswd rests on their not having enough volunteers, when the question should be, is relying on volunteers, for a line agency of the government, the correct policy? instead of revisiting that policy the dswd called for more volunteers.
on the other hand there is no grand deception taking place, in terms of past problems with relief: as far as can be determined, there’s no filching going on. and there’s an effort to account for things though the system leaves a lot to be desired.
and it’s an important point: things are moving slowly but at least the warehouses aren’t being robbed. and there’s a paper trail available online.
lovely, FYI here’s the timestamp for my announcing both: http://twitter.com/mlq3/status/5151994220 you can double-check your timeline.
whiteknight, i think you you overstretch the case.
manolo i seldom react to blogs like these. reading them is educational enough for me and sometimes even entertaining. but when i read couch critics and fencesitters from here and a thousand miles away proclaim to be better than all of us here, it simply irritates me to the point of writing an retort. for the locals, kindly find it in your heart to be constructive. if all you can do is rant, then keep it in, it does not help. to the internationals, i do not pretend that we have no problems here, but when you put it like you can solve our problems from thousands of miles away, and it is you who are correct and we do not know anything, please be kind enough to realize it is our kids who are suffering, our mothers who are laboring and our fathers who are dying. if we can still see good in the middle of all of this, who are you to say we are mistaken. we try to see good in this time because it may be the only solution to a national civil service that has been mistrusted, underpaid, overworked, ill-treated and disrespected for a very long time. they try to do their job within the confines of social restrictions, trying to survive so they can serve again. even of cabral the same can be said. keep the nasty words away and help in the recovery, it is what Jesus would do. thank you for thev space manolo.
An informative read – http://catwizkers.blogspot.com/
thanks for that timely reminder, ira.
I must agree with you Mr. Quezon that there was no accusation of pilfering from the blogger, nor do I personally think there is indeed any intention to pilfer or to pocket those donations on the part of the DSWD officials or any other official in government for that matter.
Apparently for some, they immediately thought of something negative without actually knowing the real facts first. Even the original blogger (Blog ni Ella), only made her own conclusions out of the simple scenario she saw in the UNICEF/DSWD warehouse.
If one was filled with anger with this administration, then that attitude of making negative conclusions is likely to be expected. That is the case with the blogger. But if one remains open-minded with things such as these, taking into consideration the circumstances we are all in just after the typhoons and the prevailing hard life our kababayans have, we will surely be more than willing to help solve the lack of hands to do the tasks rather than criticize th DSWD for simply maintaining the upkeep of the warehouse and maintaining the good condition of the relief goods before it is brought to the proper recipients.
If one is being self-righteous then nothing would be accomplished. Ella could have asked her friends, if she has many, to just go to DSWD and volunteer instead of ranting for the whole wide world to see. That’s a bigger shame to bear. Now what has she accomplished out of her rants? She just forced the people not to volunteer at the DSWD.
avid, i disagree. ella’s case is one where the messenger is being shot for daring to broadcast the message. but the message was and remains a valid one. her combative style made those who’s amor propio was affected see red. again, as i pointed out: a flawed assumption here is the dswd’s assertion that it should rely on volunteers when it is a government line-agency. wrong premise, wrong conclusion. there was a clash of cultures that took place, the steady-as-you-go-it-will-eventually-get-done-in-god’s-own-time plodding of the bureaucracy, which gets things done, bye and bye, but this pace is far from what the public expects because the public managed similar efforts at breakneck speed with no formal training in relief work.
the flawed assumptions too, seem to me to include the idea that criticism of officials and the bureaucracy is wrong, or unduly harsh. cabral has shortcomings aplenty -her “politico-proof” policy was violated; the “working ’round the clock” assertion was not true in terms of the church st. facility; but on the whole she can be criticized for omissions (lacking an appreciation for the public’s expectation they’d work triple-time, if necessary, and not be bound by a shortage of volunteers the dswd didn’t even broadcast as a problem until forced to acknowledge there was that problem- but not for commissions, in terms of pilferage or theft of supplies, which hounded say the 2006 relief efforts of the administration in leyte.
Palagay ko ibig sabihin ni Manolo, hindi si Ella Ganda ang nag-over-react or, at least, ang reaction nya ay valid being an ordinary citizen. Ang reaction ng DSWD ang hindi valid. They dealt with Ella’s reaction unprofessionally. As a government agency di dapat balat sibuyas. From my observation, palaging ginagamit ng gobyerno ang pagiging onion-skinned, parang tayo pa may kasalanan dahil nag-rereklamo tayo. Dapat lang. Saang demokrasya ba walang reklamado. Kinokondisyon tayong maiinis sa reklamador, eh hindi tama yun. Delikado pag ang isang demokrasya walang pasensya at hindi nakikinig sa mga reklamo. Ano ba naman magagawa ng karaniwang mamamayan kundi mag reklamo.
Some of you people don’t realize, volunteerism is not a necessary component of a modern society. Palpak ang gobyerno na masyadong dependent sa charity. Dapat nga hindi natin pasanayin mga yan. Dapat kwestunin natin ang emergency fund. Saan napunta yun?
agree, brian.
As a government agency di dapat balat sibuyas. From my observation, palaging ginagamit ng gobyerno ang pagiging onion-skinned, parang tayo pa may kasalanan dahil nag-rereklamo tayo. Dapat lang. Saang demokrasya ba walang reklamado. Kinokondisyon tayong maiinis sa reklamador, eh hindi tama yun. Delikado pag ang isang demokrasya walang pasensya at hindi nakikinig sa mga reklamo. Ano ba naman magagawa ng karaniwang mamamayan kundi mag reklamo.
——————————————–
Yes! If you can’t stand the heat get out of the oven!
As usual, we can say that the DSWD is not perfect, it definitely needs improvement and being open to criticism constructive or otherwise is one way way. Maybe we’re too harsh on these people? Perhaps they have their own established standards or key result areas where each department can gauge their performance? Lets have it, how are they doing really empirically? Maybe thy’ve reached the limits to their standards and what we see is the best they can do already?
Heaven help us all!!!
On Oct. 6, 2009, President Barack Obama in addition to the relief merchandise such as, food, water, medicine, heavy warm blankets and water purifying machines, heavy duty boat for flood rescues were flown to the Philippines via jet plane. He also allocate U.S.$1.8 Million dollars for the displaced victims. There was an Official Statement released by the White House on the same date. If Filipinos are not aware of this generosity then, someone out there is really withholding the truth.
USA are not asking any receipts or detailed accounting of our donations, all we are asking is, “Have you delivered the aid to the victims?” Or, do you also want Americans to come over and assists in the distribution process?
Samoa suffered loss of unimaginable intensity. (8.0 strong earthquake and 20 foot high Tsunami) We did sent aid and all of them were distributed in 3 days to the needy families.
So why the Filipinos are having a hard time releasing the aid to the recipients? Why so many delays, excuses, and petty little hindrances? We heard that majority of the aid received by victims came from good samaritans, like neighbors, relatives and complete strangers who were moved to complete selflessness on account of the indescribable sufferings around them.
We are beginning to think that Foreign Aid should never be shipped to the Philippine government instead Americans should escort the shipments and deliver them to the U.S. Embassy and monitored by Americans.
American kids could do the distribution which they will gladly do so. We do it all the time anyway. And we get the job done smoothly. I have done volunteer work over a dozen times. I worked hard and goes home feeling good without any complaints or remuneration for my services.
Submitted on Sunday, 25 Oct 2009, 11:26 p.m. PST
mistakes or no (on dswd or ella’s side), ella’s blog got our apathetic asses to inquire and to question, I guess that is its most significant contribution.
Hi lovelysoul,
There was never any question about the generosity of the Americans. The filipino people are grateful for your donations. What is happening here is that basically, we are asking the same questions as you from our government and like all civilized humans, we are not YET jumping into any conclusions on who is at fault. We are exercising our civil rights to discuss this issue, and if anybody is at fault, I’m sure heads will roll. But rest assured, your donations, as per this blog are not being stolen and our government are implementing new strategies to address the problem of moving those donated goods to the people who need it (albeit lately and I assume, due to Ella’s expose).
LovelySoul:
I know you have good experiences with your american methods, and perhaps Filipinos have something to learn from the international community, but frankly, sometimes your comments are bordering on self-righteousness.
I think what’s most important is that besides providing Foreign Aid external to the capabilities of the Phil., the international community should also be able to pressure and demand relevant transparency from the Phil gov’t as a “motivation” to get its job done (in such issues as these). But officials have to work that out between themselves, and that is just intuitive suggestion from a layperson in international relations 🙂
****
Manolo, I congratulate your efforts in going over those documents and processing them.
What we really ask of the Phil Gov’t is really simple and basic diba: To be accountable to its people.
If people complain and spread to-be-confirmed rumors (blogposts included) that question governance, whether these are propagated as gimmicks or not, is ultimately a position an intelligent reader has to take himself. This is not something to say, regulate or enforce upon others.
BUT regardless of their nature, it should be the JOB of the government to provide the proofs punto-por-punto per allegation. Surely this must be INDEPENDENT of the original motivations (which can only be ultimately, be speculated about!), well-intentioned or maligned.
I agree well with your conclusions in appraising the outcome. Now, at least, questions reached their intended recipients. and DSWD is made aware that Filipinos are expecting that it does what it should do.
@mlq3 on Mon, 26th Oct 2009 12:07 pm – ditto.
@Bert on Mon, 26th Oct 2009 4:16 pm – ditto.
@erle on Mon, 26th Oct 2009 4:10 pm – ditto.
My First and Last Comment. (Labor pains are starting to kick-off already…LOL)
After checking for updates on your previous blog and reading the additional comments, I finally landed on this page. Took me over an hour to read and digest (this) blog, to make sure I correctly understand the context, including the supplements, links (admittedly, assuming a subjective stance) and another good hour to read through the comments.
Manolo – IMHO, the title of this blog is quite misleading (I quote, “…in-defense-of”. I suggest adding a disclaimer or a summary of the content, an outline (?), with a time stamp of course, as to be transparent both the local and international followers). I say it’s misleading because (IMHO), the content is *not* limited (if not indicative) of Cabral’s et al – defense. Sorry po – very tedious, I know 🙂
Thanks for putting an extensive report and KUDOS to the online volunteers who did the math! I just hope that the people involved – the alleged, the volunteers, the readers, etc – will CONTINUE to keep an open mind about these things, and refrain from bickering (ouch! haha…)
@mlq3
If I may contribute a discussion re improving accounting system of donated goods. The idea of a “comprehensive database of values x x created, or donors urged to provide this information” is good. This will provide DSWD a faster way of monetizing goods received in-kind. The challenge, however, will be shifted to the regular updating of such database of prevailing prices/costs to ensure reasonable valuations, or to encourage the donor community to provide appropriate valuation of goods so donated. This is usually not an issue in goods received from foreign donors as market values are procedurally indicated in the bills of lading/shipment documents. On the other hand, some local donors may need to be empowered to provide an intelligent valuation or estimate on goods shared for distribution. In my view, this is the kind of discussion that we need to pour our blogging hours on and not hurt and being mean against each other, same nationality or otherwise. Thank you.
mlq3,
‘the manner in which inventory was received, is not the same as the manner in which inventory is reported as having been dispatched’
Bar coding relief goods would make tracking a little bit easier. Most canned goods have bar codes. If an item has no bar code then make one. Retail stores use POS (point of sale) systems that cost only $1000 each plus desktop/notebook and printer. That software uses a database so it’s easy to make reports.
Let me share my actual experience in the field(evacuation centers in a province east of Metro Manila)as part of a group who is trying to help in our own little way.My residence is just 2 km.away from one of the evacuation centers (a covered basketball court).If you are going to take some pictures of my/our office right now, you’ll see 30 cavans of rice, 15 boxes of sardines(555,Ligo,Master, Youngtown – 100 cans/box)30 boxes of noodles (72 packs/box) and packed relief goods for 420 people, by the way, this all came from donors and some from our own pockets.This stock is now the third batch of relief goods, the question is, why not distribute it right away?
I can only answer the question based from my own experience.Pacing the flow of relief is important. There are evacuees who lost everything as their houses were swept away by the flood.Carpenters, masons,welders who lost their tools and implements, drivers who lost their licenses.
The point I am driving at is they can’t earn money for now, some are earning some money but if it can be helped, they would rather save it to build a new shanty, the moment they are relocated,so, the packed relief goods are always welcomed by this people. They need it seven days a week for the moment, so, we need to regulate and paced it by coordinating with the local authorities. You should not give everything in one day as they may be tempted to sell the goods.So, before we go to the evacuation center/s we call up the Barangay Office to inquire about the schedule to avoid a conflict of schedule from other groups.
To Mr. Bert:
I do not intend to answer comments from anyone. My personal comments are made with one purpose; to inquire whether the government agency had done its job of handing out the aid to the needy recipients. THAT IS THE VERY ESSENCE OF MY COMMENTS. Along with it, I never wanted to create hostilities with anyone. My query is addressed to the government and not to you or any private person. If you feel that I am bordering into self-righteousness, then, that is your opinion. But certainly I would say that you were “dead wrong” with your conclusion.
I have also done volunteer work since I was 10 years old, so I really have the on-hand experience. When it comes to asking your government accountability and transparency, it is not the duty of a donor country to pressure your Malacanang Palace to be honest, swift and competent in the distribution process. Any civilized nation/government will exhibit and demonstrate those qualities naturally without being pressured to perform and adhere to norms beyond reproach.
I come in PEACE. I am genuinely concerned over the plight of the down-trodden who seems to have suffered enormous loss from the typhoon, Then, likewise have to be victimized all over again by a government who seems to be taking all its sweetness in handing out the much needed help.
It is heart-breaking.
Submitted Monday, 26 oct 2009 @10:12 a.m. PST
mlq3,
‘the whole case of the dswd rests on their not having enough volunteers, when the question should be, is relying on volunteers, for a line agency of the government, the correct policy? instead of revisiting that policy the dswd called for more volunteers.’
You need volunteers because donated items come in different amounts and sizes. Maintaining a permanent workforce would be too expensive.
The DSWD should really re-think its relief pack strategy. Why bother buying sardines in bulk, noodles in bulk, rice in bulk and repack them? Maybe it’s easier to just bid out relief packs with the necessary items inside. Let the winning bidders source the items and repack them.
If you think Ella is telling the truth then let her defend herself in court, if she is telling the truth then it will come out but she is telling a lie then she must face the punishment of abusing her freedom of speech. Kung galit kasi kayo sa gobyerno hindi nyo mapapansin yung inconsistency ng blog ni Ella, just like other intelligent bloggers have pointed out. That’s all.
Next time, DSWD should not engage anymore in the sorting business if they cannot do the sorting job because they are not suppose to sort but distribute in bulk.
What they should have done is group bulk items and plot the distribution network which should be the schools. Have these bulk materials available at school and let school offials and teachers who knew the parents and people at the localities, do the distribution. There are a lot of volunteers at school level due to parent/teachers organization, election mobilization, student activities, etc. The school can easily spread the information what type of goods for distribution depending on availability at certain day or multiple pickup schedules. Due to multiple school locations, DSWD is not shorthanded by distribution.
Next time, let the schools which is spread and have good handle of information in the locality be the Food Bank.
ang hirap kasi ultimong kaliit-liitang parte ng trabaho inaangkin. kaya nga may mga strata ang mga opisina, halimbawa national, regional, local upang maayos ang distribution. bakit ba’t lahat yata nasa isang bodega? kung hindi kayang gawing lahat, i-delegate, kung hindi marunong magdelegate o gawin nang maayos ang trabaho, eh di mag-resign at palitan ng marunong pangatawanan ang tungkulin. sabihin nang iba ang Ondoy at Pepeng kaysa ibang bagyo at baha, eh hindi ba’t taun-taon binabagyo ang Pilipinas? ano na sila walang plano?
there should be some trigger points for different actions at different levels of disaster. there should be red flags all over the disaster master plan.
ang nangyayari kada taon parang hilong talilong ang mga pilipino kada bagyo at baha.
Just fuckin abolish it. Let all charitable work be done by NGOs, private institutions like GMA and ABSCBN and the Catholic Church. I’ve mentioned this before. It’s part of my political platform. This is fracas is a vindication of my views.
It will save money from the coffers too.
My my so many uninformed comments as usual.. The DSWD firstly is the line agency with the smallest budget allocation.
They are first and foremost a bureaucracy. The floods were off an extraordinary nature. The flow of aid naturally in the volumes that the event called for would naturally strain their limited capacity to manage. They are wired as bureaucrats (8-5) and (M-F) mindsets. Thinking outside the box for them is heretical.
Instead of pretending that they had everything under control with all their command conferences they should have leveled with everyone to commandeer what they required. I am sure the general public would have responded.
During the critical first week it seemed that there was no government. No one was in charge.
GMA, Teodoro, Cabral and the rest of the bunch pretended everything was under control but the reality on the ground was anything but that. The government knew exactly what they have and did not have.
The idiots thought they could get away with PR at a time of disaster.
Hence people were forced to fend for themselves and boy did the communities respond.
Magandang araw po sa ating lahat. My mind suggests that we sober down a bit a lets go to the drawing tables and sort all these issues out. I am positive that we all know and agree on the principle of continuous improvement. At this point, this should be the more politically correct and more intelligently productive discussion for us all, the “stockholders.” To advance my 2cents worth, why not a dialogue by all the stakeholders in this particular issue in a more structured way. A mob rule is backwards. Why not we tackle the issues head on with the proper institutions and all private stakeholders agreeing to put forth a worthwhile proposal to address all that surfaced, including the practical suggestions offered in a friendly and a more formal forum. Expressing an opinion or an emotion is one but actually improving policies, systems, and procedures is another. The opinions and emotions have already been laid down before us, do we want to further process these things? DSWD could do this alone and by itself, as an institution. This institution has been there to give a hand to the poor (despite the odds)all time this (since even before we were born), and being an organization advancing and promoting people empowerment it sure would not mind listening to every all. This is while repacking is done without letup as the need is ever present.
Lovelysoul
Please give out some USA fresh clean water and corned beef and canned Spam meat to the hungry now.
–how sure are you that the DSWD received any of your “USA freash clean water and corned beef and canned Spam meat?” last time i checked the DSWD site, there was never any record of these being received by their agency. can you share here your documents that you indeed sent out those goods to their agency? You also have to be careful because it seems that you think the only water fit for drinking is the one from the US and that the canned goods worth eating are those that came from Uncle Sam, too.
Enough of that cup of noodles and palm mats called banig.
–and who said that these were the only ones being given to the typhoon victims? have you checked already? plus, you seem to have a very low regard for local goods.
Give out all the goods that USA, Japan, Kingdom of Jordan, Spain, France, etc. has sent. Those goodies are meant for the VICTIMS. Do not set them aside and keep them for whom?
–See here people, this is how you would sound like if you prefer to be reactive rather than rational.
@crusader – sir/ma’am, maybe this will help. it’s most probably that the donors you mentioned are not in the list of the DSWD is that because they were not coursed through that agency. Maybe you should ask the donors where they sent their goods to begin with.
Sharing this post from ellaganda – I understand that the case of Lito Manresa is being checked for verification as he did not state his complete address, and if the username he used is actually his real name.
Addendum: In retrospect
I will not deny that some commenters were also harsh in lambasting DSWD in sweeping generalizations in reaction to the photos but their comments were nothing compared to the viciousness of pro-Cabral lobbyists.
Some of my cool-headed supporters were pushed to the limit by the obscene attacks on my person resulting in low blows. The thread turned into insults, cursing and name calling. A civilized exchange of opinions became an impossibility. Like commenter Jessica kept on saying, focus on the issue at hand.
Nakikiramay po ako, Mr. Lito Manresa. I can’t begin to imagine the pain and frustration you and your family felt in those days that you were trapped by floodwaters. Alam ko pong mahirap tanggapin na ang kamatayang ng bawat isa sa atin ay kagustuhan ng Diyos.
Everything happens for a reason. But I truly believe this time, God’s reason is NOT for you to blame and hate Secretary Cabral. Kahit po magalit din kayo sa akin sasabin ko pa rin sa inyo, Mr. Manresa, hindi po niya ito kasalanan. Wala po siyang kinalaman.
Kung ‘yung mga letrato po ang naging dahilan ng galit ninyo sa kanya, dahil po doon, sasabihin kong I’m very sorry. I’m pulling them out.
@changewithus – thank you for sharing this. blown out of proportion din kasi yung issue, naging personalan na. I empathize with what happened to the Manresa family (supposing that this is true, and not a gimmick of ella to elicit sympathy), but to blame the secretary for what happened to his mother is very unfair.
@james quasha – i think it is also fair that both sides present their facts. we should make way for a new environment wherein the government (in this case the dswd) will have to present what ella must have missed asking. then ella, on the other hand, can also ask more questions. online dissemination of allegations is not the way to go.