I agree there is much to be done in the face of the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, and there is really only sadness and helplessness for those of us who are far away, watching these images on television, hearing about the plight of those who are now on their seventh day without food and water.

That should not, cannot mean, biting our tongues, and giving this government a break. Because anyone at all would know that there is something fundamentally wrong about the strongest storm coming to the Philippines, about a president that warned of storm surges, but who did not order an evacuation.

There is something wrong with a national government that expected their Local Government Units to take care of their towns and provinces, to be the first responders in the aftermath of the storm, without imagining that if the towns were going under, so would the homes of the mayors and governors and councilors.

No imagination
Yes, we may let all that go. Let’s say that the government prepared, but did not have the imagination to see how bad things would be. Let’s say that the government had a plan in place, but that plan was destroyed by the storm as well.

The question then becomes: why is there no Plan B? (more…)