Tambuling Batangas Publication November 14-20, 2018 Issue | Page 4

OPINYON November 14-20, 2018 Lingguhang Pahayagan ng Lalawigan ng Batangas na inilalathala tuwing Miyerkules / PRINTING PLANT: Sinag Publishing & Printing Services, National Highway, Brgy. Parian, Calamba City, Laguna. Tel nos. [phone] & [phone] / Subscription fee: One year P360.00 Six Months: P180.00 / Commercial Advertising rate: P160 per column cm / MEMBER: Publisher’s Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PAPI) / Raia Jennifer E. Dela Peña Managing Editor / P.L. Villa, RC Asa Contributing Editors / Shara Jane Falceso, Rachelle Joy Aquino, Jacquilou Lirio, Maria Carlyn Ureta staff writers / Ruel T. Landicho Lay-out Artist/ Ms. Corazon D.P. Marcial, Amber D.C Vitto Legal Consultant. email add: [email protected] & [email protected] Double whammy for ‘Yolanda’ survivors FIVE years have passed since the strongest typhoon in history smashed into Eastern Visayas and yet to this day, the victims of the tragedy are still hounded not only by the images of the deluge and the ruins of its aftermath, but also by the greater disaster of inequity and injustice foisted upon them. As another anniversary of the devastation wrought by super typhoon “Yolanda” came to pass yesterday, survivors could only recall with vividness how they came close to starvation, as food supplies were washed away by the flood, forcing them to literally wail for help as choppers hovered overhead. Reports emanating from the disaster areas said it took several days before relief goods and medical personnel began arriving in the desolated places. When government officials arrived much later, they kept hopes up for the promised assistance, while those who were still able wandered around in search of missing family members. When the deluge cleared somewhat, around 7,000 people were believed to have perished, mostly from Leyte and Samar, while damage to infrastructure and other sectors was estimated to have reached more than P89 billion. While bearing the pain of their loss, what probably inflicted greater hurt on the survivors was how the relief and rehabilitation efforts were conducted by those in authority. Figures gathered over a year after the calamity were reportedly used to campaign for aid from donors worldwide. Sad to say, however, hundreds of millions of pesos in funds intended for the relief and rehabilitation of disaster victims allegedly did not reach the intended beneficiaries. No less than Sen. Panfilo Lacson, appointed by then President Noynoy Aquino to be the overall manager and coordinator of the rehabilitation and recovery efforts, lamented the lack of government budgetary support in helping the distressed communities get back on their feet even as billions of pesos in donations poured in from around the world. He recalled funding bottlenecks that hampered his work, especially in Leyte and Samar, which were the hardest hit provinces. A year later, he tendered his resignation, complaining how the budget department, then headed by Secretary Florencio Abad, “released funds in piecemeal and trickles.” An investigation, we believe, is therefore in order on how the multibillion-peso funds allotted for rehabilitation and reconstruction were spent during the term of former President Aquino, whose tepid response in the aftermath of the super typhoon can aptly be called criminal negligence and a slap on the faces of thousands of “Yolanda’s” victims. The Duterte presidency should consider this seriously and hold those responsible answerable to the people. It should also ensure the culpability of Aquino and his minions who cold-bloodedly pillaged public funds intended for the victims. Irregularities were likewise reported during the implementation of the Yolanda Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (CRRP) initiated by the previous administration, such as rotting relief packs in Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) warehouses, absence or delayed distribution of Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) and overpriced bunkhouses. Despite the massive fund flow of P90 billion released by the Aquino administration in 2015, the DSWD, during the time of Judy Taguiwalo, still sought additional fund to be given to 200,000 ESA beneficiaries as there was scarcely anything left in the combined government and private donations. If we may recall, during the presidential campaign in 2016, then candidate Rodrigo Duterte had asked Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas, who was Aquino’s Interior secretary during the tragedy, to explain how the billions of pesos given by foreign donors were spent. Sad to say, the Aquino administration’s silence on the matter proved deafening. According to the records of the Foreign Aid Transparency Hub, the Philippines received a total of $386.2 million in foreign aid, 86 percent of which, or $330.8 million, were received by non-government organizations and multilateral agencies. Out of the total amount, about $26.9 million in cash and $28.5 million in non-cash donations were received by the national government. When the nation remembered the third anniversary of the tragedy in 2016, close to 6,000 families in Tacloban had yet to be given permanent housing. Turf wars among the local governments were seen as the cause of delay in the completion of the housing project. Of the more than 14,000 families needing housing units, only about 8,000 units had been constructed and over 5,000 awarded and turned over to beneficiaries. Half of the 8,000 were constructed, completed and turned over only during the Duterte administration. This only shows the Aquino administration turned over half of completed units more than two years after “Yolanda,” while the Duterte administration did it in only two months. To this, we could only say, it’s because he’s an Aquino and the man at the helm now is a Duterte. Sounds familiar? Ni Teo S. Marasigan Asukal sa Gatas na Pambata ANU-ANO ang ibinebenta at ipinapabili sa atin ng patalastas ng gatas na Nido 3+ng Nestle na pinagbibidahan nina Kris Aquino at ng anak niyang si Baby James Yap? Sa kagyat na antas, kalusugan. Nagbibigay ito ng babala tungkol sa antas ng asukal sa mga kinakain/iniinom ng mga bata. Paliwanag ni Kris, karamihan sa mga bata ay mahilig sa matatamis (“may sweet tooth”). Aniya, dapat ay maging malay (“conscious”) ang mga kapwa-nanay niya sa antas ng asukal dahil ang mga bata, “kapag nasanay sa sobrang tamis, ang hirap baguhin.” Sa mga gatas, sabi niya, dapat suriin ang dami ng carbohydrates sa label dahil kapag mas kaunti ito sa isang gatas, mas kaunti ang asukal. Pero tulad sa iba pang patalastas, hindi lang kalusugan ang ipinapabili ng patalastas na ito. Kinakargahan kasi ng kapitalismo ng iba’t ibang pakahulugan – sa larangan ng uri at kasarian, at sa iba pa – ang kalusugan. Hindi man laging “malay” o lantad sa isang patalastas, mahigpit na itinatali o isinasanib ng sistemang panlipunang ito ang kalusugan sa iba’t ibang pakahulugan at disposisyon – na nagmumula at nagpapatatag din sa mga umiiral na relasyon ng dominasyon sa larangan ng uri at kasarian, at iba pa. Kaya nagbebenta rin ang patalastas ng responsableng pagmamagulang – na, sa mga karaniwang tao, ay mas mabigat para sa mga ina. Sa hatak ng kahirapan na magtrabaho o maghanap-buhay sila, pambalanse si Kris Aquino ng Nido: kailangan pa ring maging metikoloso sila sa kalusugan ng mga anak at pangkalahatang pangangalaga sa mga ito. Kung si Kris ngang nagtatrabaho, nakakapagbayad ng yaya at, maidaragdag, hiwalay sa asawa, kinakaya. Dapat ganoon din, katulad niya, kahit ang mga karaniwang ina. Prangka ang patalastas: lumabas ang yaya ni Baby James na siyang mas malamang na naglalaan ng mas maraming panahon sa bata. Pero masyadong mabait pa rin ang pagkaprangka nito: saglit lang lumabas ang yaya. Makikita rito ang pagbebenta ng patalastas ng isang klase ng pagkababae – iyung kinakayang magbayad ng mas mahirap na kapwa-babae para mag-alaga sa sariling anak. Siya pa rin ang bida, dahil pinapalabas na siya pa rin ang nagdedesisyon sa kung ano ang makakabuti sa anak. Nagbebenta rin ito ng buhay ng nakakataas na uri: magandang bahay, oras para sa pagsasama at paglalaro na hindi binabagabag ng pag-aalala ng susunod na kakainin. Hindi lang kailangang maging maasikasong ina; sa katauhan ni Kris Aquino, tungkulin itong glamorosa. Sa isang banda, ang asukal ay karugtong ng mga katangian ng maralita – lalo na sa pagyakap ng mga naghaharing uri sa “malusog na pamumuhay”: sirang ngipin, diabetes, at, para sa ilang diyetang pangkalusugan, lahat na lang ng sakit. ( Nabanggit na rin lang ang ngipin, matagal ko nang gustong pansinin: marami sa matataas na opisyal ng rehimeng Arroyo, na pursigido at brutal na nagsulong ng “modernisasyon” at “pag-unlad” na dikta ng mga mayayaman-makapangyarihan- naghahari sa mundo, ay halos sabay-sabay na nagsuot ng invisible braces: mula kina Dinky Soliman at Emilia Boncodin hanggang kina Mike Defensor at Ricardo Saludo hanggang kay Gloria mismo. Bagsak-presyo sa dentista lang ba? O may moda?) At pwedeng sagisag ang asukal ng mga pinapalabas na bisyo ng maralita – mas ng maralita sa lungsod kaysa sa kanayunan. Para silang mga bata: mahilig sa matatamis mula sa Banana-Q hanggang mga kakanin, mula sa mga softdrinkhanggang sa Jollibee. Hindi maganda sa kalusugan ang asukal, pero lagi nilang kinokonsumo. Tinatalo ng irasyunal ang rasyunal, ng sarap ng katawan ang pagbabawal ng utak: lulong sa alak o ibang bisyo, anak nang anak, nagpapahatak sa mga kulto at bulok na pulitiko, at iba pa. (Sa kanyang librong A Primer for Daily Life [1991], binaybay ng feminista at Marxistang si Susan Willis ang lugar sa kasaysayan ng malawakang produksyon ng asukal. Aniya, mahalaga ang produksyon ng asukal sa mga sinakop ng mga bansang Europeo para sa akumulasyong nagluwal sa kapitalismo. Kaalinsabay, naging mahalaga ang pagpasok ng asukal sa kinakain ng mga manggagawang Europeo para paigtingin ang kanilang enerhiya para sa mas matinding paggawa sa ilalim ng bagong-silang na kapitalismo.) Sa patalastas na ito, ang haciendera ng tubuhan at may- ari ng azucarera ay nagbibigay- babala sa mga kapwa-ina na iadya sa asukal, sa ngayon para habang buhay, ang kanilang mga anak. Ang namumuhay sa pagbebenta ng ibang adiksyon – tulad ng tsismis, game shows, telenovela at iba pang produkto – sa mga ina ay nang-aakit sa kanilang ilayo ang kanilang mga anak sa adiksyon sa asukal. Ang yumaman sa sistemang nagdudulot ng kahirapan sa nakakarami ay nang-aakit ng pagyaman. May tawag si Terry Eagleton, Marxistang intelektwal, sa operasyong ideolohikal na ito: Para sa mga naghaharing uri, “It’s better to appear a hypocrite than to pull the rug under one’s feet.” Para sa kanila, mas mainam nang magmukhang ipokrito kaysa atakehin o isantabi ang mga paniniwala at ideyal na gusto nilang paniwalaan at kamtin ng mga pinaghaharian – habang ginagawang imposible sa huli ang aktwal na pagkamit sa mga ito. Hindi pwedeng maging lubos na prangka o tanggalin ang tamis sa pagsasamantala. 18 Nobyembre 2010