I have stopped watching television news that show footages of widespread destruction wrought by typhoon Yolanda in Eastern and Western Visayas especially those in Tacloban City and in Guiuan, Samar. My senses have become numb from the sight of the dead littering the streets and the heap and pile after pile of collapsed buildings, of ships and boats washed ashore by the storm surge that Yolanda used to wreak havoc on a population who thought they were already veterans of all type and sorts of typhoon, nothing else could scare them. Truly Eastern Visayas is a veteran of typhoons. People there thought after all these years of having typhoons, there was nothing to prepare anymore until Yolanda came. All their vaunted preparedness looked as if they never prepared at all. Even the national government thought it has given enough warning to everyone especially those in the path of the super typhoon days before it came. I thought so myself. When no less than the President made the warning, I believed it was serious enough for people to take heed. Maybe they did, particularly the local government units, but we now know all the preparations did not measure up.

Now the country is faced with a national emergency that is hard to surmount without the help of other countries. This national state of emergency is the defining moment of the Presidency ofBenigno Aquino III. Already there are criticisms about the slow action of the government in bringing aid to the beleaguered victims who have lost everything that they have founded including their houses and are now facing an even worse threat to their very existing – the lack of food and water to keep them alive. Thus we hear reports and live coverage by the media of looting and even violent clashes just so people can get food. There is an instant pouring of help from all sides in and outside of the country. But it is thedistribution that seems to encounter problems. To me it is understandable because of the sheer size and extent at which food assistance must be brought to far way places that cannot be immediately accessed. Yolanda is a nightmare that will never be forgotten by the Filipinos and the rest of the world as it was said to be the strongest typhoon so far experienced by anyone anywhere in the world.

On the other hand in Bohol, lack of electric power continues to plague the Boholanos. The loss of power made Bohol as if she, too, was ravaged by Yolanda. Without electricity means absence of water in many urban centers that depend upon underground water for their home and industrial use. This is why the very inadequate power generated by the hydro power plant in Hanopol, Sevilla, and Loboc are used to run the water pumping stations to make sure that water is available. The diesel run power plant in Tagbilaran City could have been a great help but for so long that they have not been operated, only one of the four is operational. Thus we see a situation in the province where the M7.2 earthquake last October 15 has conspired with Yolanda to make life also difficult for the Boholanos. This is a situation that is compounded by the inability (I will not call it insensitivity) of some agencies of government to foresee or anticipate the inconveniences of the people as a result of their decisions.

Take for example the diversion of traffic for understandable reasons. Because of the damage to the national highway going to Baclayon and the threat that it poses to the public, all traffic coming to Tagbilaran from Albur and Baclayon are rerouted to the road to the Baclayon public cemetery then to the that road that would connect to Bool Tagbilaran City. This should not be a problem if the condition of the road is good. Believe it or not, the road is in its worst condition it could qualify for Ripley’s show. Why, the potholes are as big as sinkholes that appeared after the October 15 earthquake. Imagine the inconvenience and the wear and tear on the vehicles that are made to pass on that route. It is the obligation of whatever agency of government to make sure that that road is convenient to traffic. There can be no excuse for negligence on this.

A similar case is obtaining in Tagbilarn City. The road improvement on J.A. Clarin St. near the PNP headquarters has also forced traffic coming from the City Hall area to be rerouted to Dampas road right after it reaches the street to the Gate 2 of Holy Name University. Because of this heavy traffic is seen every day on theDampas road to the LTO Office down to the Bohol Light. But look at the condition of that stretch of road from the Bohol Light to J.A. Clarin. Every driver of any vehicle passing that road could be condemned to hell for cursing every time. That includes me. What happened to our City Engineer’s Office? What happened to our City Officials? Can their vehicles skim the surface of bad roads so much so that they don’t feel the inconvenience of people forced to take that road? Or have they all become callous to the needs of the people? I don’t know. You tell me and the rest of those who may have contusions and bruises because of the earthquake-like trip every time they drive through those roads.