Move those relief goods Sec. Cabral!

GOOD grief! If you haven't seen the photos of those relief goods just sitting at DSWD warehouse, click here. Good thing Ella's blog is up and running again. Ok, so we all suspiciously thought it was taken down by some powerful entities. It was just due to too much web traffic pala. hehe (My thanks to Ella also for taking off from my previous blog about relief efforts at Tulong Bayan in Cubao and White Space. Although slight correction, only the first photo she used was Leah Navarro's; the rest were mine.)

(The warehouse of DSWD. No one repacking the goods. Where are the DSWD staff? How come Sec. Cabral has not asked for volunteers? Photo from Ella's site.)

Anyhoo, this is disturbing news indeed. Many privately-run relief efforts wrapped up a week after Ondoy primarily because there were no more goods coming in. Then we all find out, tons are just with the DSWD gathering dust! Maybe Sec. Peter Favila should train his guns on DSWD for hoarding all those relief goods! For what kaya? For next year's elections? Does the gov't intend to give out the rest of these goods when their candidates are campaigning? We can't help thinking this way!

Even DSWD Sec. Esperanza Cabral's subsequent explanation on the issue makes no sense. If the agency needed volunteers, all she had to do was shout out over the radio, TV, through the DSWD web site, and other bloggers! It's scary that there are just so many unthinking and inefficient people now in government service!

People are dying, or getting sick, and running out of food in the typhoon-stricken areas, or in the evacuation centers, and all that we were treated to were immensely huge photos of Dr. Cabral (and presidentiable Gibo Teodoro) handing out a pittance of relief goods. Teka Lolah, tatakbo ka bang Senador?

Even after Ella's exposé btw, things have little changed at the DSWD. Political columnist/blogger Manolo Quezon and some of his friends went to check on the warehouse, the account of which is in Update 3 of Bury me in this dress.

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Meanwhile, I told my mom about the issue of the DSWD warehouse and she got pissed about it. You see my mom was a social worker back when DSWD was still called Social Welfare Administration. She loved her work so much, going to the poor communities in Tondo, for instance, that she actually turned down a job offer to become the secretary of then SWA administrator Pacita Madrigal Warns. This was the time when Ramon Magsaysay was Philippine president.

Back then, she said, SWA staff were extremely efficient, honest, and dedicated to their work. But things may have turned under the time of the Marcoses. My mom told me for instance how one regional SWA official, a former colleague, approached her asking if she wanted some instant milk powder. (This was when my mom was already married to my Dad and had retired from SWA.) She asked how the SWA official came to have so much milk powder in her possession, the officer said, it was bec. of her work at the SWA. "E kasi Social Welfare ako di ba?" was how my mom quoted her ex-colleague. Instead of giving the milk powder, donated most probably by foreign governments, to poor and needy communities, this SWA official was handing them out to friends and family! Ang kapal!

Okay, I'm not saying that all the DSWD staff are like this ex-SWA regional officer, but I would suppose everyone will take their cue from their respective bosses. If they see their DSWD bosses just sitting in their airconditioned offices and nagpapa-ganda/nagpapa-picture lang, or filching from their stocks of donated goods, they too will follow. Monkey see, monkey do.

Ella didn't claim naman that the relief goods in DSWD are "rotting" there as alleged in some TV reports, or being pilfered by the agency staff, so all I'm saying is, the systems and procedures are definitely not efficient at that agency. There is no organization in the way the relief goods are being handled, repacked, and distributed. What are the DSWD employees doing about this? Now, if the agency is shorthanded, all it has to do is ask for volunteers because I'm sure many people would like to help...unless its officials really don't want the public to know what exactly is going on in those DSWD warehouses.

For foreign donors

PLS. coordinate with the Philippine Embassy/Consulates in your respective areas and the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development for your donations. Click here for the procedures you have to follow to make sure your donations get to the right recipients.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Gary Teves yesterday released a public advisory via text saying: "the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is now coordinating with the DSWD for the immediate release of used clothes donation from international institutions for the typhoon Ondoy victims. International organizations are advised to donate used clothes directly to DSWD as existing laws (RA 4653) prohibit the importation of used clothes for the Philippines.

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FYI: Sec. Teves, through his publicist, also informed me that "we will discuss with DSWD [Esperanza] Cabral if she can work with NGOs to faciliate the release of these goods."

I'm sorry, I have no sympathy for you (Updated)

I JUST got off the phone w/ a Cabinet official who called me about my concern regarding donations by foreign groups of used clothing. Apparently, there is a law preventing such imports because of the growing ukay-ukay business in the country.

To go around this law, Malacañang has instructed that donations of used clothing be consigned to DSWD instead. (Upate 11:34: If the DSWD receives the donations, the payment of import taxes are deferred.) I told this Cabinet official that DSWD is overburdened already feeding people in the evacuation centers that's why it's the private sector which is taking up the slack. Why can't Customs or the Dept of Finance just accredit a few charitable foundations of relief organizations to receive these donations from abroad?

"There is a law," he stressed over and over, and they couldn't just violate it. With all the bright legal minds in Malacañang, consigning the goods to the DSWD was the only solution they could think of? This is an effing emergency situation! But when it comes to flouting the laws, our officials are number one! Especially you know who!

The Cabinet official said there were already concerns that some importers are taking advantage of the situation and "nagpupuslit ng contraband". So prosecute them for heaven's sake! Why penalize the rest who have only a sincere desire to help Ondoy's victims?

Then the Cabinet official sighed that he has not been sleeping for six days since Typhoon Ondoy. I don't know what he expected me to say. Should I have said, "kawawa ka naman" and sympathized w/ his lack of sleep? I was stumped. People have lost their homes, family members, friends, lack food and water, and are getting sick in the evac centers...and I was supposed to pity one Cabinet official who was suffering from sleep deprivation? I felt a lump in my throat. I wanted to scream at him and cry at the same time. How dare he!

In the first place, we wouldn't have this many flood victims if only you, the gov't, did your job! I have tried to contain myself from blowing up since Saturday, seeing how NDCC and its head, Defense Sec. Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro blundered their way through the rescue efforts of the flood victims. But privately, I have been fuming on Facebook about how many lives the government could have saved, if only they were prepared for disasters.


(Gibo talks about disaster preparedness. Ptooey!)

Like FEMA director Michael Brown during the Hurricane Katrina disaster in Sept. 2005, Gibo sent out rescue teams only when Ondoy was on its way out of the country. As early as 1 pm on Sat. Sept 26, residents of Marikina were already hunched on their roofs, waiting to be rescued! Gibo eventually sent in the much-ridiculed 13 rubber boats (mostly from the Phil. Navy) to the flooded areas at 10 pm!

By midnight, Marikina residents were texting DZMM that President Arroyo had arrived "para magpapakitang tao." The victims who were cold, hungry, and missing their families were not fooled by her fake concern. What makes our blood boil is knowing that the presidentita used up P800 million of the contingency/disaster fund for her foreign travels! How many rescue boats could have been bought w/ that money?

Now we realize even more how stupid this government really is! They can't even get their acts together to decide whether or not Malacañang should be an evacuation/relief center. They can't even come up w/ a simple plan or legal document to temporarily lift relief the ban on donated used clothing? Right now, I've received reports of Customs agents seizing ALL shipments of donations at our ports! People abroad are willing to help our flood victims here. And yet all the govt can come up w/ is even more red tape! Anoba?!

Now, in preparation for Typhoon Parma (local codename Pepeng), disaster czar Teodoro wants to forcibly evacuate minors only from low-lying areas. Why minors only? If the situation is that dangerous, then evacuate everyone! Use your powers as NDCC chief and Defense Sec. to order a systematic evacuation of these areas by using your armed forces. Call in the reserved forces as well to help conduct an orderly evacuation, and don't take crap from stubborn residents. Man up Gibo! This is what you should have done last Saturday at the height of Ondoy.

Isn't anyone thinking straight anymore in Malacañang?!?! Oh right, they haven't slept for six days. erg