Lessons of Ondoy

Ondoy killed, destroyed and left us dazed. It made us realize: in the face of angry nature, we are helpless, we can be snuffed out at any moment. Ondoy showed us how brave, kind, generous and all-giving we can be.

Only in 1986 perhaps did we see our people as united and as selfless in giving themselves to others. The impact of Ondoy has made us more reflective, and humbler.

It is obvious that we have not been all that good in putting systems, structures and training, perhaps budgets also, that might have made Ondoy not all that destructive. In the first hours of Ondoy, my family were frantically making calls to authorities, and got no answer. And they were not, perhaps could not be, around. Ondoy put us all together, helplessly engulfed.

Without absolving government, I would not spend too much time reminding it how it goofed on this one. Instead we would be better off telling it that it must shape up for the next Ondoy, because we will hold it accountable, and if need be to our courts.

We must honor those who perished, and lost property and opportunities in Ondoy. One way to do this is making ourselves smarter, more organized and more amply funded in the matter of disaster prevention, control and impact mitigation.

Another way is documenting and retelling the stories of men and women, young and old, famous and unknown, who risked their lives, and up to now are giving their time and money and to help the victims of Ondoy.