Recently, the Philippines had to overcome the challenge of Typhoon Lando, which made landfall in Casiguran, Aurora, last October 18, a Sunday. Access was no easy task, to say the least. Strong winds made it difficult, if not impossible, for all aircraft to fly; traveling by boat meant rough seas and a long journey. Fallen infrastructure, flooding, and mudslides blocked roads, and some towns were completely cut off.Even with all these, Filipinos from both the public and private sectors moved heaven and earth to ensure that relief arrived in a timely manner. Lando made landfall on Sunday; I am told that, by Monday night, relief goods had been transported to Casiguran, which earlier was reported as being isolated. So many people sacrificed and exerted so much effort to minimize the deprivation of affected communities. I am sure they would have appreciated the recognition of their efforts.Instead, I am told, this is the coverage that their work received. A major Philippine broadsheet tweeted about Typhoon Lando, saying: “Government fails to achieve zero casualty; NDRRMC says 33-year old man died after being hit by fallen tree in Quezon City.” A local reporter from another media outlet also tweeted that relief goods had arrived in Casiguran, but that these goods had not yet been distributed. He closed by saying, “Bukas darating si PNoy!” or “PNoy is arriving tomorrow,” as if to imply that relief goods would be distributed only when I was there.At a time of challenge for many Filipinos, it seemed to me as if the only interest of these particular members of the media was to sensationalize, to highlight tragedy, to point out supposed failures, and to make accusations. Some of us might even be led to speculate that on the anniversary of Typhoon Lando—whether the first, the fifth, or the tenth—that media coverage would insist on reliving every tragic detail, while paying only lip service to the positive developments, lessons learned, and corrective actions implemented.
Source: Speech of President Aquino at the 2015 FOCAP Presidential Forum « ForeignAffairs.co.nz