Opinion 11/10/15

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Inquirer on government’s post-Yolanda program
To hear Malacañang respond to comments on the glacial pace of the post-“Yolanda” reconstruction, you’d think we’re in competition—who was worst hit, who bounced back faster, who’s built back better. […] And with local critics, two years after the supertyphoon, carping on lack of housing and on rotten relief goods and donations growing fat in bank accounts instead of being distributed to the needy, Malacañang’s other mouthpiece, Edwin Lacierda, pointed to foreign agencies, the United Nations among them, as saying that the Philippines was rebuilding faster than other developing countries struck by comparable natural disasters. […] The Aquino administration launched a P150-billion response program that included relief packs, emergency shelter assistance, infrastructure repairs and start-up capital for livelihood. Two years on, critics say only 18 percent of relief funds have been used. Authorities admit only 51 percent of the rehabilitation projects have been completed. […] The issue is for Malacañang to act on the valid expectations of the Yolanda survivors with greater political will—to do better as, obviously, people expect it to. [full page]

Sun.Star Cebu and the garbage problem
It’s funny how a leader can become creative out of desperation. For Mayor Michael Rama, it happened as the Cebu City Government continued to grapple with the problem of garbage collection conjured by several factors […] To be sure, a clean and cheap facility that can be easily built can be had in a jiffy considering the models that can be had here and abroad. The mayor meant this to be a temporary facility but it can become semi-permanent considering the politicking that has enveloped the deliberation, or non-deliberation, of SB 1 in the city council. […] Considering what is happening now, the garbage problem in the city should be provided with a permanent solution. Relying on a private dumpsite in Consolacion has resulted in a spike in expenses and difficulty in transporting the trash from the barangays. A new garbage facility built within the city is needed. [full page]

Manila Bulletin on SSS
Every once in a while, we have a small bill like the Social Security System (SSS) retirees pension bill that is not in the same league as major measures such as the National Budget or the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), but is now well on the road to approval. […] It is a small bill that pales in national significance in comparison with such measures as the BBL and the National Budget and tax reform. But it will mean so much to some two million SSS retirees and help them cope with their needs in the twilight of their lives. It is a bill that meets the urgent needs of small ordinary people. It is a bill that shows that the government is concerned about their problems. We need more of such measures. [full page]

Philippine Star about an activist’s death

On social media, Quintin “Ting” San Diego took particular pride in four of his life’s advocacies. […] Last Saturday afternoon, San Diego was walking back to his cottage after meeting with workers at his resort in a remote village in Dingalan, Aurora when a man approached him and opened fire with a 9mm automatic. The gunman fled with a companion on a motorcycle as San Diego lay dying. […] San Diego had worthy advocacies that could have earned him enemies. There are reportedly witnesses to his murder so probers should have leads to pursue and be able to speed up the delivery of justice. It would be unfortunate if San Diego becomes just the latest statistic in the long string of unexplained killings in the country. [full page]

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