MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 15, 2013) – The Philippines said it is learning its lessons from addressing the problems brought by super typhoon Haiyan so it can improve its disaster management in the future.
Palace spokesman Herminio Coloma said the government is not engaging in buck-passing or finger-pointing in this situation and maintained that while they had taken steps to prepare for the typhoon, Haiyan was simply “unprecedented” in terms of severity and magnitude.
“Walang kaisipan ang pamahalaan magpasa ng sisi o magturo ng responsibilidad. Dahil nakapulot tayo ng mahalagang aral… magiging mahusay para sa susunod na pagkakataoon (We never engage in buck-passing. And we intend to apply the lessons we learned to improve our disaster management and response mechanism),” Coloma said during a media briefing.
“Kung may pumupuna, tinatanggap natin ang pagpuna, hindi natin tinatanggi na maaring nagkaroon ng pagkukulang. Pero ito ay bunga ng severe constraints, hindi sinasadyang huwag tuunan ng pansin (If there are criticisms, we accept them. We never said we would not be prone to mistakes. But what I can say is that we never intentionally neglected our duties).”
Coloma said even local government officials and their partners were themselves displaced by the wrath of the powerful typhoon.
“Extraordinary din ang demands ng situation compounded by the breakdown of power and communication facilities (The demands of the situation were also extraordinary, considering the breakdown of power and communication facilities),” he said.
Coloma said the government uses a highly complementary and interdependent structure for disaster management and risk reduction, but was quick to say the government is open to constructive criticism so it can improve and be more prepared in the future.
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