Kristine, a severe and horrific typhoon, visited the Philippines on Oct. 21 as a tropical depression, intensifying the next day to a tropical storm level before making landfall in Isabela.
Kristine brought with it sustained gale-force winds and dumped a lot of rain in all parts of the country, with certain parts receiving more of the flood-causing water that devastated a wide swathe of areas.
Hardest hit was the Bicol region, particularly Albay and Naga City, Calabarzon particularly Batangas, Central and Northern Luzon. More than 120 Filipinos lost their lives in landslides and rampaging floodwaters, scores of their homes were destroyed, and their livelihood were swept away in a matter of minutes as rice and other crops---almost ready for harvest---were destroyed.
In the wake of this tragedy, the administration of President Marcos Jr. has been seen as inadequate and unprepared even for the initial search and rescue operations, let alone the provision of basic food and water to hundreds of thousands of typhoon victims. The private sector was there to help, but still a catastrophe of this magnitude made their efforts miniscule.
Amidst this desolation, however, there is a whiff of hope.
Sunshine was provided in part by our congenial neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei were the first to respond by launching their respective Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Missions to the Philippines. Their aircraft carrying relief goods, disaster mitigation equipment, and trained responders arrived one by one, without the country officially asking for help, in a genuine spirit of neighborliness.
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno, who announced the assistance from our Asean neighbors, is most happy because these countries' air assets will solve our problem of food packs, drinking water and supplies not reaching certain areas because of floods and landslides that rendered the roads impassable.
The Singaporean Ministry of Defense confirmed that the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) deployed one Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) C-130 transport aircraft to aid in humanitarian efforts in the country.
“The SAF’s contributions underscore the warm and friendly bilateral and defense ties and close Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) cooperation between Singapore and the Philippines,” the ministry said.
The RSAF C-130 aircraft provided airlift support to deliver aid supplies to communities affected by the storm.
Amidst these recovery efforts, it appears that the United States, which had promised an "ironclad" security support in return for nine EDCA military bases which they said were there also for disaster relief and rescue purposes, is silent and unmoving.
The whole nation of 110 million Filipinos should ask their President: where is the promised disaster recovery assistance from your American friends?
It would seem that the United States is prioritizing its own interests over its touted commitments to its allies.
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