When disaster relief IS the disaster: Perspectives
Why are you people so mean to congressman Mikey Arroyo, posting photos of him allegedly buying liquor during the deluge? What sane person would believe that an elected official would be so callous in the midst of a disaster that has taken hundreds of lives and rendered hundreds of thousands homeless? Even assuming that he was buying liquor at that time, you cannot be certain that it was not a mission of mercy: he could’ve been buying it for a typhoon victim who really, really needed a drink.
This must be part of the concerted campaign against the congressman, which saw him being interrogated on television about a house he owned in the United States, the cost of which is beyond his explainable income. The nerve of economist and university professor Winnie Monsod to put him through that kind of anguish. Where does the media get the nerve to embarrass the son of a president?
NYT photo by John Javellana/Reuters
Small wonder that today, with so many Filipinos still waiting to be rescued from the wreckage of their homes, and so many Filipinos packed into evacuation centers that are just epidemics waiting to explode, Rep. Mikey Arroyo chooses to address the larger problem of malicious Facebook attacks. Yes, it is only right that freedom of speech be curtailed to protect the reputations of government officials. The Philippines must be the only country in the world where public figures are so virulently attacked by citizens armed with nothing more than an internet connection.
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The local media is always admonished to temper its negative coverage of the Philippine government because it will create an unflattering image of the country abroad and scare away foreign investors.
Got anything else to say?
Raymond send this: Rescue D.I.Y. (Let me know if the link doesn’t work.)
Yeah, my sister and her family rescued themselves, too. On Saturday they were marooned on the second floor of their flooded house. By Sunday the rain had stopped but the floodwaters had not subsided. Then a rubber boat came along and cruised around the neighborhood. Cruised, like they were on vacation. Finally the ‘rescuers’ said they could take people as far as Rosario, where the flood was ‘only’ chest-deep and they could wade or swim to the bridge. Cookie declined (We do not swim, there are no pools on Arrakis).
On Monday she called and said the water had receded enough so a truck could reach them. So I started calling trucking companies and found three that were willing to make the trip, but even before I could hire a truck my brother-in-law found someone who could pick them up with an SUV. That’s how they rescued themselves.
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Remember just last Friday we were joking about three-quarters of the horsemen of the Apocalypse?Next day: Apocalypse. You can call it the end times if you like, but much of the catastrophe was man-made. Today’s Four Horsemen: Greed, Corruption, Ineptitude, Destruction of the Environment.
Just heard the news: Another super-typhoon is coming.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
September 30th, 2009 at 23:10
We should get ready for more of these “worst case scanarios”. Get yourselves some extra large waterproof rucksack, pack it with a Swiss-army or Rambo knife, packs of dried beef jerky, candies,water purification tablets, oral rehydration solutions, 2 liters distilled water,toilet papers, plastic plates,plastic cutlery,2 dozen HersheyTM bars, 3-in-1 coffee packs, some exra clothes and underwear, laundry and bath soap,toiletries in portable bottles, medicine,portable stove with LPG canisters,a powerful flashlight with extra batteries, a pair of tsinelas, a nice warm coat,and your wallet with cash,wrapped in plastic; wrap all your important documents in layers of plastic .I wonder if a satellite phone works on calamities like this. Better pray–that your swiss-army knife is equipped with a puncture proof rubber boat with folding oars, a GPS, and a four person folding tent. (This “swiss-army knife” idea derives from Utoy,Mang Dagul’s son in Pugad Baboy strip,whose knife features an All Terrain Vehicle).
October 1st, 2009 at 06:22
The Internet does things to people. It allows inhibitions to come out so on venues like Facebook or YouTube people can just post or comment away without even thinking about etiquette. So these days a desktop or laptop and a broadband/DSL Internet connection do not necessarily equate to class, just as being educated in an elitist school does not equate to the same.
October 1st, 2009 at 12:11
These government officials are just lucky that the people are busy helping each other, else there will be blood in Batasan and Malacanang.
The Mikey incident reminded me of The Simpson’s Mayor Quimby. When threatened by scandalous pics: “You don’t scare me! That could’ve been anyone’s ass!!!”
October 1st, 2009 at 17:43
In the Inquirer article:
“My picture was posted on Facebook with a caption saying I was shopping for wine at the height of [Storm] ‘Ondoy.’ [This] is another malicious attack on my person. It is so depressing,†Mikey Arroyo wrote in an e-mail response to the Facebook post which has appeared in several blogs.
Since Mikey admitted that it was HIS photo, the writer didn’t commit anything foul, right?
The caption was true. The photo wasn’t photoshopped. He was in the wine section. It was him.
So what is Mikey whining about ?
October 1st, 2009 at 18:12
link is not working :(
October 1st, 2009 at 23:59
How about the fact that Vilma Santos chose to continue to promote her new movie “In My Life” in the US and Canada (she won’t be back before Oct 5) over her obligation as governor to personally attend to the disaster relief operations in her province? I understand that she’s in communication with the other officials in Batangas, but as they say… it’s not enough that you’re honest, you also have to appear honest.
This is one of the main reasons why celebrities shouldn’t straddle between the worlds of showbiz and politics!
October 2nd, 2009 at 02:11
I for one did not post that picture of Mikey because I am deathly afraid that he will also take a picture of me at the wine store and post it on his facebook page. Didn’t you guys ever think of that? Have you no fear?
October 2nd, 2009 at 16:45
It is sad and deflating that, in the middle of the calamity that is upon us all, there are still people who just cannot help themselves but constantly scan the horizon for anything to criticize.