Government In Action

Ondoy (international code name Ketsana), the worst typhoon to hit the country in 42 years, has caused a pathetically large swath of destruction in the country's main island of Luzon on Sept. 26 as the rains ruthlessly pounded Luzon before sunrise.

And it will be some time, after counting the death toll, that we may be able to fully appreciate the damage to agricultural crops and infrastructure projects.

And the Philippine National Red Cross has raised warning signals the death toll, as the silted floodwaters started to recede, albeit very slowly, was continuing to rise.

Two days after the rivers and creeks in Metro Manila swelled their banks, as the rice-rich Central Luzon plain and nearby low-lying provinces were virtually transformed into rampaging seas, many streets in the metropolis and areas north of the capital have remained impassable.

Never mind that Ondoy dumped rains during a 24-hour period with a volume equivalent to the average rainfall in a non-rainy season month and that, weather observers were saying, the heavy volume of water overwhelmed normal drainage channels which led to an unexpected overflow into outlying areas.

Even the president was fully aware that more rain had fallen in Metro Manila and surrounding areas than in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.

The 410 mm of rain which fell in 24 hours on Saturday was twice the amount that drenched the United States during Hurricane Katrina.

What we have seen during this period, even as the president declared a state of calamity in the metropolis and nearby provinces, is a government truly in action, its hands full as it tries to help those marooned by the floods even as it sought out international aid to help the victims both in the national capital and beyond the city limits.

Soldiers in rubber boats were deployed by the government, through the National Disaster Coordinating Council or NDCC, to evacuate the victims to safety and higher grounds.

First reporters suggested army troops, police and civilian volunteers have rescued nearly 7,000 peopl.

Even military leaders, led by Armed Forces Chief Victor Ibrado, flew over Marikina, Cainta, and Pasig on Sunday on board Air Force helicopters.

They were greeted by sights of drenched survivors still marooned on top of half-submerged buses and rooftops along the major thoroughfares or in private subdivisions.

And, as expected, there will be those who will criticize the president for the government's response to the crisis - not knowing that the president is on top of the situation, getting strategic briefings while monitoring the situation.

Criticisms, particularly when misplaced and have no leg to stand on, must be reined in at this time when we should concentrate our energies to helping our fellowmen.

The president, beyond the tympanic membranes of her critics, is doing exactly what she needs to do as chief executive officer of the republic.

But even as the president barks out orders left and right to the appropriate agencies, the wrath of Ondoy should provide some lesson to everyone, who must rise to the challenges of global warming, the improper disposal of plastic and other waste materials in the water arteries.