General Info

[Soapy Smith]

Corruption. Plane and simple. This is a common theme in 3rd world countries. Our retarded Vice President went to Guatemala awhile back and said more money would be poured into Central America to help those people so they won't immigrate to the US. She is either very stupid or very naive, that money, most of it will never reach the people. Never has, never will.

Considering the accomplishments of her parents, I suspect Vice President Harris is not retarded. And I suspect she knows the differences in meaning between "plane" and "plain." And there are, of course, alternatives to sending financial aid into the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador). For example, we could pay local armed militias to hang out at the wall and pick off individuals as they try to cross the Rio Grande.

Historically, there has often been corruption in the ways that some countries used foreign assistance, but bi-lateral aid countries have also learned from earlier mistakes. You might want to reread GE's characterization of the ways that most of the projects he has worked with are held accountable. You might also want to check out the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It's an organization of 38 countries who provide most of the world's bi-lateral foreign aid. Within OECD the member countries exchange notes from previous experiences with recipient countries and use this information to coordinate their ongoing aid packages. This makes it increasingly difficult for individual developing countries to pull the wool over the eyes of later donor countries. This doesn't mean donor countries don't make mistakes, but they spend time comparing notes with other OECD members and with folks at the World Bank, IMF, and various regional development banks to get a handle on potential corruption.

[PedroMorales]

USAID is generally regarded as a CIA front. No doubt you were well paid. How about one single field report? Just link to one actual report you gave. All I know is when I reported from Angeles, you objected to my English that I called putas skanks. Here is a link on USAID, the CIA's bandaid on their crimes. There are thousands more https://www.telesurenglish.net/opini...0919-0013.html.

Again, if you want to help, give to those networked Pinoy expats with direct contacts on the ground, not to those who have grown fat from such miseries. But this is only a drive by. You post about how you earned your mega salary and let the other guy post his dick pics. I read your first few lines, then cut and pasted. More than you are worth but ymmv.

I have worked with and for USAID in more than 30 countries, over approximately 4 decades, and never did I witness any behavior analogous to that of a "a criminal mafia," which is a tautological term. I usually skip posts written by this guy since they are typically little more than unsubstantiated, vitriolic rants based on little more, evidently, than odium for the country. In this case however, I couldn't ignore it, given that virtually.

[Locamotive]

Lots of reasons to criticize USAID. Like large international NGOs they are very Western in their thinking, and those models often do not match realities on the ground in developing countries. But evidence for the mafia comparison might be hard to find.

Chinese should use their own logistics, troops and carriers? That's what they typically do in development projects. They don't hire locals, they provide their own people and equipment, which gives them control and provides little if any injection of money into the local economies of developing countries. In some of their projects in Africa they used Chinese prisoners as laborers and then refused to repatriate them back to China.

The recommendation about parish priests in the Philippines may be a good idea, but I don't think most of us know how to contact them.

Humanitarian relief can become very political. Bong Marcos and other presidential candidates also promised to provide relief, so, despite the puny packages, Leni at least followed through. Following the 2013 earthquake in Bohol, then VP Binay arranged for international aid food to be repackaged into plastic bags emblazoned with words that suggested the contents were provided by Jejomar Binay, who had declared his intent to run for President in 2016..

Corruption. Plane and simple. This is a common theme in 3rd world countries. Our retarded Vice President went to Guatemala awhile back and said more money would be poured into Central America to help those people so they won't immigrate to the US. She is either very stupid or very naive, that money, most of it will never reach the people. Never has, never will.

[GoodEnough]

2,767 very exact numbers from those serial parasites. USAID are no more than a criminal mafia. The Chinese are better and should use their own logistics, land troops, carriers etc.

I have worked with and for USAID in more than 30 countries, over approximately 4 decades, and never did I witness any behavior analogous to that of a "a criminal mafia," which is a tautological term. I usually skip posts written by this guy since they are typically little more than unsubstantiated, vitriolic rants based on little more, evidently, than odium for the country. In this case however, I couldn't ignore it, given that virtually all of the USAID folks with whom I've worked—most of whom are locally-hired staff—have been capable, intelligent, hardworking and have exhibited nothing but integrity. Yes, the programs funded by the agency often reflect little knowledge of the cultures and countries in which they are implemented, and yes, some are more effective than others, but in this respect USAID-funded programs differ little from those implemented by virtually all bilateral donor organizations. That said, I've also worked for and with Australian and Japanese development agencies and, as with USAID have never seen one iota of corrupt behavior, though I have witnessed a lack of cultural understanding.

At my age, I suppose I should no longer be astounded at the profound ignorance of some of those who post sweeping generalizations with no basis in cited facts. Here in the Philippines, the overwhelming majority of USAID's program staff is comprised of Filipino (a) s, managed by a small core of Americans. The major issue underlying the lack of efficacy of several programs, and again this isn't endemic solely to USAID, is that development priorities are typically defined by politicians and bureaucrats in the home countries of the aid organizations, and who are thus far removed from local recipients and who exhibit no intimate understanding of cultural mores. However, within those constraints, it's been my experience that local aid staff, and the contractors whom they select, do the best they can within the constraints imposed. It's also true that, despite constraints and sometimes badly flawed program designs, some of the aid programs—and I could cite several—have been extremely successful and have had extraordinarily positive impacts on those whom they were designed to serve. Having designed and implemented a range of studies designed to measure such impacts, I know this to be true.

Aside from some small barangay (and in rare cases) province-wide projects, USAID is largely out of the infrastructure business, and has been totally removed from large-scale infrastructure projects for years here in the Philippines. The Japanese, Koreans and Chinese, who do continue to fund these projects do hire myriads of local staff—through local contractors—to perform much of the work, though the engineering designs and project oversight roles are retained by the funding agencies. So to argue that there's little economic impact on the local populations is categorically false. Such claims also seek to obviate the fact that the projects, once completed, not only help to create local employment, but often have huge economic impacts on the local economy. This is particularly true in the case of transportation projects, including roads and bridges, which are sorely needed here.

It's fruitless to hope that the OP will eventually learn to espouse and sustain any logical, fact-based arguments, but as someone who has spent his entire professional life in international development, I did want to do what I could to respond to the skewed ramblings of someone who has no grasp whatsoever of the subject (s) about which he speaks.

GE.

[Soapy Smith]

2,767 very exact numbers from those serial parasites. USAID are no more than a criminal mafia. The Chinese are better and should use their own logistics, land troops, carriers etc.

Anyone wishing to donate should contact expat Visayan priests as they would have the local on the ground networks. That is what I have done in the past.

Lots of reasons to criticize USAID. Like large international NGOs they are very Western in their thinking, and those models often do not match realities on the ground in developing countries. But evidence for the mafia comparison might be hard to find.

Chinese should use their own logistics, troops and carriers? That's what they typically do in development projects. They don't hire locals, they provide their own people and equipment, which gives them control and provides little if any injection of money into the local economies of developing countries. In some of their projects in Africa they used Chinese prisoners as laborers and then refused to repatriate them back to China.

The recommendation about parish priests in the Philippines may be a good idea, but I don't think most of us know how to contact them.

My friends in Bohol got 2 kilos of rice and 2 cans of sardines from Presedential candidate VP Leni and that was it.

I sent my bohol friends money to buy a couple 50 kg sacks of rice and 100 cans of sardines. Hoping this would last the 3 families for a while. They divvy up the rice and sardines into 50 relief bags of 2 kg rice and 2 sardines and handed it out to their neighbors.

They told me they couldn't let the neighbors starve! Filipino thinking is different than ours. Thank God.

Humanitarian relief can become very political. Bong Marcos and other presidential candidates also promised to provide relief, so, despite the puny packages, Leni at least followed through. Following the 2013 earthquake in Bohol, then VP Binay arranged for international aid food to be repackaged into plastic bags emblazoned with words that suggested the contents were provided by Jejomar Binay, who had declared his intent to run for President in 2016.

A group of teenagers associated with my town's local Fil-Am association decided to organize a balikbayan box relief effort (clothes, tools, dry food) for Tacloban in the days following Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). I suggested to the association's president that money is usually a better solution, because it gets to where it's needed more quickly, injects money into the local economy, and avoids the tedious work of unpacking, storing, repacking and trying to match the contents of balikbayan boxes to needs on the ground. They followed through anyway, packing and shipping 14 boxes, apparently addressed to families they knew in Tacloban.

I went to Tacloban the following summer, but before going I met with a Fil-Am mother who helped the kids organize the effort. I asked whether she had gotten advice to send money instead. She said she had, but her parents, who live in Tacloban, told her there were problems in aid distribution. The Red Cross had lots of rice to distribute but didn't have enough feet on the ground to do distribution in Samar and Leyte. So, they turned it over to local barangay officials. Those officials then turned it into a political reward system. Some citizens got five kilos, close patrons of the officials got 7. 5 kilos, and her parents, who weren't close to the barangay officials, got 2. 5 kilos. When I was in Manila in summer 2014 I met a guy who had spent a lot of time in Tacloban during the recovery period. I told him my friend's story, and he confirmed that he'd seen it happening a lot.

Dg's friends' sharing their rice and sardines is consistent with Philippine cultural practices that reflect their commitment to their communities and families. Check out the photo below. Imagine something like this in the countries where most of us live? It's also why p4ps in Cebu, Manila, and AC send home money to their families under the lifelong obligations of utang na loob. Americans especially, but most Anglo cultures as well, think in more individualistic and self-interested ways and can't relate to the girls' feelings of obligation to their families. I agree with Dg: thank God, even though I'm an agnostic.

[Dg8787]

Pledges are pledges. Doesn't mean the money is in the bank. I still can remember the Yolanda pledges never making it to the shores of the Philippines.

Most pledges come with restrictions and conditions. I. e. Most Yolanda pledges never arrived to Tacloban because the major donors wanted to open an international office to be the oversight of the funds and projects. The fundings would bypass Customs, Senators, Govenors and many other hands with the international office. The international office never got approval.

My friends in Bohol got 2 kilos of rice and 2 cans of sardines from Presedential candidate VP Leni and that was it.

I sent my bohol friends money to buy a couple 50 kg sacks of rice and 100 cans of sardines. Hoping this would last the 3 families for a while. They divvy up the rice and sardines into 50 relief bags of 2 kg rice and 2 sardines and handed it out to their neighbors.

They told me they couldn't let the neighbors starve! Filipino thinking is different than ours. Thank God.

[PedroMorales]

UNICEF claims to be on the scene:

2,767 packs of water purification tablets.

2,018 bottles of household disinfectant.

Regarding the Chinese donation of rice, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Privado acknowledged that "transportation remained a challenge in reaching the typhoon victims but more than 20 trucks carrying 1,000 to 1,400 food packs each were in transit to different areas in the Visayas and Mindanao. " Twenty trucks are on their way: problem solved.

2,767 very exact numbers from those serial parasites. USAID are no more than a criminal mafia. The Chinese are better and should use their own logistics, land troops, carriers etc.

I was involved in the Asian tsunami in a minor way and on a voluntary basis. Indians and Japanese did good work. Chinese were still working out their logistics, blue water navy etc. South China Sea shows they now have that capability.

Anyone wishing to donate should contact expat Visayan priests as they would have the local on the ground networks. That is what I have done in the past.

[Soapy Smith]

As Datiao points out, I was a bit hasty in my claim that there's no international governmental assistance for Rai's devastation. For example, UNICEF claims to be on the scene:

https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/un...SAAEgIjxfD_BwE

In this report UNICEF claims to deliver, or perhaps has delivered, the following, which had apparently been pre-positioned in a Cotabato City (Mindanao) warehouse:

• around 2,000 family hygiene and dignity kits containing essentials such as water buckets, soap, toothpaste and sanitary napkins.

• 2,767 packs of water purification tablets.

• 2,018 bottles of household disinfectant.

• 2 collapsible bulk water storage containers.

• 50 emergency latrine kits.

• 25 tents for district hospitals and rural health units.

Given the size and extent of devastation, this seems like a drop in the bucket. Similarly, Ireland has committed the equivalent of $280 K to the World Food Program in response to Rai:

https://reliefweb.int/report/philipp...dette-response

Also, Relief Web reported yesterday (12 days after Rai's impact) that USAID has "allocated" $20 million in aid to the Typhoon Rai recovery, but USAID's website does not have updated information about these activities. In other words, "the check is in the mail," and this lack of information from USAID may partially explain the lack of attention from US media outlets. This is in sharp contrast to the response to Haiyan (Yolanda). Where's Anderson Cooper when you need him? Maybe I need a new schtick.

https://reliefweb.int/report/philipp...ce-help-people

https://www.usaid.gov/humanitarian-a...ce/philippines

Regarding the Chinese donation of rice, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Privado acknowledged that "transportation remained a challenge in reaching the typhoon victims but more than 20 trucks carrying 1,000 to 1,400 food packs each were in transit to different areas in the Visayas and Mindanao. " Twenty trucks are on their way: problem solved. The age old problem of logistics and communication from Manila to the provinces. I still think that suffering on the ground that Dg and I, and probably others, are hearing from friends in the Philippines is badly disconnected from pledges of "allocated" funds in international relief.

[Datiao]

From Google

[Nightrider1]

Does anyone remember all the yolanda aid that came to Phil and then was never distributed to the poor people needing it because in the hurry to get it there the senders did not fill out the proper documentation. It sat on the docks or warehouses for years and was then carted to the landfill. I bet nobody even lost their job for that travesty.

[Dg8787]

I think you missed the point. Some of the Southern Leyte family members had previously traveled several days all the way to Manila by bus, but not under these desperate conditions. The demolition of many households and power not to be restored until February was the point. And, as GE and others report, this is widespread. A single three-hour bus ride is not a big deal, except that these scenes are being repeated across many provinces, when, in fact, most of the affected households don't even have the money for bus fare to get to some sort of safe haven.

My three cents: Duterte's stance toward the US may be part of the problem, but Western countries like the US have other distractions: the pandemic, threats of internal violence, Russia crouched at the Ukraine border, and a generally unacknowledged spread of authoritarianism around the globe.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...inning/620526/

I have found the most current news on the aftermath of Rai, not with media in the states, but with Reuters, Al Jazeera, and BBC. The Los Angeles Times did run a story on organizations to which individuals can send contributions, but, as Dg notes, there is no substantial Western governmental response. For that matter, Duterte's friends in China and Russia haven't helped either.

I like Anderson Cooper, but the "Anderson Cooper effect" (actually, Western news outlets generally) is part of the problem. He showed up after Yolanda sooner than most Filipino forces, but probably because CNN could afford a private helicopter, whereas the Philippine government's aircraft were either inoperable or non-existent. He broadcast video of body bags lying around Tacloban and mass, unmarked graves, and compared it to Japanese soldiers present at Fukushima within a couple days, poking around with sticks looking for bodies in the rubble. Japan is a first world country; the Philippines is third world. Multiple land routes connect Tokyo to Fukushima, whereas travel from Manila to Tacloban is a several-day journey, involving a ferry that connects Bicol to Samar, and, in the aftermath of Yolanda, the San Juanico Bridge connecting Samar and Leyte had been closed due to storm damage. Air and sea were the only ways to Tacloban, and the airport was badly damaged and its control tower knocked down. The US Air Force built a temporary air control system after several days, and a US aircraft carrier capable of desalinating salt water arrived later as well. But Cooper's comparison between the situation in Tacloban and Fukushima reflected more ignorance than wisdom.

By the "Anderson Cooper effect" I mean the total focus on calamity and immediate response because these things attract viewers in the West--whereas disasters like Yolanda and Rai are defined primarily by the inability of poor countries to prepare for and mitigate against the effects of increasingly strong typhoons and sea-level rise. The rubble shown in the various news photos from Rai suggests the flimsy construction for most homes of poor Filipinos in the provinces. Compare this to the increasingly stringent building codes that Western countries have developed in the follow-up to natural disasters. But to Anderson Cooper's credit, he did get in a summary interview with Arnel Pineda (Filipino lead singer of the band, Journey) at NAIA airport before leaving after two and a half days for the states. Presumably Manny Pacquiao was unavailable and Pia Wurtzbach had not yet been crowned Miss Universe.

The short answer to the cost of the concrete and metal home Dg proposes is probably somewhere north of $5,000 dollars (250,000 php). More importantly, it's many times more than poor families in the provinces can afford. That's why the disaster photos show all this broken coco wood framework and woven bamboo walls scattered across the landscape of Dingat Island, Siargao, Surigao del Norte, Southern Leyte, and Bohol.

Unfortunately, countries like the Philippines have a top-down approach to disaster management with the military and national police in charge. So the purchase of Blackhawk helicopters, C-130's, and Korean naval vessels takes precedence over building community resilience from the bottom-up.

Very good report.

Sadly the Filipino people are and will continue to pay a steep price for Dutere's leaning and attachment to China. Some have already paid the ultimate price of death. Others will pay that price too in the near future.

I am in contact with some typhoon victims in Bohol and seen pictures and videos of the aftermath. Not much help in on the way. Most homes are destroyed. I doubt if much international help is on the way. IMO the future for the average Filipinos does not look bright with any of the presidential candidates.

90% of the homes need extensive rebuilding. Almost all do not have the money to do so. Let alone to replace the roofs. Most do not have enough of framing to use a tarp. I have not mentioned food or water.

I can see civil unrests coming from the docile people if nothing substantial happens soon.

[Soapy Smith]

I think traveling 3 hours in bus is not big deal for most Filipinos, specially if is for money. On December 24, I travel in bus from 11 am to 10 pm, that was a 11 hours bus ride, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I think you missed the point. Some of the Southern Leyte family members had previously traveled several days all the way to Manila by bus, but not under these desperate conditions. The demolition of many households and power not to be restored until February was the point. And, as GE and others report, this is widespread. A single three-hour bus ride is not a big deal, except that these scenes are being repeated across many provinces, when, in fact, most of the affected households don't even have the money for bus fare to get to some sort of safe haven.

In your opinion do you believe the lack of USA and other western countries response and aid is due to the weaken relationships with the Dutere administration?

BTW, there are very few news articles in the USA about this disaster and lack of water and food. Internet or televised news. A day or two after Yolanda Anderson Cooper / CNN was on the ground. Then 3-4 days later the Philippine government aid people were there. An embarrassed PH government had only 1 out of 3 see-130 cargo planes working and emptied disaster funds stolen long ago.

Now 8 years later it is the same all over again except for the lack of international help.

My three cents: Duterte's stance toward the US may be part of the problem, but Western countries like the US have other distractions: the pandemic, threats of internal violence, Russia crouched at the Ukraine border, and a generally unacknowledged spread of authoritarianism around the globe.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...inning/620526/

I have found the most current news on the aftermath of Rai, not with media in the states, but with Reuters, Al Jazeera, and BBC. The Los Angeles Times did run a story on organizations to which individuals can send contributions, but, as Dg notes, there is no substantial Western governmental response. For that matter, Duterte's friends in China and Russia haven't helped either.

I like Anderson Cooper, but the "Anderson Cooper effect" (actually, Western news outlets generally) is part of the problem. He showed up after Yolanda sooner than most Filipino forces, but probably because CNN could afford a private helicopter, whereas the Philippine government's aircraft were either inoperable or non-existent. He broadcast video of body bags lying around Tacloban and mass, unmarked graves, and compared it to Japanese soldiers present at Fukushima within a couple days, poking around with sticks looking for bodies in the rubble. Japan is a first world country; the Philippines is third world. Multiple land routes connect Tokyo to Fukushima, whereas travel from Manila to Tacloban is a several-day journey, involving a ferry that connects Bicol to Samar, and, in the aftermath of Yolanda, the San Juanico Bridge connecting Samar and Leyte had been closed due to storm damage. Air and sea were the only ways to Tacloban, and the airport was badly damaged and its control tower knocked down. The US Air Force built a temporary air control system after several days, and a US aircraft carrier capable of desalinating salt water arrived later as well. But Cooper's comparison between the situation in Tacloban and Fukushima reflected more ignorance than wisdom.

By the "Anderson Cooper effect" I mean the total focus on calamity and immediate response because these things attract viewers in the West--whereas disasters like Yolanda and Rai are defined primarily by the inability of poor countries to prepare for and mitigate against the effects of increasingly strong typhoons and sea-level rise. The rubble shown in the various news photos from Rai suggests the flimsy construction for most homes of poor Filipinos in the provinces. Compare this to the increasingly stringent building codes that Western countries have developed in the follow-up to natural disasters. But to Anderson Cooper's credit, he did get in a summary interview with Arnel Pineda (Filipino lead singer of the band, Journey) at NAIA airport before leaving after two and a half days for the states. Presumably Manny Pacquiao was unavailable and Pia Wurtzbach had not yet been crowned Miss Universe.

The short answer to the cost of the concrete and metal home Dg proposes is probably somewhere north of $5,000 dollars (250,000 php). More importantly, it's many times more than poor families in the provinces can afford. That's why the disaster photos show all this broken coco wood framework and woven bamboo walls scattered across the landscape of Dingat Island, Siargao, Surigao del Norte, Southern Leyte, and Bohol.

Unfortunately, countries like the Philippines have a top-down approach to disaster management with the military and national police in charge. So the purchase of Blackhawk helicopters, C-130's, and Korean naval vessels takes precedence over building community resilience from the bottom-up.

[Albert9989]

https://youtu.be/g5STK9K9IjU

This is a video of less than 2 minutes in length, that describes the nightmare aftermath of the typhoon.

GE.

That's exactly what my contacts in Inabanga, bohol, told to me.

Up to now, they have very few supplies, small water and rice, no house or roof at all.

They stay outside exposed to the rain.

Road to Tagbilaran is awful.

No power, no network or very small on some places.

Official says that it will take two months to get some electricity back.

Last day they had 2 kilos rice and 2 canned sardines.

And yes, nothing talk about that on the news here, they are silently left alone outside with about nothing.

[GoodEnough]

https://youtu.be/g5STK9K9IjU

This is a video of less than 2 minutes in length, that describes the nightmare aftermath of the typhoon.

GE.

[WestCoast1]

I do't have enough facts to form an opinion, and I'm mystified. Perhaps the rest of the world is too focused on dealing with the succeeding waves of COVID crises to divert attention and funds for this effort. But really, I have no idea.

GE.

It looks great when you are able to buy (borrow, steal, or otherwise appropriate) recent military hardware from other countries. Five Black Hawk helicopters (bringing the total to 16), Korean rocket launching systems, a Korean warship (see link), at least one UAV, and C-130 Hercs (see pics). Then you can't fix the electric grid after a storm, or provide water. Certainly the pandemic doesn't help a natural disaster.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2...korean-warship