VICTIMS of the worst Mindanao typhoon tragedy in Cagayan de Oro, Sendong, visited us in the Senate. To this day, 30 years later, they are still pleading for their claims for housing.
VICTIMS of the worst Mindanao typhoon tragedy in Cagayan de Oro, Sendong, visited us in the Senate. To this day, 30 years later, they are still pleading for their claims for housing.Every year, the rains bring familiar scenes of flooded barangay, submerged fields and families wading through murky water.
We brace for it each typhoon season, but this cycle of calamity should never be accepted as routine. Each flood is a personal tragedy for countless households, not just an annual line item in relief budgets.Multiple burdens in the onslaught of hunger, conflict and calamity require quick action lest rebels rise up again.In underserved communities, the impact is especially devastating. Poorer barangay often lack sturdy infrastructure or safety nets, so a single flood can wipe out homes, crops and livelihoods built over years. In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and other long neglected corners of Mindanao, repeated floods hit hardest. Communities already recovering from conflict now find themselves on the front lines of climate disasters, even though these areas historically lay outside the typhoon belt. Climate change has redrawn that map, bringing extreme rainfall and more frequent inundation across the archipelago.We often praise the bayanihan spirit that blossoms after every storm — volunteers packing relief goods, neighbors helping neighbors. This solidarity reflects our finest values, but it is no longer enough. Moral and civic responsibility calls us to channel that same energy into prevention and preparedness. It means strengthening riverbanks and drainage, restoring mangroves and forests, and ensuring that early warning sirens reach even the last-mile barangay. It also means equipping communities so they are not merely victims waiting for aid, but partners in building resilience.Investing in prevention is both a moral imperative and a practical choice. Global studies show that every peso — or dollar — spent on disaster risk reduction saves many more in avoided damage and response costs later. Beyond economics, our cultural and faith traditions demand foresight. Islamic teachings on khilafah and the Filipino ethos of kapwa both implore us to care for one another and for creation as a sacred trust. These values point to a simple truth: we must act before a crisis, not merely after it.Shifting from reactive relief to proactive prevention requires political will. It may never be as photogenic as handing out tuna cans after a flood, but it saves more lives and preserves dignity. Every avoided inundation means a family spared from evacuation and a community unbroken. We should demand this foresight from leaders and practice it in our own backyards — organizing cleanup drives, supporting watershed guards, paying taxes on time so adaptation budgets grow.Let us not become inured to yearly flooding as something inevitable. Instead, let us unite in foresight, khilafah and kapwa to build a safer future — one where we no longer pick up the pieces after every storm, because the storm’s worst never reaches us.
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