THE DESTRUCTIVE APPOINTMENT OF BACK-TO-BACK TYPHOONS IN THE PHILIPPINES

BY RAIHAN L. HABBI

The Philippines had been ravaged by a series of strong typhoons—with the most recent one, Ulysses, which so far has become the most destructive tropical cyclone to blow the country this 2020. The successive typhoons in the country began on the 13th of October with the tropical depression Ofel.

Ofel is the 15th tropical cyclone to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) this year and the second for October after the typhoon Nika. It left a worth of ₱1,346,097.90 damage to agriculture in the areas of Batangas, Quezon, and Negros Occidental, reported by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DWSD). The country has an average of more than 20 tropical cyclones each year. According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), more rain was expected in the coming months due to the start of La Niña.

Four days after the departure of Ofel, on October 19, tropical depression Pepito strengthened into a severe tropical storm. Its heavy and strong winds and rains triggered floods in areas of Luzon. The 20 flooding and 12 landslide incidents monitored in the affected areas initiated an estimated worth of ₱105,817,126.00 damage to agriculture and infrastructure (school facilities) as reported by DSWD.

Quinta came a day after the exit of Pepito as a Low-Pressure Area East of Mindanao on the 23rd of October. It further intensified as it moved away, leaving a total of 209,204 families or 888,375 people affected in 2,980 barangays in Regions III, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, V, VI, VII, and VIII. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that 27 were found dead and 40 injured. Roads and bridges were closed, communication lines were interrupted, and power and water outages took place. The successive typhoons correspond to a successive increase in damage, in which Quinta brought a worth of ₱1.5B damage to infrastructure and ₱2.7B to agriculture. Quinta left the PAR on the 27th while its depression remained disturbing some parts of the country. Subsequently, a potential tropical cyclone outside PAR was monitored and was named Rolly, the strongest tropical cyclone yet in 2020.

Rolly entered the PAR on the 29th of October, two days after Quinta’s departure, as it rapidly maximized into a typhoon blowing detrimental winds and heavy rains that caused massive destruction and floods. 25 were reported dead and 399 injured in Regions I, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, and V. The residents suffered without electricity and running water, and communication lines were also interrupted. Half a million families or 2,030,130 persons were affected by the super typhoon in Regions II, III, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, V, VIII, CAR, and NCR. 170,773 houses were damaged, 60 roads and 7 bridges were affected by flooding and landslide, according to the report of NDRRMC. Rolly issued approximately ₱13B worth of damage to infrastructure, and ₱5B damage to crops, fisheries, livestock, in which a total of 65,897 hectares of agricultural land was destroyed.

From the exits of tropical storms Siony and Tonyo after accompanying Rolly, came the developed tropical depression Ulysses on November 8, which rapidly strengthened into a super typhoon. It destroyed Luzon the hardest from November 11 to 12. Ulysses discharged violent winds and torrential rain that deprived almost a hundred lives. Parts of Manila were crippled, and residents were deluged with more misery while still recovering from Typhoon Rolly. 1.2M families or a total of 5M persons in 7,231 barangays in Regions I, II, III, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, V, CAR, and NCR were reported affected by NDRRMC. Thousands of houses, an estimate of 189,580, were destroyed as the level of water flood in some provinces reached the roofs. Almost 2 million households experienced power outages. The Philippines Coast Guard deployed rescue teams equipped with search and rescue materials. With the prolonged disturbance of the coronavirus pandemic, residents struggled even more.

Filipino bayanihan spirit was awakened as parts of the country united to give aid and assurance to the victims. Ulysses is deemed as the deadliest tropical cycle to blow the country this year, so far, bearing a worth of ₱7.3B damage to agriculture and ₱12B to infrastructure.

The PAGASA reported to have not witnessed any LPA in the vicinity— but alerted that another unanticipated low pressure may incur. No back-to-back storms were monitored after Ulysses, but the Pacific Ocean remains in action.

By Tasha Eugenio

On November 9, 2020, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque formally announced that the new head of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is Police Major Gen. Debold Sinas. Chosen by President Rodrigo Duterte himself, the new PNP Chief has already made headlines prior to his appointment due to his infamous birthday celebration amidst the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. Despite violating the ECQ protocols, the former National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief was defended by the President regarding the issue, stating that he has already forgiven Sinas for his actions. Furthermore, he expressed his full confidence in him, saying that he guarantees his competence and expertise in police work. However, this issue wasn’t the only controversy that the new PNP chief was involved in. He was also notorious for issues regarding harassment and unresolved killings as well as the creation of unconventional programs making him more than just the man behind the mañanita. The new PNP chief’s rise to power drew criticisms due to his concerning track record over the past years. From July 2018 to October 2019, Sinas served as the police chief of the Philippine National Police Regional Office 7 (PRO-7) in Central Visayas. During his term, there was a significant increase in the number of unsolved killings in the said region, especially in Negros Oriental. The murders are allegedly targeted towards communist groups and their supporters, on top of the Duterte Administration’s war on drugs. According to Defend Negros Movement, 84 politically related homicide cases were reported from 2017 to 2019, wherein most of the cases have not been investigated. Dubbed as the “Negros Island killings”, the Commission of Human Rights expressed their concerns with the escalating number of the unsolved killings during the supervision of Sinas, eventually leading him to appear in front of a senate hearing on August 2019. After his stint as the police chief of the Philippine National Police Regional Office in Central Visayas, Sinas was promoted as the head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO). He began the deployment of “red teams” composed of policemen from Central Visayas where he previously worked, with the main objective of tracking down police officers doing leisure activities such as drinking and playing golf during the weekdays. He also initiated a weight loss program to combat obesity for overweight cops, stating that all police officers under the National Capital Region that are classified as Obese II and Obese III will be taught proper diet and exercise and should lose weight in 2 months. A “summer camp” will be held for intense weight loss activities and strict diet plans for the obese cops that would fail to lose weight in 2 months. The Philippine National Police commended their chief for the programs that he launched. Nevertheless, these programs were not widely applauded by most Filipinos. Recently, the PNP chief was involved yet again with a controversy right after becoming the talk of the town with the mañanita incident. On July 18, 2020, Sinas, together with 18 police officials, stormed the house of the Delos Santos family in Taguig City. The property was an old police compound, owned by the head of the family who was a retired policeman. The group harassed the family of 10 with the goal of evicting them from the property. The incident was caught in a CCTV footage which quickly went viral on social media. In addition, the cops were seen without masks on and were not practicing social distancing, a clear violation of protocols under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. An administrative case was filed against Sinas and the 18 police officials that were involved. Sinas only has a few months left in his position as the chief of the Philippine National Police since he is scheduled for retirement at the age of 56. As the current head of the national police force of the country, he still has a huge responsibility with his remaining months in service. His entire reputation has been shrouded with controversies and because of this, not everyone is pleased with the promotion given to him amidst the alleged violations and breach of protocols that he had over the course of his career. As he mentioned in his inauguration, police personnel should “walk the talk” when upholding the rule of law. Police Major Gen. Debold Sinas should remember that he is not an exemption. Hence, he should learn to apply it to himself because as they say, actions speak louder than words.