"Heckuva job, Brownie" was an off-hand, careless comment by a careless in-over-his-head President. The comment would later define the disconnect between reality and wishful thinking in the Bush administration during and post Katrina.
The judgment of the American people was swift and brutal. Many reputations were ruined. Michael Brown (Brownie), the head of the Federal Emergency Management Authority, was finished. The governor of Louisiana at the time, Kathleen Blanco, was one of the high-profile election casualties. The Bush legacy was writ: this was either the worst President in history, or one of the top two worsts. The Moving Finger writes...
The American electorate is unforgiving. Sure they will forgive some corruption, some dalliance (as in the Monica Lewinsky saga), even some incompetence (as in the Bay of Pigs). But they will not forgive incompetence that results in the loss of American lives.
Contrast that to what is going on in the Philippines right now and you have an idea of why the Philippines is the way it is. There is no outrage. People drowned. People lost all their possessions. People are sick from the outbreak of a diarrhea epidemic. Yet, life goes on. No one, it seems, is held accountable for the inadequate, even non-existent government response to the floodings and mudslides that buried whole villages. Gossip about some people's incompetence is the only catharsis for the people because no heads are rolling.
No one is scandalized by the President of the Philippines going before the whole world begging for donations. Where did the disaster relief funds go? Wasn't there a budget for disaster relief in the President's 2008-2009 national budget?
True, some journalists are calling for accountability. But few Filipinos, apparently, are listening. Ondoy and Pepeng will soon become a distant memory, and no one will be held accountable for the wrong decisions that were made during and after Ondoy and Pepeng. No one will be held accountable for the failure of the infrastructure to keep the flooding at a minimum and keep most of Metro Manilans safe from the raging rivers which were once paved streets.
I remember studying Insurance Law in college in the Philippines. In law, natural disasters were called "Acts of God." In the U.S., of course, they are called natural disasters because that is what they are. But in the Philippines, they are known - maybe not exclusively anymore - as acts of God.
If in fact natural disasters are acts of God, then there is no defense against them. It would then be wrong to build infrastructure that works properly because that would save lives. If God intends to drown people by flooding the streets, then it would be wrong to prevent such floodings by building sewers that work properly and dredging rivers to make sure that water empties properly into the rivers and eventually out to sea. Because that would be going against the will of God.
That is the significance of the term "acts of God." Because we think of the wrath of nature as acts of God, we think that the proper response is to pray to God to keep our loved ones and ourselves safe.
It never enters our mind, or if it does, we don't dwell on the fact that catastrophic flooding occurs when the people charged with our safety do not do an adequate job. We do not entertain the thought that some of the people we voted for neglected protecting us from harm when biblical soakers like Ondoy pour billions of gallons of water on our communities.
We do not blame our elected officials because we made a compact with them. In exchange for P500 on election day, and the promise that they will give us or our relative a stand-up and flying pigeon job in government, we will continue to vote for them election after election.
The question of competence or governance never enters the equation. Politics is all local, the saying goes. I would hasten to add: in many cases, it is personal. To hell with the country, with my community, I will vote for and support whoever will give me money or a job, or will sponsor my daughter's wedding.
No one will be held accountable for the flooding of Metro Manila or the mudslides in Benguet in 2009. The Filipino Brownies, Blancos and Bushes will appear on TV and get praised for their efforts. Not the results, mind you, but the efforts.
When will Filipinos finally realize that the ballot is a sacred trust? When will they finally stop to think before committing to vote for and support the candidacy of someone who may be long on popularity but short on qualifications? Or someone who may be long on qualifications but short on genuine concern for the people they were elected to serve?
Natural disasters are not acts of God. God will never intentionally drown people, bury them in mud or the rubble of a building destroyed by an earthquake. Natural disasters happen all the time in countries like the Philippines because of their geography.
The leaders we have elected over the years, including and especially the current crop of elected public officials, have all been charged with our safety. Elected officials cannot excuse themselves by saying that flood control and emergency management are not their direct duties.
They are all at fault. All public officials who are on the take, who siphon off government funds for their personal use are all guilty in the cosmic order because they take money that could be used to finance flood control and mudslides-prevention infrastructure projects, not to mention the purchase of enough boats for rescue missions and the construction of shelters for those displaced by the rising waters.
Those who are not on the take but are silent in the face of all the theft of public funds that are going on under their noses are guilty as enablers, though some admittedly may be excused for their silence because of implicit threats to their physical well-being and their loved ones'.
In most countries, where the people expect good governance, in the aftermath of an Ondoy and Pepeng natural disaster the electorate would be in a screaming-mad mood these days. They would be demanding a complete change, a period of cleaning house. Not so in the Philippines, where people do not understand that they are the employers of the public servants that they elect every election cycle. As their employers, the Filipino people can fire these public servants on the next Election Day.
And that is what I urge every Filipino to do. Fire nearly every incumbent elected official seeking re-election in May, 2010. Fire all of them that you honestly feel have been corrupt, incompetent or both. Obviously, there are some politicians who are the exceptions. The good ones must be re-elected as a reward for their good governance and also to encourage them to do even better in their next term.
My guess is that 20% of elected public officials are probably doing a good job. Don't ask me how I came to this conclusion. The 80-20 rule has been around for a long time and is universal in its recognition and acceptance. Fact is, 20% of the people are doing 80% of the good job in society, the rest, 80%, are either doing only 20% of the work or not doing anything good or may even be doing some harm.
If we as a society clean house in May, 2010, my guess is that 20% of incumbents will be re-elected.
I appeal to every reader of this blog to spread the word: Clean house in May, 2010. Vote for the new candidates. Do not re-elect the incumbent. It is a matter of life or death.
