Gov't told: Brace for typhoons Neneng and Ompong

Government should brace for typhoon Neneng instead of being focused on political storms. It should be able to distinguish between a tempest in a teacup involving a few and a Category 5 storm which may put millions in harm's way.

Communications-wise, what the public ought to hear is a steady stream of typhoon information not the gale-force rhetoric from some bully pulpit.

Government can begin by calling a command conference of all agencies in its national disaster body, where an order to help civilians weather a powerful storm and reduce human casualties is issued.

We are already reeling from the man-made calamity that is inflation and high prices of goods. A natural calamity like a typhoon has the potential of exacerbating our problems exponentially.

Typhoons can flood growing areas, damage planted crops, and render farm-to-market roads impassable--any of which can disrupt the supply chain and trigger temporary scarcity that will surely cause prices to rise.

We have been lucky to be spared of typhoons recently. This act of God of blessing us with good weather is what is preventing the problems caused by lack of good governance from tailspinning.

This is not to sound alarmist, but prevention and anticipation are better than denial. Because when a typhoon hits, it doesn't choose its targets based on their political affinity. There are no Yellows or DDS or Reds when calamity strikes.