As I write this, relief have been pouring into Odette affected Visayas and Mindanao provinces. I thank you all for the love given to the Visayas and Mindanao, and commend all those both in government and the private sector who have helped local communities prepare for the supertyphoon’s onslaught.
What needs to be remembered though, is that being a disaster prone country, this will not be the last calamity, and further preparation and advanced cooperation between government and private sectors to make sure that disaster preparedness to minimize loss of life and property, and resume economic activities ASAP. This ability of individuals, households and businesses to bounce back quickly from the effects of a disaster is resilience.
You will recall that the last two years have seen various disasters in the country, from the successive earthquakes in October and November 2019 in southern Mindanao, to the Taal volcano eruption that already affected a major part of our economy as well used up major parts of our face masks prior to the pandemic. Towards the end of 2020, typhoon Ulysses lashed Luzon, hurting our agriculture sector’s late year and early 2021 harvests which in turn, affected our food supply.
Thus the lesson I see here is that intensified cooperation will need to be done at the local level to further achieve the preparation objectives of Republic Act 10121 passed in 2010 that created the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC). What needs to be done is more intensive preparation at the level of our households, in terms of go bags and back up food and water supplies even before storms hit. This is where private sector encouragement through community organizations, business and church groups will help with matters like preemptive evacuations, crop insurance, pre-positioning of relief supplies and helping each and everyone stock up essentials in case power and water outages are expected.
Thankfully, another disturbance threatening to enter the country on Christmas dissipated. As this neared, the term Low Pressure Area (LPA) evokes a lot of concern. Satellite technologies available to us and the government agencies such as the DOST’s PAGASA are helping us prepare long before they enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
More reflections on a drive through Mindanao's roads
As I continue my drive through this corridor between bustling Iligan and Cagayan de Oro I wonder how much more investment and employment opportunities can be achieved with proposed economic reforms that can open the economy to more sectors.
We can safely say that the entire corridor covering the Misamis provinces, Lanao del Norte and Bukidnon compose the economic heart of northern Mindanao. Boosting growth and opportunity to other areas of the Misamis provinces including the city of Gingooog, Oroquieta, Ozamis and Lanao del Norte will be crucial in expanding further growth, recovery and income opportunities.
A particular reform I have been reflecting on is the spread of safe and licensed digital banking to encourage more investment income for locals, even OFWs. Having good yielding funds parked will help them accumulate capital they can use to drive small business and recover. This is key to expanding financial inclusion, and lessening the possibility of financial scams.
Another is the liberalized entry of foreign capital into sectors that need investments. On top of reforms in place such as the CREATE Law, the innovation act and the Personal Property Security Act, I will expect these bustling regions to intensify their economic activities to attract many of their children home.