The firestorm of jokes and furor that greeted assistant secretary Margaux Uson’s erroneous location of Mount Mayon now needs to give way to attention to those who are enduring the consequences of the volcanic eruption.
Uson apologized for situating the active volcano in Naga City rather than in Albay while still trying to save face after receiving a much-pilloried award for government service from some alumni of the University of Santo Tomas.
Public backlash following the twin gaffes was understandable. Government officials like Uson cannot but be held to higher standards than everyone else both for ensuring the accuracy of their utterances and for deserving the trophies they bring home.
We hope that the assistant secretary has learned an unforgettable lesson on upholding the dignity of her office. We hope, too, that the concerned alumni association has remembered that honor first belongs to the body that confers it for it to keep intact through the selection of unassailable honorees.
Meanwhile, we Filipinos must exercise greater caution in responding to public spectacles, no matter how outrageous they are, lest they divert our attention from more significant matters.
Energy spent on the question of Uson’s undeserved award may have unfortunately stolen time for discernment about the plot of presidential allies to foist federalism and charter change on our nation.
Similarly, the spotlight on Uson’s moving of Mayon should now be turned to the area surrounding it if we are to avoid a humanitarian disaster rivaling Mount Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991 that killed at least 722 people.
At least 81,000 persons have fled the perilous zone within 9 kilometers around Mayon and they are starting to feel the hardship of living in evacuation centers due to conditions like the dearth of toilets.
Officials of the Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) predict that life will remain uncertain for evacuees for at least three months since Mayon’s ongoing activity is likely a prelude to a major eruption.
With summer still moons away, the specter of devastating mudflows or lahar on the heels of rainfall on Mayon and its environs cannot be exorcised.
As faith communities resort to prayers like the “Oratio Imperata” (mandatory prayer) to stave off calamities amid Mayon’s unrest, organizations such as Caritas and Red Cross have issued appeals for aid for survivors in cash or in kind. We must help.
At the same time, discourse on and offline should be mindful of those who suffer. If the beautiful night shots of fiery Mayon tell us anything, it is that we, pygmies to Mother Nature, must recollect our solidarity with one another to alleviate the pain of the needy. The alternative is to persist in small talk and thereby foment disaster by commission and omission.
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