The country is busy preparing for two events: the visit of Pope Francis in January 2015 and the International Eucharistic Congress in January of 2016. The pope is coming to comfort victims of typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban City and Palo, Leyte and has several engagements in Manila. Many Cebuanos were disappointed that His Holiness would skip Cebu and are praying hard that he would change his mind and decide to drop by Cebu City to say Mass.
For me, it is enough that the Pope will be visiting the Philippines. We must remember that in 2016, the IEC will be held in Cebu. We still have about one year to pray and lobby for the Pope to attend this great Catholic gathering.
It is already a blessing that Pope Francis will set foot in the Philippines next month. We have the opportunity to see him up close if we choose to go to Manila or Tacloban to attend the Mass that His Holiness will celebrate.
Another good news for Cebuanos is that our sinulog dance will be presented before the Pope. The Sandiego Dance Company was given the opportunity to teach the dance steps to six million people expected to attend the Mass at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park.
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I am happy that finally, the national government will fund new equipment for the Pagasa weather bureau especially since rougher storms are expected in the future.
In past years, people criticized Pagasa for its poor forecasts without considering that the weather station has been doing its best to provide service despite its inadequate equipment.
If we want the weather station to upgrade its forecasting capability, especially when it comes to the path of storms, providing them with world-class weather equipment is non-negotiable.
It is difficult to fathom why the national government has given generous financial assistance through the pork barrel to legislators but not to our very important weather station.
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Many are wondering why the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) called for volunteers to pack relief goods for victims of typhoon Ruby.
Apparently not enough heeded its call because there was still a shortage of volunteers.
The shortage may have been caused by physical exhaustion of those engaged in the massive repacking during the aftermath of Yolanda in 2013. Perhaps, people were also discouraged by negative reports about the repacking efforts of DSWD, especially on reports that some foreign donations didn’t reach the target beneficiaries or that the name of the DSWD was placed on some repacked imported goods.
Some people could no longer trust DSWD given its track record but I’d say that this perception was unfair. There is no question that the DSWD has been doing an exceptionally good job to fulfill to its mandate, though it had some imperfections along the way.
Let us give the DSWD another chance.
At the same time, we need people to continue their vigilance in watching the performance of the DSWD.
Remember, this institution plays a crucial role by leading implementation of pro-poor programs of the national government especially the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps, where cash assistance amounting to billions of pesos is given to indigent families.
The DSWD should account for the money coursed through the agency.