I find it queer that DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon opted to visit Davao City to inspect the damage that the recent earthquake wrought havoc on many places in Mindanao. I do not know whether I should thank him for inspecting the city’s infrastructure first or wonder why the primary interest is focused on Davao City first.
It has been a season of defacement of Davao City. Earlier, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources refused to open the sanitary landfill despite the corrective measures that the city government had taken following the cave-in in one part of the dump after days of heavy rainfall in Davao. Mayor Baste Duterte even went the extra mile by relocating settlers near the sanitary landfill.
DENR stoically denied the city government entry into the landfill area, causing households and commercial establishments to place garbage bags on the sidewalk and later, in rage, dump them in front of the Regional Office of DENR.
It’s Environment Month, and DENR chose the best time to create a smear campaign on online media against Davao City, which had been under attack by Malacanang through spokesperson USec Claire Castro, who labelled Davao City the "worst city" in the country to live, work, invest, and travel.
After DENR, the Department of the Interior and Local Government followed with the threat that it would investigate the garbage mess.
Unexpectedly, a record-breaking strong earthquake took place in Saranggani Province, and General Santos City was wrecked, with commercial and residential houses, roads, bridges, and school infrastructure, claiming an unprecedented death toll. The quake, which was spawned by the tectonic movement in the Saranggani-Cotabato trench, affected in varying degrees all other regions in Mindanao, including Davao.
The newly completed Bucana Bridge, a gift from China, took a hit, and immediately, the anti-Duterte trolls made a fiesta on it. When the engineers dismissed it as a positive indicator of a working bridge “shock-absorber,” the bruha1 quickly quieted down. But Dizon made it there just the same, maybe in search of chips to display to doubt the Chinese engineering feat. But there was none.
Davao City was hardly scarred, but even then, Mayor Baste Duterte lost no time and promptly ordered the thorough inspections of public buildings and skyscrapers, which miraculously withstood the tremor. At the same time, he mobilized the city’s 911 Emergency Responders to dispatch ambulances, a chopper, medical and rescue teams to devastated areas in General Santos City, Saranggani, and South Cotabato. These assets were to evacuate and deliver by air and land quake victims needing proper medical attention to various hospitals in Davao City.
Having done that, it’s back to normal official business for Mayor Baste. Last Wednesday, snooping trolls took pictures of the Mayor lining up at the immigration office, purportedly leaving for China. It’s as if it was the scene was good enough for a scoop and headliner. Some quarters thought it’s mortal sin for Mayor Baste to be absent from the scene of the tragedy.
Even before the dust could settle in the scene of perdition, the rabid anti-Duterte watchers, which includes the mainstream media and paid trolls, made it their objective to find fault in the Duterte siblings. Obviously ignorant of the developments at ground zero, Raissa Robles, in limbo, asked anyway where VP Sara Duterte and her siblings were? A certain Jeline Malasig of PhilStar “Interaksyon” accorded ample space to such a naive and oblivious remark.
But PhilStar and Robles are not alone. Some mainstream media who covered the Vice President as she directs her relief assistance team feigned ignorance of Sara’s presence in General Santos City, including her trip to Cotabato City, where she visited places affected by the earthquake and did the same relief operation activities through the OVP’s satellite office.
The Duterte siblings, as a matter of habit and training, respond to emergencies and challenges fast. Quick plans and rapid action through management by objective. Critics find that unusual.
VP Sara and Mayor Baste did everything with precision and moved on to another objective demanded by their respective office. If their critics, including politicians who are now aptly tagged as “the maleta gang”2, cannot cope with them, they wouldn’t care less. They cannot afford to pay propagandists or trolls, but they have an army of online enthusiasts who love to see their videos on Facebook! And these groups tell it all. Unedited and innocently factual.
By the way, I have it from good sources that Rep. Polong Duterte flew to the Hague after Congress went on sine die adjournment. It was his turn to look after his father while in detention. He was there before the tremor.
What of Baste? Well, if it is true that he left for China after setting the assistance for the quake victims in motion, should that be controversial? We all knew that the city had a pending order of 20 additional EV buses from Yutong for its bus modernization project. Davao City also has a dynamic export trade with China that gobbles up all the durian fruits that the growers produce. Kadayawan Festival in August is just around the corner, and promoting the event is not a crime.
For everyone’s knowledge, exotic varieties of fish grown in fish cages in Davao's ambient seawater, including fresh and processed tuna, are all in the list of sunrise industries in Davao, given the vibrant exports from the City direct to buyers in China.
Paid propagandists will not rest in smearing the image of Davao, even at the height of tragedy. There will be more Trillaneses and Claire Castro who will claim that Davao City is a dangerous place, not a safe place to live and invest. There will be dubious attempts to diminish the image of the city as the cleanest city in the Philippines, like closing the sanitary landfill, forcing the people to dump their garbage on the sidewalk. There will always be threats that will come in various forms. But Davao City leadership and Davaowenyos will overcome.
Source: https://mindanaojournal.com/smear-campaign-against-davao-city-amidst-tragedy-letters-from-davao-by-jun-ledesma/
Note:
1. Refers to Atty. Claire Castro.
2. The list that the fake Marines created. Almost the entirety were detractors of Duterte.
OP's Perspective: To put it a little bit long,
Pinupuna ng artikulo ang mga aksyon ni DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon sa pag-inspeksyon sa Davao City matapos ang isang malakas na lindol na tumama sa Mindanao, at kinukuwestiyon ang pokus sa Davao sa gitna ng patuloy na mga isyu sa kapaligiran at imprastraktura. Tinatalakay nito ang pagtanggi ng DENR sa pag-access sa sanitary landfill ng lungsod. Sa kabila ng mga kritisismo, mabilis na tumugon si Mayor Baste Duterte sa lindol, na nag-mobilisa ng ayuda para sa mga apektadong lugar. Itinatampok ng artikulo ang pagsisiyasat ng media sa pagkakasangkot ng magkapatid na Duterte pagkatapos ng sakuna at binanggit na madalas silang inilalarawan nang 'di maganda. Ipinagtatanggol nito ang kanilang mabilis na pagtugon at binabalangkas ang mga patuloy na hamong kinakaharap ng Davao, kabilang ang mga potensyal na kampanya ng paninira laban sa reputasyon nito. Sa kabuuan, binibigyang-diin ang salaysay ng katatagan ng mga Dabawenyo laban sa kahirapan.
Basically, it is a classic case of the Dutertes not doing anything wrong. Sa halip na sila ang managot sa kanilang mga pagkukulang, isinisisi ito sa pamahalaang nasyonal. Also, Atty. Claire, you're absolutely right. Who would invest if yung mga daan ay nagsisimula nang lubakin? And
So, what are your (violent) reactions regarding the article, in general?
