Selective post-quake visits

Where were you when the earthquake struck Tuesday morning? The 7.2-magnitude quake rocked Central Visayas with its epicenter in the town of Carmen town in Bohol province.

My wife and I were having breakfast at home. I felt the earth shaking until it became more vigorous that the son of our former helper hid under the table and our helper ran out of the house. I stayed in my chair thinking there was no need to fear that my bungalow house would collapse.

I switched on my car radio for news since there was a power outage. I thought that after all that shaking, it was over. But many like me were unprepared for the series of aftershocks that disturbed our homes. As of today, more than 170 persons died in the earthquake with 15 still missing in Bohol and hundreds injured.

Many bridges in Bohol were damaged and some roads are still impassable. In Cebu City the belfry of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niñno collapsed and the Cebu City Medical Center has been declared unsafe for occupancy. In Bohol, we lost centuries-old churches in Baclayon and Loboc towns which were totally damaged.

Aftershocks continue to be felt, making fearful residents stay outside buildings especially during the evening. Today I urge our people to continue to pray to God the Father to protect us from further calamity. Those who have given up praying should return to prayer as the best weapon to protect us from harm.

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President Benigno Aquino III visited earthquake-damaged provinces of Cebu and Bohol. We were so happy he inspected the stricken areas and mobilized the government to help. But what was sad about the visit was the partisan politics that colored the event. In Cebu, Aquino was accompanied by local allies. Gov. Hilario Davide III escorted him, naturally because he’s chief executive of Cebu province. But in Cebu City, Aquino was accompanied in his rounds by former congressman Tomas Osmeña and not Mayor Mike Rama, who was nowhere to be found.

Partisan politics explains why Aquino ignored the Cebu city mayor and instead showed up in quake-damaged areas of local allies of the Liberal Party, like the Mandaue city public market and the Capitol compound.

Party considerations should have been set aside in the face of this natural tragedy. The president’s visit in Cebu city left a bad impression. We are still hopeful that President Aquino would return and show proper protocol in asking the mayor to join him in his visits to areas affected by the earthquake.

Now the call of the hour is to work together to restore order in places hit by the earthquake. We need the valuable aid of the national government for Cebu and Bohol provinces to get back on their feet.