Former Socio-economic Planning Secretary (during the Cory administration) Winnie Monsod makes a detailed and thought-provoking analysis of what went wrong with the handling of the Ondoy incident.
The main points of her analysis are:
- The government could have brought/upgraded Pagasa’s doppler radars. Comparing the cost of the doppler radar to each congressman’s (representative) “pork barrel” (Countrywide Development Fund) and the cost of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s foreign trips.
- The NDCC was ill-prepared to handle the incident.
- The government did not heed the call of urban planners which allowed people to occupy flood-prone, low-lying areas citing Marikina Valley as an example.
- People who wanted to save their cars blocked critical paths which prevented rescue teams from reaching flood victims.
- Some people did not heed the call to evacuate because they fear that their properties might be looted or simply “lacked faith in government to provide security.”
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