WORLD LEADERS SEND SYMPATHIES /
STARLET 'JOKES' WOW P-NOY AT PARTY
MANILA,
DECEMBER 21, 2011 (GMA-NEWS TV) As the death toll
from tropical storm Sendong (Washi) neared 700 Monday afternoon, several world
leaders expressed their sympathy for the Filipinos who were affected by the
tragedy.
In a letter to President Benigno Aquino III, French President Nicolas
Sarkozy conveyed France's solidarity with the Philippines during this trying
time.
"I would like to express my deep sympathy, and to convey to you, on behalf of
the French people as well as on my personal behalf, my sincerest condolences for
the many victims of this catastrophe. My thoughts are also with the families of
those persons who are still missing," he said.
United Kingdom Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne, a recent visitor, also
conveyed his condolences to those affected by the severe flooding, considered
one of the worst in the country in 12 years.
"The loss of life caused by flooding in the Philippines is tragic. I visited
the Philippines earlier this month and know how keenly this loss will be felt by
all its people. I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families
and friends of those affected. My thoughts are with them and the Government of
the Philippines as they lead the recovery work," he said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, for his part, also sent a
message to Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario to express
his "heartfelt sympathy" to the lives lost and damage caused by Sendong.
"Minister Gemba extended his deepest condolences to the bereaved and his best
wishes for the speedy alleviation of the suffering of the affected people as
well as for the full restoration in the areas damaged by this calamity. Minister
Gemba also expressed that Japan will spare no effort in providing necessary
assistance and cooperation for rehabilitation of affected people and areas,"
said the message.
As of 3:30 p.m., the number of fatalities from Sendong was at 684, according
to National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) head Benito
Ramos. — Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News
FROM GETREALPHILIPPINES
BLOG
http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2011/12/valerie-concepcion-allegedly-wows-pnoy-as-sendong-strikes-mindanao/comment-page-1/
Valerie Concepcion allegedly wows PNoy as Sendong strikes
Mindanao December 19, 2011 By benign0
The last thing a nation needs in time of extreme crisis is more
political intrigue.
It seems however, that the administration of President Benigno "Noynoy"
Aquino III simply attracts that scourge of useless chatter and even fans its
flames.
The other night as, reportedly, "the nation mourns", Noynoy was apparently
busy "laughing at [the] jokes" and "enjoying [the] performance" of Filipino
starlet Valerie Concepcion even as the death toll from Typhoon Sendong climbed
to more than 400 in Cagayan de Oro City.
Concepcion using her Twitter account @v_concepcion allegedly fielded the
following tweet conveying the above information last Sunday (which had
apparently since been deleted)…
Done w/ work.. Tnx for having me.. It was nice to see Pres. P-Noy laughing
at my jokes & enjoying my performance..ü #Malacañang #PSGNight
Concepcion who is known best for her role as Nora Ferrer in Sinasamba Kita (a
Filipino telenovela) and for co-hosting in the Willie Revillame classics Wowowee
and Pilipinas Win na Win also supposedly owns a franchise of water refilling
station chain Aquaquest.
The circumstances surrounding the whereabouts of President Noynoy Aquino
during the disaster is shaping into yet another public relations snafu for the
embattled Second Aquino Administration as the public becomes increasingly
critical of Noynoy's rather lukewarm response to the tragedy.
Shortly after news of the carnage in northern Mindanao broke, the National
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) had revealed to the
press that the President "may" visit the site of the disaster "shortly after
Christmas". The statement has since been "clarified" by the NDRRMC with an
apology that mentions a "typographical error"…
"Please note that on item no. 5 which states that 'Presidential inspection
and visit to affected communities in Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City on
Tuesday 27 December 2011′ should be TUESDAY 20 DECEMBER 2011.
We apologize for the typographical error and for the confusion this may have
caused," NDRRMC operations center head Edgardo Ollet said in a message posted on
the NDRRMC website Sunday afternoon.
I can hear heads rolling in the distance…
The Emperor Nero Syndrome of Filipino politicians, to be fair, is not unique
to Noynoy Aquino.
Back in 2009, a photo of what looked like presidential offspring Mikey Arroyo
seemingly shopping for booze in a swanky shopping centre as Typhoon Ondoy made
its deadly sweep across the national capital emerged and got passed around.
Like Noynoy's own Nero moment, that one also sparked the all-too-familiar Net
infestation of expressions of "indignation" that has come to characterise the
Philippines' chattering classes.
Noynoy's probable hand in the scale of the tragedy in northern Mindanao could
arguably be traced back to his veto of an additional Php5 billion allocation to
the Philippines' Calamity Fund which may have been done in violation of the
Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 (R.A. 10121).
That said, death from "natural" disasters in the Philippines is mainly a
systemic issue with much of the factors at play coming from a wide range of
dysfunction profoundly inherent to the Philippines.
At the top of this pile is a renowned mentality that encourages deference to
superstition and "divine" intervention. The result is a national ethic that does
not encourage prioritisation of preventive measures while, at the same time,
rewards and lionises the exploits of "heroes" who swoop in to save the day when
preventable catastrophes do happen.
[NB: Some information in this article was obtained
from the Wikipedia article "Valerie Concepcion".]
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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