Philippine Democracy Online

By Menelito Mansueto Jr., co-editor  SuperTyphoon Odette, with winds reaching 270 kph, left a tremendous damage to the various provinces and regions of the Visayas and Northern Mindanao last December 16, 2021. The catastrophe has not only brought damage to properties and great suffering to thousands of victims, it also resulted to severe emotional, mental, and psychological stress as families now deal with death of loved ones and traumatic loss. Power and communication lines have been toppled and major cities hit by the typhoon are without water.  We enjoin all Filipinos as well as our foreign friends, to help in relief efforts. The people of Bohol, in particular, have been known to welcome tourists with their contagious smiles. But now they ask and plead for your kind-heartedness. Practically, many areas in Bohol have been damaged by the typhoon, especially Ubay, Alicia, and Loboc. What previously was an image of green vegetation in Bilar and Loboc town's Man-made Forest, and the

  Mr. Menelito Mansueto, a full-time faculty member of the Philosophy Department at Mindanao State University, is the co-editor of Philippine Democracy Online, a blog that publishes short essays and articles on Philippine democracy and politics, poverty and human rights, education and human development issues. The well-read blog was created by Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc in 2008 while studying in Europe and initially featured the writings of the late Dr. Romulo Bautista, co-founder of the Social Ethics Society.  Submissions (limited to 700 words) can be sent to migs_mansueto@yahoo.com.

Disasters and Ethics Natural disasters bring into clear view the inequalities of every society but any crisis is also an opportunity for every individual to engage in meaningful practices and acts of kindness. The ideal of the good points to the need for effective measures as well as the respect for the rights of people. A moral society has a compassion for those who are in difficult situations and the understanding of the duty of justice. Government efforts need the cooperation of the public and the private sector has to rise above its corporate goals to be in solidarity with society as it pursues the path toward recovery and sustainability. Why demand climate justice? The hardest hit are the poor who do not have safety nets nor property insurance schemes. They can only depend on government for any type of assistance. But one missing narrative here is the fact that unusual weather patterns and catastrophes are a result of the changing climactic conditions brought about by decades of e