Ignoring peril puts RP economy at risk—UNDP

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 07:08:00 10/14/2009

PARO, BHUTAN — The Philippines will immediately lose the economic gains it has made if it ignores disaster preparedness and management, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said Tuesday.

“Climate change is going to be a huge issue as well as the frequency of disasters in the Philippines,” said Ajay Chhibber, director of UNDP Asia and the Pacific, as he expressed concern about the devastation that “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” brought to the country.

“More resilience need to be built” in the Philippines, he said.

Chhibber said the country “has made very good economic progress” despite the global economic crisis.

But with the recent calamities, he cautioned that “many people have just escaped poverty and one disaster could throw them back. This is where I think more should be done.”

The UNDP official addressed a four-day conference on democracy organized by the UNDP and the Bhutan government which gathered some 200 delegates from all over Asia.

Bhutan, the landlocked Himalayan kingdom wedged between the politically dominant countries of China and India, has entered a new era of democracy, starting with its first national parliamentary elections which was completed in March 2008. King Jigme Singye Wangchuck ratified Bhutan’s first Constitution in July 2008.

Though it is still taking baby steps toward democracy, Bhutan can serve as a “role model” even for older democracies like the Philippines, especially in how the small nation is preserving nature. Edson C. Tandoc Jr

Mindanao ships 75 tons of bananas to Luzon for typhoon victims
By Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:26:00 10/13/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Members of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association based in Mindanao shipped 75 tons of bananas as food relief for typhoon victims in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

PBGEA member Betty Francia said in a phone interview that 7,500 boxes of bananas (at 10 kilos per box) were shipped to Luzon in two batches.

PBGEA earlier said in a statement that members Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc., Sumifru, Lapanday Foods, F.S. Dizon and Sons, AM Soriano group, Marsman-Drysdale and Unifrutti donated the bananas.

A total of eight 20-footer container vans and 14 10-footer vans had arrived in Manila as of the weekend with the help of Solid Shipping Lines Corp. and Aboitiz Transport System Corp.

The shipments were endorsed to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, which will repack and distribute the fruit to typhoon victims.

PBGEA said its members decided to ship export-quality bananas in response to reports that evacuation centers lack fresh food for ready eating.

Reports have said the centers are so saturated with instant noodles that evacuees say it's "coming out of their ears."

Fruits and vegetables may also be harder to come by in wet markets supplying evacuation centers as high value crops from Central and Northern Luzon were lost to floods or cannot be immediately delivered due to landslides in major roads.

"Even relief workers can benefit from the energy-boosting fruit. Athletes are known to consume bananas when they are competing to boost their energy levels. Bananas consist mainly of sugars and fiber, which makes them ideal for an immediate and slightly prolonged source of energy," PBGEA said.