On July 24, big parts of Luzon were hit by extreme rainfall caused by the seasonal monsoon and typhoon Carina. This resulted in flooding and landslides in Metro Manila and in neighboring regions. Entire communities have been devastated, with about 600,000 people displaced and 21 people dead.
Just before the flooding, Marcos Jr. boasted during his State of the Nation Adress (SONA) that 5,500 flood projects had been completed. However these ‘projects’ have proven to be useless in protecting the workers, peasants, and urban poor who are hit the hardest by the floodings. Such infrastructure projects, often funded by foreign aid, are implemented not to necessarily be up to standards and respond to the people’s needs but as milking cows for the comprador ruling classes of the Philippines. As the Philippines is plagued by different socio-political crises that leaves workers without jobs and meager wages; and peasants without land to till due to monopoly of land ownership by the the few landlords; and infrastructure projects as businesses for government officials, the Filipino people are made vulnerable to the effects of natural occurrences like typhoons and flooding like what typhoon Carina has brought recently.
Moreover, as the US-Marcos regime is busy serving the US by allowing the Philippines to be a launching pad for its war provocations against China and giving them more space for US bases in the country, and as the regime continues to use most needed resources in military expenses to implement a counterinsurgency program patterned after the US COIN, the Filipino people are left to suffer from lack of a national disaster response and rehabilitation program.- Historically, the Filipino people in struggle have taken steps to establish community-based disaster response teams and in coordination and cooperation with NGOs, institutions and solidarity forces, they have implemented all-rounded disaster response and rehabilitation programs in their areas of responsibility.
Thus, as Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle, we call upon all peoples of the world to support the Filipino people in struggle during these trying times by giving direct donations for relief and rehabilitation efforts. Let us help the Filipino masses, support their struggle and their efforts for a comprehensive disaster response and rehabilitation!
Donate here:
Bank of the Philippine islands
Account name: Consortium for People’s Development – Disaster Response Inc.
Account Number: 9594-0027-81
SWIFT Code: BOPIPHMM