IN human society, and even in the animal kingdom, there exists an intrinsic desire to help one another, especially when the one being helped suffers considerable pain, hunger or disease.
The essence of assistance therefore is the innate desire in man to help his fellow in times of need, especially when human life is at stake. The people’s observance of this tradition is what makes us a caring and civilized community.
The simple act of distributing relief goods and emergency supplies to disaster areas during typhoons, earthquakes and pandemic crosses the line when it is done by politicians and political groups or volunteers who are rooting for certain candidates in the coming elections. This prompts us to question the intention behind these activities.
‘We commend these real heroes
of the recent natural calamity
that hit almost half of the country during the Christmas season. They showed the nation the real essence of what assistance should be.’
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who is not afraid to say what is in his mind and does not care whoever gets hurt, warned last week the politicians who are helping pandemic and calamity victims for personal gain.
“During a pandemic and after a calamity, two kinds of politics emerge — the politics of service helps the victims; the politics of interest helps the politicians,” the presidential aspirant said in a tweet. Lacson said that what the country needs is a politician whose help is “anchored on service, not one based on self-interest.”
Lacson stressed that when the cameras and photo ops stop and the victims are in danger of being forgotten, that’s when the real heroes emerge.
During the past typhoon disaster, government troops and personnel in the Philippine Air Force used two helicopters to deliver food and other supplies in far-flung areas in Palawan. The DPWH Quick Response Teams also worked overtime even on Christmas eve to clear national roads of mudslides and thus hasten the flow of emergency supplies on land. These people are the unknown and unheralded heroes of “Odette.”
We commend these real heroes of the recent natural calamity that hit almost half of the country during the Christmas season. They showed the nation the real essence of what assistance should be.
