Typhoon Pablo casualty could hit 1400+ as Filipinos mourn Pacquiao defeat

December 10, 2012

by benign0

The casualty toll in the aftermath of Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) could reach more than 1,400 which is almost equal to the carnage wrought by Typhoon Sendong (Washi) in 2011. According to recent reports, the human toll is rising as search-and-rescue efforts to recover the missing drag on…

The toll from the powerful typhoon that swept through the southern Philippines last Tuesday has reached 620 while the number of missing people also risen to 817, authorities said Sunday.

According to Benito Ramos, executive director of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), they were not giving up hope of recovering more survivors as the search, rescue, and retrieval operations were being carried out, Xinhua reported.

As if to punctuate the dismal attention imperial Manila has for so long applied to the plight of Mindanao folk, news of the unexpected defeat of Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao in the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez hogged prime front page real estate in the top online media outlets of the country. The Inquirer.net called the “stunning” outcome a “calamity in Las Vegas” while commenters hinted at a possible “national day of mourning” in honour of the fallen hero of “Pinoy Pride”…

[Image captured from Inquirer.net front page on the 10th Dec 2012 1630H AEDST.]

…while stories on this “calamity” dominated not only news but opinion pieces in the ABS-CBN News website.

[Image captured from ABS-CBN News front page on the 10th Dec 2012 1630H AEDST.]

The scale to which Filipinos have lost perspective and got their priorities screwed is astounding. And it is all reflected in what were once considered to be the “heroes” of all that is purported to be good about this sad Republic — the Philippine Media.

The irony that seems to escape die-hard Pacquiao “mourners” is that it is in defeat that Pacquiao exhibited character that his fans could truly be proud of. “I want to congratulate Juan Manuel. I have no excuses. It was a good fight and he deserved the victory,” Pacquiao said in his official statement to the media.

No excuses.

It is the most valuable of insights that Filipinos, in keeping with their renowned reputation as chronic point-missers, that are routinely lost in Philippine society.