Newspeg: “… (F)ollowing criticism of the agency’s lack of a presence on Twitter and other social sites, (Phivolcs spokesperson Mylene) Villegas said that Phivolcs is already looking at the possibility of opening social media accounts, but added that this step needs to be studied and handled by the appropriate people.
(PHIVOLCS is the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the government agency in charge of studying and monitoring volcanic and seismic events and alerting the public on whether they should start evacuating, etc. — they don’t have a presence in the internet except for a website that crashed during last Friday’s earthquake)
“ Unlike other local government agencies like the MMDA and PAGASA —both of which are also focused on real-time monitoring and information dissemination— Phivolcs does not have an active presence on social media and lacks a dedicated team of social media personnel.
“ “Yung social media pinag-uusapan na yan (“As for social media, we are still deliberating on it…”), but we need to have a dedicated person to do that,” Villegas explained.” (gmanetwork.com and gmanews.tv)
“Needs to be studied”; “handled by appropriate people”; “we are still deliberating on it”; “we need a dedicated person”.
Seriously. Really.
During calamities, people rely on information for survival. In areas where the power is out, being able to access the social media thru mobile devices could be a matter of life and death.
Any staffmember authorized to speak for PHIVOLCS, and who can type 146 characters, can tweet, or can type tweets based on content given by PHIVOLCS officials. Even the spokesperson herself can be on Twitter in her capacity as PHIVOLCS official spokesperson, if PHIVOLCS itself as an agency does not want to be on Twitter. It takes ten minutes to set up a Twitter account.
Here’s your first tweet: “PHIVOLCS is now on Twitter.”
Here’s your second tweet: “More than 200 aftershocks have been recorded”
(i got that from gmanews.tv because i’m not a staffmember of Phivolcs ).
Here’s your third tweet: “Temblor was strong enough, magnitude 7 has energy like 32 Hiroshima atomic bombs – Phivolcs director”
(i got that from the inquirer.net because I didn’t interview the Phivolcs director).
Ang suggestion ko po ay (the suggestion is): Don’t wait for the next earthquake.
(Updated 2:50pm). Command posts. Rescue. Rubber boats & trucks needed. There are enough valiant and brave rescue personnel, not enough safe transport.
Update 2:50pm (from inquirer.net). You may get in touch with the “rescue command post” nearest you, if you or anyone you know, need/ needs assistance. See list below:
“MANILA, Philippines—The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has set up six advanced command posts across Metro Manila to expedite the rescue operations in affected areas.
“These are:
“1. MMDA Edsa Timog Base
Commander Ryan Castaneda 0947-8193135 and 0932-8447413
AOR: Whole QC
“2. MMDA Aurora Katipunan Base
Commander: Eduard Gonzales 0917-5875458
AOR: Pasig, Marikina
“3. Malabon City Hall
Commander: Ed Avan 09065129676
AOR; Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela
“4. South Base
ACP: MMDA Base Alabang Viaduct near Metropolis
Commander: Dir. Alex Umagat 0918-9486017
AOR: Muntinlupa, Paranaque, Las Pinas
“5. Gwapotel, Roxas Boulevard (near DPWH bldg)
Commander: Dir. Amante Salvador 09228102355
AOR: Manila
“6. Central base at thge MMDA Flood Control Information Center
Commander; Dir. Lydia Domingo 09163975798
AOR: San Juan, Pasay, Taguig, Pateros, Mandaluyong, Makati
Rescue operations on-going. Government does not have enough equipment. Corporations, organizations, construction companies, that have six-by-six trucks, rubber boats, etc., are being asked to lend their equipment to the NDRRMC. Lives can still be saved.
[Actually, in a life-and-death emergency, of apocalyptic proportions, e.g., if there were an Ondoy-like flooding, if thousands were being swept by strong currents, and would certainly drown or would be buried alive if not rescued, the government, upon just compensation to the parties concerned, could legally use the nearest private resources if it were the only way to save those lives… but only in those dire circumstances. That situation is not upon us and hopefully will never be. There is time. Voluntary assistance can save the day — and, in the long-term, having enough comfortable and habitable evacuation centers with provisions and toilets for preemptive evacuation, enough rescue equipment, trained personnel, and a disaster-prepared populace.]
To be fair, PAGASA (the weather bureau), local government units, and media organizations, gave us a three-to-four hour heads-up. GMA News announced the red warning a few minutes after the PAGASA tweet, ABS-CBN cast the widest net of field reporters 24 hours ago and had a non-stop coverage since then. Good job by these organizations.
We learned.
(Preemptive evacuation, a little better than those of previous floodings; can still be improved with completion of the Noah Project and construction of more habitable evacuation centers. Rescue operations — another matter. Strategic, long-term relocation, another matter.)
