1	Typhoon, Santi, lashes, through, Philippines,, underscores, need, serious, disaster, mitigation, plans

Typhoon Santi (international code name: Mirinae), the fourth superstorm to hit the Philippines in a month, lashed through the Southern Tagalog region Friday night, leaving at least 10 people dead and four missing, and a trail of damage in several provinces south of Manila.

Unlike what happened when Ondoy (Ketsana) hit the Philippines, the national and local governments appeared to be more prepared this time. (However, it is important to point out that the relief goods "pre-positioned" by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Malacanang appear to have come from donations intended for victims of the two previous strong typhoons.)

The reports of Santi's destruction have started to trickle in. According to the relief agency Southern Tagalog People's Response Center, Santi damaged 170 houses in Siniguelasan, Bacoor, Cavite. 

The STPRC also reported that at least 280 families in Lipa and Laurel towns in Batangas province are now calling for relief aid.

Another 284 houses were badly affected in Laguna, citing initial data from the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council.

These reports are actually no surprise because the eye of typhoon Santi passed through the very region that covers these three provinces.

Manila suffered minimal damages and residents of the nation's capital only had to endure the sheer terror of Santi's howling winds in the wee hours of Saturday.  Huge swaths of Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog also lost electric power as the combination of strong winds attacked power transformers.

That Metro Manila and Rizal was largely spared is good news. Portions of the national capital, Rizal and Laguna continue to remain flooded more than a month after Ondoy and authorities say the waters won't subside for several weeks more.

Filipino netizens again stepped up to the challenge Friday night, with many holding vigil and raring to surpass the splendid information-gathering and relief aid-raising work they have done since Ondoy. Gang Badoy twitted last night that RockEd Radio could hold an emergency radio broadcast if needed.

The challenge now is to gather information on the destruction wrought by Santi especially among the rural poor in Quezon, Batangas, Cavite and Laguna. It is doubtful that the humble dwellings of rural Filipinos could have endured the howler that was Santi. Relief aid efforts by citizens are normally quickest to the scenes of destruction and I hope that assistance indeed comes to Santi's survivors.

Santi, Pepeng and Ondoy are grim reminders of one of our national geographical characteristics that won't go away: We are on the path of storms that come from the Pacific. Thus, the Philippines cannot afford not to have a sensible disaster management and risk-reduction program. We cannot have only a few dozens rubber boats. We cannot allow government to remain incompetent and snail-paced when receiving, repacking and delivering relief aid. And we cannot allow ourselves to easily forgive and forget the accountability of those who failed to protect us, those who rammed down our throats so-called development projects that inundated entire provinces, those who permitted mass residential housing projects on unstable soil or along the natural path of floodwaters, those who continue to deprive the country of the most advanced tools for weather forecasting and disaster alerts.

Yes, we cannot stop storms and typhoons from passing through the country. But we can mitigate their effects. Let our "bayanihan" spirit -- that Filipino sense of community and solidarity in times of need -- which we saw offline and online, on Facebook, Twitter, Plurk and the blogs, at Megatent, Angel Brigade and the areas we brought relief aid, be our guide on what needs to be done and how to do it.

(The Southern Tagalog People's Response Center welcomes donations in cash or kind for victims of typhoons Santi and Ondoy across the region south of Manila. They may be reached through Kat at +639184560104.)