The national and local governments should be accountable for what happened to the victims of Sendong. Dapat merong mananagot. That's one of the principles of good governance. And the barangay and city officials and P-Noy, being the chairman of the Climate Change Commission, are the primary duty bearers.
It is not enough to explain the disaster, like attribute it partly to the complacency of the ordinary citizens. It is not hard to see why complacency, poor city planning, proliferation of urban slums, destructive mining, and deforestation are factors that increase people's vulnerability to disasters. That is why in 2009, P-noy signed into law the Climate Change Act that mandates the national and local governments to formulate and implement Local Climate Change Action Plans. But where are the plans?
Governor Joey Salceda of Albay has shown the way to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. P-noy should start watching the performance of his former classmate rather than that of Valerie Conception (no pun intended).
