THE February 22 earthquake in New Zealand was still making newspaper headlines when March 11 happened. The Philippines, along with other nations, rushed to the aid of Japan as it reeled from the most destructive natural disasters it had suffered in decades, which also majorly damaged a nuclear plant. This early, the
9.0-magnitude quake is being described as “the world’s costliest natural disaster,” even as the physical and economic toll continues to rise as the days go by.
Lopez Group chairman emeritus Oscar M. Lopez (OML), in his blog entry dated March 21, observed: “Tragedies like this unite people from all nations as we all face the unfolding drama not as Japanese or Filipino or American but as one humanity. [Japan’s] pain and suffering is also the world’s as we have all viewed the transpiring events, of giant waves wiping out whole villages, with the same horror and sense of helplessness.” OML urged readers to share their ideas on how to help the people of Japan, in consonance with the Lopez values of unity, social justice and nationalism. Incidentally, our chairman emeritus is marking his 81st birthday on April 19. Happy birthday, OML!
We take our hats off to
Amb. Manuel M. Lopez for his and the Philippine Embassy’s swift response to our Japan-based compatriots’ cry for assistance in the wake of the twin disasters. Amb. Lopez, who took office only a couple of months ago, nevertheless acted with admirable authority and dispatch in locating or relocating hundreds of our countrymen to safety. He reiterated his commitment “to serve the needs of Filipinos in Japan.” An estimated 225,000 Filipinos are based in Japan.
ABS-CBN, too, helped ease the worries of thousands of our countrymen when it set up its Kapamilya Helpline several hours after the temblor and tsunami struck. As of this writing, more than 2,000 individuals have emailed the site to ask for help in locating their family members and friends in Japan;
Kapamilya Helpline also extends assistance to those with relatives in the Middle East. Comments like “Thank you very much for your help! It is because of you that I was able to contact my mom and thank God she’s okay. Continue the good work and more power. You really are a Kapamilya” surely strike a chord with anyone who has loved ones in distant places (and that’s most of us Filipinos).
On March 24, Myanmar was rocked by a 6.8-magnitude quake. Almost a hundred people were killed by what CNN described as a “relatively shallow quake, which can be very destructive.” We pray for Myanmar even as we reiterate that the Philippines needs to be on alert for The Big One. The warnings have been out as early as the 2000s, and while we can’t be 100% prepared for it—there is after all still no technology that can predict when quakes will strike—we can at least educate and prepare ourselves and our loved ones.
Eduard Santos best summed up what the
Lopez values mean to him when he wrote that he considers his colleagues as kapamilya, treating them with compassion and understanding. The engineer from SKYCable, OML’s pick for Lopez values star in a contest he ran on his blog last month, had lunch with the chairman emeritus—and received his very own copy of “
OML@80”—on March 25 along with the seven other finalists.
Let us take the opportunity offered by the coming Holy Week to contemplate the momentous events of the last few months—political unrest, violence, displacements, the series of natural calamities, and the staggering number of human lives that have been lost. Let us continue to pray for the quake-stricken nations; let us pray for the countries in the Middle East that host our kapamilyas; and let us pray and work together for a country that can, finally, provide financial and emotional security for those who were forced by recent events to return home.