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Statement on Media Role in the Coverage on the Wake of Typhoon Frank
July 12, 2008
An Appeal for Assistance for Media Practitioners in the typhoon-raved Panay Island in the Philippines
Nenita Hobilla of the television network GMA was in the middle of an out-of-town coverage on the flash flood on the wake of Typhoon Frank (international codename Fengshen) last June 21 when she remembered her two children back in Iloilo City. She could not do anything amid the rising waters so she asked her colleague, Gerthrode Tan-Baterina to save them. But the floodwaters claimed Baterina’s vehicle and she was forced to climb up a tree to save herself from drowning. Hobilla’s children were found safe later.
Arnold Almacen, photographer of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Daily Headlines, rushed out of their house in Jaro District before it was claimed by floodwaters. He was only able to save his prized possession, his digital camera, that he used to document the destruction brought by floodwaters in Iloilo City and many towns in Iloilo province.
Iloilo City and Province as well as the rest the central Philippine island of Panay have experienced unprecedented destruction when Typhoon Frank dumped heavy rains that caused massive flooding of many towns, barangays (villages) and communities. The destruction was numbing as houses, farms, schools, bridges and other public works were submerged or carried away by rampaging waters. People have died and hundreds were swept away by the strong current. The aftermath of the flooding saw these areas buried in deep mud, leaving hundreds of families homeless.
The Office of Civil Defense reported that at least 342 persons died during the typhoon in the Western Visayas region alone. Around 290 are still missing and 886 were injured.
The flooding affected around 2,545 villages and 417,399 families or 2,094,105 persons. At least 50,571 houses were destroyed and another 101,080 others damaged.
The worst hit were the provinces of Iloilo and Aklan which are still covered with mud and have not returned to normal two weeks after the typhoon struck.
Media practitioners in Iloilo have performed a heroic role by giving warning and updating the public and up to the time that high waters have claimed many places. They can be called as among the first responders to the disaster, broadcasting crucial information so that authorities and the public alike can take action to cut down losses to lives and property. In fact, at the height of the flooding, radio stations had been a valuable lifeline for many listeners because they sent text messages and initiated telephone calls so that volunteers can conduct rescue operation that saved lives.
The Iloilo media have also contributed much to the ongoing relief efforts, alone or in cooperation with local government units and private groups. Appeals for help have been aired nationwide and even overseas, and this is the reason why help continues to flow to flood victims.
In the course of these selfless energy to perform their role to inform and “comfort the afflicted,” many media practitioners have rendered long hours of coverage that have taken a toll on their health. Many media practitioners have their own flood story to tell but these may never be known as they took a back seat to the stories they have fished out from the public.
Media practitioners on Panay have closed ranks and helped their colleagues who were affected by the flood but it has not been enough. There is a need to revive the call for assistance as more names have been added to the list of flood victims.
We would like to appeal to fellow media workers in the Philippines and in other countries to make donations in cash or in kind.
Please contact the following:
(Iloilo)
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Iloilo Chapter
c/o Nestor P. Burgos Jr.
Mobile Phone: +63 917-2430-318
nestorburgos@gmail.com
Ma. Diosa Labiste
Mobile Phone: +63 917-6470-251
diosalabiste@gmail.com
(Manila)
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines
105-A Scout Castor Street, Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City, Philippines
nujphil@gmail.com
Tel. +632 411-7768
We would also call on media institutions and crises experts to help us by way of a psycho-social counseling. This will help many colleagues who exposed to the sufferings deal with the secondary trauma as well as their personal losses.