At 10 p.m. on September 30 local time, the shells of the waters of the province suddenly crushed.The 6.9-degree earthquake struck the land with a destruction force of 10 kilometers in depth, and the villagers of the village of Binabagh in Bogo, in the city of Bogo, had not yet awakened from their sleep and were buried in darkness by the rolling hills.
The next morning, the headquarters reporter riding a village borrowed motorcycle arrived at the scene. The four-kilometer road was full of crushed pieces, the sight in front of the eye made the head and skin crumble: the hotels and shops in the commercial district collapsed, the steel pipe ranged in the air like a hazelnut, and the crumbling walls crushed three passing cars.
Even worse than Nabag Village, four and a half-person-tall boulders broke through the roofs of houses, leaving only broken walls and ruins in the primary school classrooms in the village.
In the 72 hours after the earthquake, the disaster figures were constantly updated. The National Disaster Reduction Commission of the Philippines reported on the 3rd that the death toll was finally revised to 68, 559 people were injured, and more than 360,000 people were forced to leave their homes.
5013 houses were in danger, 89 towns were completely out of power, and 12 places didn’t even find a cell phone signal. The villagers of Bogo stood by the road with a hard cardboard, twisted with the inscription “Drink water” and “Give some milk powder”.
On the following day, President Marcos flew to Hostel Province for inspection, and the military shifted 12 helicopters to the disaster area to deliver food bags, and the Ministry of Social Welfare allocated 10 million pesos for relief.
The problem lies in front of the eye: the three main dry roads leading to the disaster area are all blocked by the slopes, large rescue equipment can not enter, the fire department with the crew members to dig the ruins, and once the shock has to hurry to hide in the empty ground.
The Philippines have a lot of people in their hearts, and sometimes those countries that shout “allies” and “partners” should stand out, can you wait three days and three nights, the United States, India, Japan and Ukraine, play collective disappearance.
The response from the United States was the most chilling. You know, one month before the earthquake, the US aircraft carrier USS Reagan was still conducting joint military exercises with the Philippine Army in the South China Sea. Pentagon officials patted their chests and said at that time that they "would fully support the Philippines."
As a result, after the earthquake, the White House press conference didn't mention it. The official website of the State Council only hung a sentence "Pay attention to the disaster situation" in the corner, neither sending a rescue team nor giving aid money. Some Philippine netizens turned out old accounts: during Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, less than half of the $60 million aid promised by the United States finally arrived. This time, even the promise was saved.
India's indifference is even more ironic.The Modi administration has always shouted at the G20 summit in the past two years, "Unite the Global South," and viewed the Philippines as a key node for expanding its influence in Southeast Asia.But after the earthquake, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India did not send a tweet of condolences, and the mainstream media "Indian Times"'s international edition was all national election news, as if the disaster in the Philippines had nothing to do with them.
Even more absurd is the fact that the Philippines also donated $500,000 to disaster relief when the storm in India broke out in 2023, which is now completely forgotten.
As one of the largest sources of investment in the Philippines, Japan has previously sent 10 patrol ships to the Philippine Coast Guard, with the slogan “humanitarian partners” in the film.
But the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was "willing to provide the necessary help" but did not take any practical action.The Japanese earthquake rescue team claimed to be the world's top, arriving at the scene 48 hours after the Turkish earthquake, arriving here in the Philippines, without even seeing the shadow of a team of experts.
Ukraine's absence can be excuses, but it is also perfunctory. After all, we are in the middle of a conflict and can't even care about our own reconstruction. It is understandable that we are unable to provide assistance. But the problem is that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine did not even say a single word of public condolences. Instead, it issued eight statements condemning Russia that day.
Just when these "allies" were collectively silent, China took action. It was only that late at night on the day of the earthquake that the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines issued a safety reminder and contacted local Chinese-funded enterprises to check the safety of Chinese. Besides, there was no other action.
After all, the provocative behavior of the Philippines against China has always been obvious to all. Since the Philippines does not intend to have good relations with China, there is no need for us to lend a helping hand to the Philippines at this time.
This earthquake is like a mirror, reflecting the reality of the so-called "friendship of allies". The enthusiasm of the United States when selling weapons, the high profile of India when shouting slogans, and the sincerity of Japan when talking about cooperation have all come to naught in the face of real money assistance.
Now that the search for relief has stopped, the focus has shifted to reconstruction, but 36,000 people still live in open-air tents, and winter is coming soon, and they need not only food and water, but also temporary housing that can wind and rain.
Officials from the Philippine Civil Defense Bureau said that reconstruction would require at least $200 million, which could not be carried by the country alone.
Just don’t know when those “disappeared” allies will wake up from “sleeping asleep.” after all, the indifference to disaster is harder to repair than the cracks left by the earthquake.
Source of information:
World Wide Web: Direct Attack | Philippines Earthquake Search and Rescue Work Ends, Government Shifts Focus to Post-Disaster Reconstruction
China Youth Network: Philippines earthquake has hit 450,000 people, thousands of houses damaged