Aftermath of a typhon in Tacloban, Leyte, 2013. Wikimedia Commons

The Philippine Star-October 14

With the official start of the election season, it may be difficult to divert the attention of politicians from their campaign plans. Unless another major calamity strikes, reminding everyone that the Philippines is among the countries that are most vulnerable to natural disasters and can never let down its guard. In certain areas, disasters could even be an election issue for 2019. People have lost loved ones as well as their principal sources of livelihood in the mining village of Ucab in Itogon, Benguet, where a landslide following incessant rains at the height of Typhoon Ompong buried small-scale gold miners and their relatives late last month.
Read more at https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2018/10/14/1859844/editorial-economic-cost-disasters#vM3OyxSvch6UufSF.99

First published in: The Philippine Star