THINK PIECE PAPER

Group 3

Frances Julie Alteia C. Leaño

Ma. Nona Jocasta M. Pinto

Viel Leoj Cuesta

Gebriel Pascual

Clark John Curampez

Aubrey Jasmine Lelina

Senior High School Grade 12 Humss Saint Francis, Saint Ferdinand College

December 4, 2020
 The situation briefing on the effects of Typhoon Ulysses, which was held at Tuguegarao
City, Cagayan and Isabela,The Typhoon Ulysses, based on the report by the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council (NDRMMC), as of 21 November 2020 has a death toll of 73,
with 68 injured, and 19 missing people across all affected areas. The typhoon unleashed powerful
winds and torrential rain that killed dozens of people, destroyed thousands of homes, and left
swathes of the island region flooded. Many Filipinos are in need of immediate help after suffering
the brunt of Typhoon Ulysses (Vamco), which came only a week after Super Typhoon Rolly
(Goni), 2020’s most powerful tropical storm so far. Seeing the impact of Typhoon Ulysses in hard-
hit areas, various groups quickly responded to relief appeals from affected communities.

As students and fellow citizens,the simple ways that we contributed in the province of
Cagayan and Isabela are donating something they need like clothes, food that they can eat to give
them energy and to survive from hunger and hygiene kit that they can really use for their daily life
during the calamity.We made dues with what we had and contributed a small amount of monetary
value to help out in their time of dire need. However, there are several simple ways on how to
extend help to them. We can't just donate the things mentioned above but we can also donate
money to the municipality. We can also pray for theme. The best thing we can do to help them is
by offering ourselves. Cagayan saw its worst floods in years, with Filipinos traumatized by images
and sounds of residents who could not be rescued late Friday night, November 13. We never fully
know what they're going through, so we try our best to help even in small ways because helping
those people who are affected by the typhoon,In this way we lessen the problem that they are
facing right now. We are giving them hope to live their lives that they used to before the typhoon.

Experts said that according to the Magat Dam protocol, there should be a drawdown of 2-
3 days before the expected landfall. There could have been simulations to predict and forecast that,
given that kind of forecast, They should be able to know and anticipate that this is the amount of
water that would be delivered and that can be converted to the amount of water level in the dam,
so if they know that, they should have released water 3 days in advance, so it's not sudden.
Magat Dam is under scrutiny for the massive floods it caused Cagayan and Isabela, because for
two days at the height of the typhoon – November 12 and 13 – 7 gates were opened, releasing
water equivalent to 18 meters high.
 In other occurences, some lives and security of other people have been threatened due to
foremost people taking the advantage to get saved first.
Human rights that is being disregarded is Article III Bill of Rights Section 2 Right to
life,this article of the Human Rights Act protects your right to life,It also means the Government
should take appropriate measures to safeguard life by making laws to protect you and, in some
circumstances, by taking steps to protect you if your life is at risk.Public authorities should also
consider your right to life when making decisions that might put you in danger or that affect your
life expectancy.this human right is being disregarded because they didn't inform the people that
the magat dam will release water that will cause flooding and will put the life of the people in
different places like Cagayan and Isabela in danger situation.The courts have decided that the right
to life does not include a right to die. NIA discharged water from the Magat Dam only once on
November 9, a day after PAGASA's warning that the typhoon will bring torrential rains. Typhoon
Ulysses hit the country in November 11. It was also on that same day that all of Magat Dam's gates
were opened. The opening of Magat Dam's gates at the height of the typhoon is seen to have largely
contributed to the unprecedented flooding in Cagayan and Isabela.They should informed the
people about releasing water in Magat Dam for them to be ready and evacuate from their homes
to save their lives. we all know that we need rescuers, they need to prepare themselves, to provide the
safeness of people, but in this case, the people didn't know that NIA will release the water in magat dam.
the people didn't get the information and the cagayeños and isabelinos are also not prepare themselves to
evacuate early and NDRRMC also lack of preparedness to inform the citizen of Cagayan was one of the
cause of the damages brought by typhoon Ullyses, keep in mind that mayor Jefferson Soriano was actually
out of town celebrating his birthday 16 hours away by car from Tuguegarao city, while his people are
actually crying for help and on the verge of dying, their mayor is out of town enjoying himself. Leaders of
the community should always put their constituents first and be selfless Thus, the pleas of the people should
always come first, theoretically and politically, before arriving into a direct and conclusive action, firsthand,
it is in direct regard with the phrase “Government of the people by the people for the people”
Second, he is the representative and the leader of the people, therefore, it is not plausible and considerable
that he is out of town while his constituents are being ravaged and battered by the said typhoon. The local
Government in Cagayan were “blindsided” because there was no proper information to warn their residents.
Without proper information Local Government Units will not be able to tell the constituents of Cagayan
valley on how dangerous the storm will be. Effective communication is important in crisis situation like
this, the loss of regional coverage of mainstream media was a major impact. Our locals depend on them for
sources of information.
REFERENCES:

•Cepede M. (2020),Typhoon Ulysses: Weather updates, latest news in the

Philippines,Rappler,Manila,Philippines
•Lian Buan (2020),What went wrong during Typhoon Ulysses,Rappler,Manila,Philippines

•Joyce Ilas (2020),PAGASA:Magat Dam administrator warned of strong rains before

Typhoon Ulysses,CNN Philippines

•CNN Philippines Staff (2020),NIA Stresses no lapses in Magat Dam water release amid
calls for probe