The Property of the People During Storms

Posted by shush

December 13, 2014

In my previous post I wrote these.

Reason 3: The property and the security of the property left behind
- is not assured safe by the local authorities
- is not usually insured
- may not be retrieved when the storm proves to be very damaging

There is really nothing to say to solve this predicament. Except to inform everyone that the reality is this. Natural calamities are designed to destroy without having to consider the effect on those who are going to survive it.

What are the options here?

If you can afford to insure your property, do so. For a year’s protection of around half a million to one million Philippine Pesos’ worth of assets, you could have it insured for less than PhP 3,000.

If you can set aside a portion of your 13th month pay for home or business insurance, then do so. You might think you would be just throwing away the money if no disaster strikes within the year, but on the other hand, it is protection for you and your hard work.

The way to think about it is this, find something in your house right now that you DO NOT use, but bought. Compute the total accumulated amount of the item(s) that you bought that you don’t really use. If it reaches an amount in between PhP 2,000 to PhP 3,000, then you have chosen to spend that amount on something that you like but doesn’t really protect you. If you buy insurance, you have spent your hard-earned money on something that you may not like but would protect you for one whole year.

We could ask the local authorities to keep an eye on the areas they are assigned to during the storm. But we also have to accept the reality that when the storm gets really bad, they too have to move to safe places and would have to leave the areas where your property are.

When we return to our homes after the storm, we may still have our homes to return to. Or we may not have any home to return to. It is a reality we have to accept.

But what is not acceptable is, there are many people who have sent help to those who lost their homes so they could rebuild, yet those who were supposed to be helped still was left homeless. With enough money to construct new homes and a year to rebuild before the next big storm, these people should be starting their lives anew. But if the money is not used correctly, then there would be no rebuilding after a very damaging storm.

This is another reality that many have accepted for decades after every damaging storm. The reality that when a natural calamity destroys properties and small economies, the real disaster happens when the donations sent from various sources for rebuilding the destroyed properties doesn’t reach those who need it. Or those who need it are shortchanged and given so much less than what was sent for them.

For you see, when a natural calamity arrives in our country, it comes in phases. The natural calamity brought about by the weather is the first phase. The second phase is the calamity brought about by the people who pocket the donations for the survivors of the natural calamity. And the last phase that doesn’t really end, is the calamity of people’s indifference to the effects of the second phase, where no one really does anything to punish those who pocketed donations.

There is another thing I wonder about the properties destroyed. Land titles are in paper form in still many towns. When storms destroy properties, such paperwork are also destroyed. Is there a way for people to retrieve their documents when they have been destroyed already? Is there a possibility that some big person would step into the picture and do some landgrabbing just because they know that the paperwork has already been destroyed and the people do not have the resources anymore to have new land titles made, unless they go to the central office for land titles and request for a new document themselves.

A tip to those who move to evacuation centers before a storm. Bring your important documents with you, especially if you are from the lower income group. Because when the storms ravage your properties, those documents would be the only assets you would have with you after the storm subsides.

Coordinated Moves, Keeping Safe, Money, Streetwise

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