PHOTOS: Philippine Typhoon Survivors Desperate For Food, Water and Aid · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A street in Balangiga, Samar. One of the badly hit provinces. Photo by Autonomo Sr Abellar Amano, Facebook
Aid is not being properly and quickly delivered to communities which survived super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines. Many survivors are complaining that the promised relief packs by the government have not yet reached them.
Haiyan hit the Visayas islands last Friday triggering a storm surge that killed more than 1,500 people. But the casualties could be higher since the situation in remote coastal towns is not yet revealed. Because of damaged roads, rescuers and relief groups could not access these communities.
Desperate for food, some survivors ransacked supermarkets and rice warehouses. Looting was reported in Tacloban City and several towns of Leyte province. In response, the government promised to expedite the distribution of relief goods as it deploys more police forces to restore order in the typhoon-ravaged communities. Meanwhile, panic buying ensues in Samar:
Anxiety looms over Samar's Calbayog City as supplies are getting scarce; panic buying seen in most groceries @solartvnews #YolandaPH
— Rex Remitio (@Rexremitio) November 12, 2013
:-When they steal TVs n washing machines thats looting. #YolandaPH #PrayForThePhilippines
— Patrick James Sorne (@kcirtapsemaj) November 12, 2013
Really sad to hear that it's come to a point where victims are looting stores and ATM machines :( planning a relief distribution this week.
— isabelle daza (@isabelledaza) November 10, 2013
Looters throw goods from a warehouse in Guiuan, E.Samar after rescue workers struggled to bring aid to survivors pic.twitter.com/0EtmGCQtDj
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) November 12, 2013
Through the Facebook page of Randy Felix Malayao, a survivor asks the public not to be harsh in judging the looters:
Dont be so quick to judge looters, i was looter. I looted medIcine for the red cross, milk and food for the children. Walked 4 hours and dug into 2 foot empty plastic bottles to get at least something to drink and bring back some. The people who took flat screen tv's were the same people who offered to give me a drink and some lugaw (rice porridge). Those who looked like ex-convicts offered me something to eat. Almost all the time they are willing to lend a hand when you said you really need something. What they didnt show on the news was how people were helping each other amidst the catastrophe.
Don’t call them looters, writes Martha Villarosa:
Looters?! No one has the right to call them with such a title. Just imagine how painful it is as many of them lost their houses, loved ones passed away, nothing to eat nor drink. Just be thankful coz we're alive, safe and still enjoying our lives. Let's all be positive on this. All our fellow countrymen need is our support and prayers to help them get through this.
Many roads were damaged by typhoon Haiyan. Photo by Autonomo Sr Abellar Amano, Facebook
The country’s top education official, Brother Armin Luistro, issues this message to educators:
Let’s look for people first. Don’t worry about damages to property—we will deal with that later. The worst thing is to count buildings and fallen trees and not account for our people.
Second, let’s bring our children back to school. The best way for kids to recover is to bring them back to their routine as soon as possible—and that is to bring them to school. There is no need to conduct classes right away. Let them play. Do activities.
Atom Araullo reports that communication signals have been partially restored in Tacloban:
Safe in Tacloban! Telco services slowly being restored. Devastation is overwhelming. People here need all the help they can get.
— Atom Araullo (@atomaraullo) November 12, 2013
More and more Filipinos are participating in relief operations:
its so heartwarming to see so many people going the extra mile for relief operations. its times like these that im thankful for social media
— Dale Ng (@dalengleng) November 12, 2013
The Palo, Leyte campus of the University of the Philippines was damaged by the storm. Photo by Cleve Kevin Robert Arguelles, Facebook
Guiuan, Eastern Samar. This is a public school and evac center. This is all that is left now. @solartvnews pic.twitter.com/2YXI6hxbmF
— David Y. Santos (@davidyusantos) November 11, 2013
Panoramic view of #YolandaPH destruction of Basey town in Samar @solartvnews pic.twitter.com/4lRg8j60Jp
— Rex Remitio (@Rexremitio) November 12, 2013
Frank Cimatu reminds and warns us about the meaning of resilience:
You know what resilience really means? It would be a month or two from now when everyone would have left, all the free food stopped coming, the people would be back to fending for themselves and the realization of what happened and what's in store for them would hit them like a full force gale. Then the people would know what resilience really means.