By Joel D Adriano
MANILA - As the flood waters recede and Filipinos count their extraordinary losses, analysts are weighing the political damage accrued to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's legacy and her anointed successor's electoral prospects at next year's polls.
Her government's response to tropical storm-induced flooding in Manila and nearby provinces has been widely criticized as inept and inadequate, drawing harsh parallels in the former American colony to past US president George W Bush's mismanagement of the Hurricane Katrina disaster that disproportionately affected poverty-stricken areas.
Two tropical storms, known as Ketsana and Parma, have caused a series of landslides and extensive flooding that have killed at least 700 people across this island nation. An estimated four million people have lost their homes to the disaster, but only one million have found sanctuary in government-provided emergency shelters, according to some relief agency estimates.
Storm-related damage has already reached US$540 million, with mounting health, farm and business losses expected to push that figure to over $1 billion. As much of the infrastructure and business damage has been concentrated in the economically important Metro Manila area, some analysts believe the disaster will take a significant toll on the already weak national economy.
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Joel D Adriano is an independent consultant and award-winning freelance journalist. He was a sub-editor for the business section of The Manila Times and writes for ASEAN BizTimes, Safe Democracy and People's Tonight.
