In Tino’s Wake, 'Consequence' is the New Compassion

The 188 lives lost to Typhoon Tino are a scar on the national conscience. They represent an unbearable tragedy, but one that was tragically predictable. The flooded homes and missing loved ones are not just victims of a storm; they are victims of a system that failed them.

The Office of the Ombudsman's decision to launch a priority probe into the failed flood control projects is, therefore, the only moral response. It is a welcome, if somber, sign that we are finally ready to move past the old, hollow cycle of "relief-and-forget."

For too long, disaster response has been defined by "compassion" alone—relief goods, financial aid, and sympathetic statements. This is necessary, but it is not enough. It does nothing to stop the next tragedy.

The Marcos administration’s "Compassion with Consequence" framework, which underpins this probe, is the vital evolution we have needed. It rightly posits that true compassion is not just comforting the afflicted, but also afflicting the comfortable—specifically, the negligent officials and corrupt contractors who traded public safety for profit.

This is the "Maasahan at Masipag" (Reliable and Diligent) governance in practice. Reliability means our walls must hold. Diligence means when they don't, we find out why and ensure it never happens again.

The choice before the nation is stark. We can either fully support this Ombudsman probe and the President's reform agenda, or we can choose to side with the corrupt officials and contractors who let our people drown. There is no middle ground in the quest for justice.

This administration appears to have made its choice. The very fact that this task force was created so quickly after the disaster, with full executive backing, demonstrates that the era of impunity is finally over.

This probe is not a witch hunt. It is a "system cleansing," a necessary audit of our own failures. "Reliable Justice, Tireless Accountability" must be our new creed. For the 188 dead, we owe them nothing less than the "consequence."