Due to the Philippines’ geographic susceptibility to natural disasters, Singapore Management University Economics Professor Dr. Nona Mae Pepito asserted that political and economic choices influence a country’s response and recovery from calamities.

Pepito pointed out that human vulnerability can turn a natural hazard into a disaster, debunking the myth of disasters as inevitable acts of nature.

“A natural hazard need not result in death and destruction. It is but a raw ingredient that, combined with human vulnerability, creates a disaster… It [vulnerability] is the extent to which our choices, location, and circumstances turn natural hazards into a catastrophe.”

She attributed the Philippines’ vulnerability to Filipinos’ “bahala-na” attitude and “illusion of invulnerability,” given the country’s location on the typhoon belt and the Pacific Ring of Fire.

“For a country that experiences up to 20 typhoons and a hundred earthquakes of varying intensities every year, for a country that is home to 24 active volcanoes, the average citizen does not seem to take disaster preparedness seriously.”

In relation to this, she cited sociologist Kathleen Tierney’s proposition that natural disasters are “socially produced” as “risk and vulnerability are byproducts of how our society is organized, particularly the pursuit of economic growth and the distribution of political power.”

With this, Pepito posited that because markets alone cannot address disaster risk when individual pursuit of profit overlooks collective safety, the government must step in to “provide” public goods and “protect” citizens’ rights and welfare.

“If left to the market alone, a public good like a flood control project would never be built, [as] private firms have no incentives to produce these goods and services… Good government protects you by making sure the rule of law applies to everyone equally. It acts as a referee stepping in when businesses are too powerful or when pollution harms the public,” Pepito furthered.

However, she acknowledged the reality that governments often “operate in the real world,” underscoring the need to look into the occurrence of natural disasters through the lens of political economy.

“Political economy studies the intersection of power and resources… about how these political processes determine who gets what, who makes the big decisions, and who pays for these decisions. How these political processes advance the welfare of society or hold it back for the benefit of a few.”

She added that in contrast to the notion of “selfless public servants,” political leaders are also to be viewed as “rational people, motivated primarily by self-interest.” 

“According to public choice theory, politicians aren’t trying to maximize the welfare of society, they are trying to maximize votes and reelection,” she explained.

In the context of disaster risk management, politicians often opt for a highly visible response approach, such as distributing ayuda, over low-visibility prevention measures to win the favor of voters. 

With these realities, Pepito urged a change of rules that no longer incentivize corruption and for the education sector to instill an appreciation of the city among its students.

The public forum on the “Political Economy of Natural Disasters” was held at the Finster Auditorium, Ateneo de Davao University, last December 17.