Severely Corrupt Local Officials Should Be Subtly Reminded Not to Misuse or Steal What Remains of the LCF (Local Calamity Funds) - The National Total is in Billions (Tens of Millions of US Dollars)

Overeating and passive lifestyle kill more people in the western hemisphere than natural disasters do in SouthE Asia every year. But for many corrupt local officials, their cravings, fueled by their insatiable greed for easy money, stolen public funds - the temptation is far more powerful…        They can’t resist it.

 

>>> Bohol got far less international media attention - and far less-in-proportion

        aids and assistance from the international community. Next campaign in our

        Causes.com account: How you can help make a difference in the lives of 

        a few there. By being there (hey, it's where Panglao Island is, why not 

        spend your holiday vacation there?) and sharing a meal with them 

        (a family or so) can help inspire them, and momentarily make them very 

        happy. You are fortunate, spend some loose change in Bohol and spend an

        hour or so with a family in temporary shelters. Thank God for your blessings

        by sharing your time (presence) and some spare amounts (in foods) as you

        give words of wisdom, advice to the children 

        (never ever give up on school, for example). 

        Bohol was similarly devastated (earthquake) just before Samar-Leyte 

        (Typhoon Haiyan, Yolanda) but got far less cash donations... 

The last quarter of the year. After misusing major portions of the Local Calamity Funds, many local officials, 2 years before they again splurge on a frenzy of massive vote-buying, are eager to use low-level natural disasters such as simple flooding more to profit and gain votes than to sincerely help the affected families. Exploiting the misery & helplessness of the poor.

Teenagers, no matter how disciplined, can sometimes barely stand the onslaught, barrage of ads for good and junk foods. But who can claim complete resistance to it all? Life is short. I love to eat too. And indulge even in the rather very unhealthy kinds. But oh it’s different when you are causing long-term hunger, and further vulnerability to crisis situations (family or community) among the already-malnourished thousands in your locality. Corrupt crook ones indulge nevertheless. Yummy… Munch munch munch… 

Sadly, a few rather sincere and well-meaning local officials in unfortunate geographical areas battered by several natural calamities every year get less than what they actually need to spend - 5% of a poor locality’s budget amounts to nothing in the face of major disasters and other challenges.

Elsewhere, in places mostly spared by frequent destructive acts of nature, officials, using “disaster mitigation and preparations” excuse, misuse the funds, and other public funds or resources, to splurge on unnecessary and supposedly less-prioritized non-essential spending.

Meanwhile, one major root cause of the many preventable common disasters? Greed and corruption still. The aggravating factor in the vulnerability of the poor families in poor communities? Poverty that perpetuates due to poor governance worsened by unabated corruption and dishonesty by local officials. 

For example, many local officials actually commit violations of the anti-illegal logging regulations and laws themselves. They profit from bribes of the illegal loggers, if they don't actually control some of the operations. And the poverty partly induced and perpetuated by corruption - drive families to use charcoal, from illegally cut and burned trees, to cook. When landslides and floods happen, these same vulnerable and poor families suffer. Their elected local officials then exploit. Medium-scale Illegal logging goes on.

We can’t give details as this should endanger our lives even more, narrating details give clues as to what we have observed, discovered and got informed about.