YET another typhoon has left and national newspaper and television news once again carry images of flooded houses and agricultural lands. We've been seeing this image since Typhoon Ondoy, we've been holding our breath as the weather bureau once again warns of coming weather disturbances.

And yes, we've listened to Chiz Escudero's second television ad (after the oxymoronish Bagong Pagbabago) that is only saying what we all have been saying anyway, and have been watching Manny Villar's latest that pictures what we have long pictured in our minds (all those people holding up a cardboard with what can be the dreams of poor people since time immemorial, which Villar wants us to believe he can deliver).

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One question that rings unanswered, however, is: Who's keeping track for the public to know?

Who's keeping track of the destruction and the cost of rehabilitation, once rehabilitation can indeed be fully implemented?

Who's keeping track of how much has already been spent and how much more is going to be needed, with the intent of informing the people how huge a chunk of official foreign assistance and national budget will these series of destruction eat up?

Who's going to update us on how severe a crisis in terms of economic costs will all these natural disasters cause?

Who's going to lay all these down in digestible whole so that all those who have given something for the victims will be encouraged to continue giving, and at the same time empower the victims to stand up again confident that government is there, doing the best it can, without snitching, without stealing.

A sober discussion and release of information minus the politicking and posturings for the May 2010 elections is what the country needs most today in order to be prepared for whatever effect all these will have soon after elections, when the vote-buyers and moneybags will all have disappeared.

Why are we pounding on such? Because we've browsed just about every government portal and website there is and not one is saying how much the disasters is going to cost us. The closest we can get hold of about everything that's going on is a donation tracking by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), which is content with just notations of "released", "pending", and "pledged". It's as if government intends to continue with how it's been going pre-Ondoy; the floating villages, flooded farms, and buried highways, and starving millions, nothing but mere inconveniences.

Governance in times of crisis, we believe, is about leading people out of difficult situations, much like what we have in our midst right now. And leading people means empowering them with the information on what is it that besets them and a clear vision on how government intends to move forward.

It's not as if we are a rich country who can just shrug off the economic cost of all those shattered lives, destroyed structures and infrastructure, flooded villages and farmlands, buried people and houses.

We have seen, heard, nor read nothing that even sheds a tiny light out of all these flood of images. But we do all clearly see, hear, and feel the coming of election 2010. So much for governance.