The True Measure of Leadership During Disasters
When typhoons approach the Philippines, the real test of leadership begins. Recent reports reveal elected public officials traveling abroad while storms threatened their constituents, sparking intense public debate about accountability and moral responsibility.
The issue isn't about travel itself, but about timing and judgment. When an impending disaster demands guidance and coordination, a leader's absence becomes more than physical—it becomes a moral failure that undermines public trust.
Why Presence Matters in Crisis Situations
Leadership during emergencies isn't symbolic—it's strategic. A leader's visible presence signals to DRRM (Disaster Risk Reduction and Management) teams that someone is steering the ship. More importantly, it tells citizens they haven't been abandoned.
Contrast this with social media posts showing other officials implementing pre-emptive evacuations, checking households, and supervising tree pruning operations through the night. These hands-on actions create a sense of calm and assurance that no press release can ever replace.
As Theo Veldsman notes in Crisis Leadership Excellence (2020), effective crisis leadership requires navigating in, beyond, and through a crisis. This means confronting reality with clarity, anchoring actions in shared values, and helping others recover with courage and compassion. None of these critical functions can be performed remotely.
The Unbreakable Link Between Authority and Accountability
When towns flood and families face destruction while their leaders are absent, leadership itself collapses. Some might argue that officials can delegate authority to others, but delegation does not absolve dereliction of duty.
Authority can be assigned to subordinates, but accountability cannot be transferred. Rushing to evacuation centers after the typhoon has passed doesn't undo the critical absence during the storm's approach. Such belated actions cannot rebuild public trust or erase the memory of those crucial hours when leadership was most needed.
The Practice of Adaptive Leadership (Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky, 2009) describes leadership as a practice rather than a position. True leaders don't flee when pressure mounts—they step closer, absorbing the heat so their people can focus on survival.
Ethical leadership frameworks in disaster governance emphasize that neutrality must never turn into absence. Silence or distance during crises rapidly erodes public trust. Conversely, a leader's visibility—whether in Emergency Operations Centers, on the ground, or among evacuees—anchors calm and restores confidence that someone remains accountable.
Public officials certainly juggle multiple responsibilities and deserve breaks like anyone else. However, when lives and livelihoods hang in the balance, timing becomes everything. Leadership demands the humility to rearrange priorities, the courage to stay grounded, and the wisdom to recognize when one's presence matters more than passport stamps.
As disasters in the Philippines grow more frequent and complex, citizens must demand leadership grounded not just in technical competence but in genuine compassion. While expertise saves lives, human presence sustains the trust that holds communities together during their darkest hours.
