Last November 13, Pinoy Weekly’s Pher Pasion, together with two colleagues from Bulatlat.com, went to disaster-stricken areas in Leyte province to document the devastation and the people’s fight for survival amid reported delays in the government’s delivery of much-needed relief goods. In areas such as Tacloban City, Ormoc City and Tanauan, they saw how people coped with the immense difficulties, without government help and despite international aid reportedly pouring in to the country.  A week after Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), US troops, aircraft and ships arrived in Tacloban, giving relief and support. Critics though, caution against long-term implications of increased US military presence in the country in the context of US government’s declared policy of expanding its economic interests in the Asia-Pacific region.