Yolanda’s Surge; Janet’s Scourge

WOW, WHAT CAN I say, Yolanda simply battered us big time. It doesn’t matter if you weren’t there when and where it happened but as a fellow Filipino, you surely feel the victims’ pain.

            It is hard keeping my eyes dry as I watch the news. I am blown away by the epic devastation as casualties and damage to property increase each day. I am touched by victims who, in between tears, maintain that signature Filipino spirit, saying “ako wala’ng takot, kakayanin namin ‘to,” “kahit ganun, think positive pa rin,” and “ang mahalaga buo ang pamilya ngayo’ng Pasko.” 

            I am inspired by the outpouring of support not only by our countrymen but by the international community as well. Initially frustrated by the snail pace of relief operations and seeing survivors wet, hungry or in deep pain for missing loved ones, I am now so thankful that help is in progress. It touches me that they are not just composed of food, water and cash but total rehabilitation packages.

            A rainbow over Tacloban City shows that this tragedy will soon pass. This photo – taken by Dr. Greg Suarez, a volunteer in Tacloban – was shared by our very own Miss World, Megan Young, in her Facebook account via Charie Villa of ABS CBN News.

 

           

            The birth of new babies at evacuation centers and other areas of the typhoon-ravaged provinces displays God’s assurance that life goes on. There are also pregnant women among the survivors. As that saying goes, new-borns start the world all over again.

DEVASTATION & RESILIENCE

      Prior to this monster storm, we have been subjected to a series of tropical depression, strong typhoons and a killer quake. Because of this, we have become the poster boy/girl for resilience; and we have the world’s applause and admiration for our relentless spirit.

         But haven’t we had enough suffering and hurting? Aren’t Ondoy, Pablo, Sendong, that storm wannabe habagat and, of course, that major earthquake in Bohol too much already? And what about that tragic tantrum Nur Misuari and his men threw in Zamboanga City?

            Okay, we love who we are. We smile through the tears; we laugh off our pain. Churches have been toppled but our faith remains intact. What test do we still need to pass?

            Just askin’ God …

CRITICS & WHINERS

  

         It’s hard to go back to normal after such a tragedy and we can’t seem to stop talking about it. There is really nobody to blame for what Mother Nature brings but whining and holding anybody from government responsible is unavoidable.

            Noted filmmaker Peque Gallaga raved and accused government of impotence and incompetence. Social media is short of exploding in pointing the finger towards the same direction.

         Peque justifies his Facebook rant saying “we can help and we can criticize. I am convinced that we do help when we criticize; if at one point, we can, as Hamlet says, ‘catch the conscience of the king.’ “

            Don’t you remember our National Hero, Jose Rizal, who was such a brilliant critic? Surely you know how eloquently he wrote about the abuses of the Spanish friars and called attention to their duplicity.

            But that’s all I’m saying because there’s already an overload of views and opinions. For a while, I even begun to miss those sometimes ridiculous selfies on social media.

HEROES & VILLAINS

         It’s easy to hop in the bandwagon and make my own blame list but this is not the right attitude. I’m not about to say “shut up, just help.” I want to stay positive and proclaim, that in my world, everyone’s a hero –

         From Day 1’s Atom Araullo (I have a screen shot of him from ABS-CBN’’s TV Patrol reporting on the early Friday morning when Yolanda made its presence felt in the city of Tacloban; I’d like to caption it my guy in the rain … just figure out why; the next photo was shared on my Facebook account and I find it a fitting tribute to the man for a job well done) and the ABS-CBN News group, the GMA News crew and all media people who landed in Tacloban City to do their coverage before Yolanda’s series of landfalls. Never mind that it was part of the job; their being there before and while Yolanda unleashed her fury showed us the true picture. We failed to see the worst until they came back on the air a day or two later.

            Some of the President’s men – Mar Roxas, Voltaire Gazmin and Dinky Soliman – also positioned themselves earlier than Yolanda’s arrival.

            The first responders, meaning victims and survivors themselves helping each other in search of loved ones and saving a few others. The priest – Fr. Edgar Abusejo of Eastern Samar -- who braved a three-day motorcycle drive to reach Manila and relay the victims’ plight.

            The international community with their many displays of affection and support – 

 

           ... New York’s state of mind as they lighted their Empire State Building with the colors of our national flag, a photo of which was posted in the ESB’s Facebook page.

 

            … The United Nations’ six-month rehabilitation plan from November to May 2014.

            … The makers of the only soda I drink, Coca-Cola Bottlers, Inc., which has suspended its advertising placements to redirect such funds to relief and rebuilding efforts for Yolanda.

            … Habitat for Humanity with their shelter repair kits.

            And as I write this, the list gets longer …

            Back on the local scene, the country’s billionaires, showbiz personalities, even government officials led by P-Noy, and everybody rich or poor, young or old, good or not-so-good citizens in this archipelago.

            Nobody simply sat there and watched. Not one passed the opportunity to help. Just like you, my family gave donations in cash and in kind. My sister Patty and I, upon bringing our donations of clothes at the warehouse of Sagip Kapamilya on Examiner Street, decided to volunteer in packing relief goods but the slots have already been filled up. 

            [I took photos of the warehouse which is filled to the rafters with goods as well as the volunteers currently lifting and packing. I also took a photo of Pacific Blooms, a building beside the warehouse which looks like a big dollhouse painted hot pink with its pillars covered with red Christmas balls, a hopeful reminder that a disaster like Yolanda can't stop Christmas.]

 

            My brother Chito is an active volunteer of Red Cross together with his brothers at the APO Fraternity.

            Daughter Ghiselle and her friends also volunteered for Red Cross to pack relief goods. She complained of a backache upon coming home but I’m sure she was happy to be of help.

            Daughter Pee Ann was happy to tell me that where she is currently based, donations are in order …

 

 

             But it is not a perfect world. As there were heroes, there were villains, namely those looters who took advantage of the situation; and those politicians whose vested interests know no disaster.

            Just a couple of days ago, I caught Lucy Torres-Gomez, the lady who made the House of Representatives much lovelier, talking to Karen Davila in her Headstart show over ANC. Her revelations were bothersome if not revolting. She disclosed that barangay officials, in distributing relief goods, rely on a Voters’ List instead of the Official List of Residents.

            And let me not forget the irresponsible netizens who love to sow intrigue in the guise of concern and freedom of expression. How I wish they would exercise their right to remain silent if they have nothing sensible to say.

            Just the same, I thank the Heavenly Father each night for giving us a caring and generous world. This photo by Baden M. Caurez and shared by my brother Chito in his Facebook account reveals that the boy was carrying the smaller one to bring him to safety away from the queue for relief goods in an evacuation center in Tacloban, saying “baka po siya mawala o masaktan … kukuha na lang po ako ng para sa kanya.”

            This is the ultimate example of genuine concern that comes from selflessness which many of our politicians should emulate.

IGNORANCE & STUPIDITY

      Calamities and disasters are no strangers to us but nature’s fury was almost sidelined by Janet Napoles’ version of devastation.

            Just a day before Yolanda’s landfall, the dubbed Pork Barrel Scam Queen faced the Senate, raised her hand to “tell the truth and nothing but the truth,” but went on to say nothing truthful. And so help us, God.

           As expected, she didn’t say anything that would solve the scam. If she wasn’t invoking her right to self-incrimination, she was declaring innocence or amnesia. She looked as if she found it difficult to talk and think at the same time, if she thinks at all.

           As usual, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago [photo shared in my Facebook page] was at her best as she blurted out her usual quotable quotes. She didn’t only question Janet, she also gave her advice.

                           

            I found her cute when she told Janet: “Oh there you are. Let me take a good look at you.” She also assured her, “I will not bully you,” but warned that “wala kang karapatan magsabi ng sinungaling.”

             And surely you remember her sisterly advice: “Tell the truth before the senators affected have you assassinated.”

            But Janet definitely gave the greatest performance of her life. She acts dumb one moment and shows artificial innocence in another. It makes me wonder how she prepared for this moment. Or maybe she didn’t, because getting caught was not an option or she never saw it coming.

         In the end, Miriam philosophized, “Ignorance can be treated but stupid is forever.”

             Before the whistleblowers and the Senate hearing, Janet was neither ignorant nor stupid. She wasn’t illiterate either because she surely can read and write.

Let me define the terms …

            Webster defines ignorance as the lack of knowledge while stupidity is slow-wittedness or dullness. Thesaurus provides inexperience, naivety and unfamiliarity as synonyms for ignorance; while brainlessness, foolhardiness, imbecility and senselessness are for stupidity.

         But there’s just one word that comes to mind to fit Janet’s description and that is cunning. Webster says the word means “selfish cleverness; a skill in deceit and evasion.”

PERSONAL & SENTIMENTAL

      On the day, Yolanda made her landfall in Tacloban, my brother Boyet was there on a business trip. He surely gave us a scare when wife Ellen and son Ado aired their worry in their Facebook pages saying they have lost contact with him and that went on for a couple of days. Ellen even thought of going to Tacloban herself.

            Minus the details, thank God that, aside from lack of food, sleep and bath, he came back to Manila and to his family in one piece.

            My mom’s brother, Uncle Marcial and his wife Auntie Lorna live in Inupacan, Leyte. Auntie Dely, assured us, however, that their municipality wasn’t badly hit. Their daughter, Marlu, based in Cebu, was worried only because she has likewise lost contact with them.

            The initial news footages released by CNN showing tornado-like wind and rain and all those debris all over the place proved too much for relatives abroad, who burned phone lines to check how they were.  New York-based cousin Luis kept calling up daughter Pee Ann until I told her to tell him they were spared by Yolanda.

             In fact, they have their hands full helping out neighbors and sharing their stock of food and water. 

             We visited Leyte in 2009 when another brother, Uncle Domeng, based in the US of A, came for a visit. The delegation included my mom, Auntie Dely, Luis, Marlu and husband Leo. We had so much fun in that trip. It was also one of the last trips I took with my mom before she went up to Heaven in June 2011.

            I remember my jaw dropping as I saw the beauty and grandeur of the San Juanico Bridge and the breath-taking view while standing on it. My photos don’t do them justice though because a checkpoint of Military men didn’t allow us to walk down the bridge. There was the  rushing traffic and we were allowed just at the side entrance to the bridge.

            Grandeur is the quality or state of being impressive or awesome and the ancestral home of Imelda Romualdez-Marcos also has it. The chandeliers, the furniture from native materials; the life-size pictures of Jesus and Mama Mary, the jade Sto. Nino; and the piano which was strictly no touch but the Geronimo (wicked?) sisters didn’t care.

  

  

               The McArthur Landing Memorial has no grandeur so to speak but it felt awesome to be exactly where Gen. Douglas McArthur delivered his famous one-liner, “I shall return.” I am also proud that in his staff is a Filipino, my dad’s favorite statesman, Carlos P. Romulo, obviously the smallest man in the tableau.

 

             Now it saddens me that these two significant places have not been spared by Yolanda. She toppled one of the statues in the tableau (photo by Erik de Castro of Reuters via nbcnews.com) while she wiped out Imelda’s mansion.

 

               Senator Bongbong Marcos said it took him a while before he recognized his mom’s ancestral home. He visited the place before delivering relief goods to a nearby barangay. (Photo by Raffy Lerma of inquirer.net).  

REALITY & FAIRY TALES

      All told, we are better off without the likes of Yolanda and Janet. They are not the majority, thank God. We have remarkable women out there who make our country proud not just for their beauty but with their brains and good hearts as well.

            This is not to mention the empowered Pinays in our midst who make both ends meet for their families; who mold and shape young minds; who lead, defend and inspire; and who literally rock the world.

            Anyway, the Christmas month starts this Sunday and the metropolis as well as our homes are all lit up. I made a picture collage of the different trees in my environment – the white one in my Zumba class; the country orange one in sister Patty’s living room; the giant one at the Araneta Center; and the red-and-silver one at the Ali Mall – to get myself into the spirit.

 

             The reality of it all is that we can’t stop the onset of the Yuletide season. The birth of Christ signals a hopeful beginning and the advent of peace and love.

    

             There’s another reality for us Filipinos as exemplified by the People’s Champ, Manny Pacquiao. Fresh from finally winning a fight after two losses, he declares, “we rise again … bangon Pilipinas.”

           So please Tax(wo)man don’t be such a spoiler with that PhP2-B worth of tax receivables you’re  throwing at him – what a way to welcome a hero. Give him a break, he’s the only person who can turn a crime rate to zero; he inspires, he uplifts, he’s a morale-booster, what are you thinking?

            But okay, he says we rise again as in we, most especially the survivors of Yolanda. The grace of God makes this possible and it started with them surviving the super typhoon and the ensuing chaos.

            We know it’s a long, lonely and painful road to recovery but the tagline for the new chapter in the fairy tale romance of Ser Chief and Maya in the phenomenal ABS-CBN teleserye, Be Careful With My Heart, says it all: the happy ever after has begun.

                   Did you just roll your eyes? Well, one interesting thing about reality is that sometimes fairy tales do come true.