Posted on September 30, 2009.
***
September 26, 2009. A sorta-kinda-typical Saturday for me. Since malapit na akong magresign sa work, hindi na ako masyadong nirerequire pumasok ng weekends, kaya these past Saturdays and Sundays, nasa bahay lang ako. I woke up 11 in the morning. Sarap! I checked at the window in my room, it’s raining hard. And it was sooooo cold. I ate my breakfast/lunch while i was planning to go to Market Market for my pre-employment check up. Yes, pre-employment. I got a new job, but it will start 11 days after my effectivity of resignation in my work now.
I was about to prepare when the rain poured harder than usual. Together with my mom and sisters, I peeked at our glass window of our living room and we were surprised at what we saw. Bahang baha na sa labas! And in a matter of few hours papasukin na yung bahay namin!
Daddy is at work in Bulacan ng mga oras na to. In other words, puro babae lang kami sa bahay. And I looked around our house. 2 sofa, 1 couch, 1 large component, ref, tables, chairs, computer set, and 3 tv sets. Imagine (tonong Vilma Santos/Eugene Domingo)! But we had no time to imagine. Ang bilis ng pagtaas ng tubig baha. Right there and then, nag kanya kanya na kami ng buhat. At first nakukuha pa naming tumawa sa mga pinag gagawa naming pagbuhat. Parang instant Hercules/Incredible Hulk kami that time. Buti na lang malalaking bulas kami. Hahaha! And thanks to the adrenaline rush.
But it came to the point na pumasok na talaga yung baha sa loob ng bahay. Since its reconstruction on 2006, and after more than a decade since the last flood, ngayon lang ulit nakatikim ng tubig baha ang mala doll house naming bahay. This time, we were not laughing. Concentrated na kami sa pagbubuhat ng mga gamit. It came to the point din na nagkakasigawan na kami. Nabagsakan pa ng kahoy yung paa ko nung nagdedetach kami ni ate ng cabinet doors. The electricity was already cut off. Wala nang internet, wala nang Facebook, wala nang YM. Wala na ding signal ang mga phone namin. And lalo pang lumakas ang ulan. Wala na kaming contact sa mundo that time. My last message in Facebook was (if my memory serves me right), “Sige, out na muna ako, papatayin na yung main switch ng kuryente namin. God bless!” After that, wala na.
Up to waist deep ang tubig sa labas ng bahay, while up to almost knee deep ang sa loob. But there’s no way out for us that time, kasi mas malalim pa daw ang tubig sa kalsada sa labas ng subdivision namin. My mom turned her radio na 702 DZAS lang ang station and we listened to any updates. Oo nga pala, wala pala kaming pagkain na stock when this happened (aside sa sandamukal na itlog na nasa ref). But truly God is a providing God. Yung kapitbahay namin na mas naunang lumikas na sa amin (kalahati ng bahay nila was submerged in flood), pinatabi nila kay mommy yung food na napamalengke nila before the flood happened, and eventually gave it to us. Ang cool nga ni mommy kasi she even took time to go house to house to check our neighbors’ condition (Mabuhay ang VP ng Homeowners Association!!!!).
The flood water at first is okay, tubig ulan lang talaga na may halong konting putik at lumulutang na basura, but as time passed by, madami na akong nakikitang di kanais nais na lumulutang (e.g., bonggang bonggang putik at ipis!!!!). Kaya as much as possible we stayed on the second floor at di na kami bumaba. Kaya naman pag may tumatawag sa landline (nasa sala siya sa baba), nagtuturuan kami kung sinong sasagot.
Pagsapit ng gabi, my mom and ate and I stayed at the master’s bedroom, while Karmi is practicing for her recital. Mom turned on her favorite radio (yung isang radio kasi wala nang signal yung 702 DZAS). We looked for some biscuits, ate it and listened carefully to the news updates. This time, it was really heartbreaking. Almost, if not all of Pasig was greatly affected by the flood. Same goes to Marikina and Rizal. It was very unusual because hindi naman kami masyadong binabaha pag may mga ganitong ulan. And what breaks my heart most is the fact that many people are trapped and stucked on the roofs of their homes, waiting for rescue to come. Mapabata, matanda, buntis, artista; walang pinili ang trahedyang ito. Another heartbreaking fact is hindi enough ang assets and resources ng mga LGUs and the government itself to rescue the victims. Hindi ko man gustong isipin, ngunit biglang pumasok ang mga government advertisement expenses, Le Cirque dinner, at yung mga perang naigastos sa walang katuturan. Imagine (tonong Vilma/Eugene again), maipangbibili sana ito ng mga kagamitang pwedeng magamit sa mga ganitong biglaang sitwasyon. Well, naisip ko lang naman. Wala naman may gusto ng nangyaring ito. Pero, come to think of it, kung may reserved resources tayong naitabi for unexpected situations like this, siguro mas marami ang narescue at napakain agad. Siguro, nabawasan ang mga namatay bunga ng kapabayaan ng iba.
Sabi nga ng status message ng isa kong college classmate, “It’s payback time! – Mother Earth”. The message is, I guess, right. Masyado nating inabuso ang kapaligiran natin. And sabi ng isang environmentalist sa radio, expect the worse/t in the coming days. I just don’t know if he’s just saying the truth or nang aasar lang siya at gusto lang niyang matakot ang lahat ng tao sa mga nangyayari. But I hope his motive is just to tell the truth. Siguro nga ganun.
When we heard na maraming tao talaga ang naapektuhan ng pangyayaring ito, we cried. We realized, mapalad pa din kami, dahil except for a few things na nabasa ng baha dahil nakalimutan naming isalba, the four of us are spared from any danger. We took that opportunity to pray and thank God for saving us, and we prayed for those people who need Him at that very point in time. After praying, I felt the effect of what we did a while ago. Masakit na ang buong katawan ko. And before I knew it, nakatulog na ako.
***
September 27. A ray of sunshine touched my face (meganon!) and made me wake up. Magtatanghali na pala. Gising na lahat ng mga kasama ko sa bahay. Breakfast/lunch is ready. Dun kami sa terrace kumain (that’s what I call now “kakain sa labas”). Wala nang ulan and the sky is clear. Pero it seems mas tumaas ang tubig baha. At mas lalong pumutik at dumumi. I took snapshots ng mga bahay at sasakyan na lubog sa baha, and I also took shots ng sala namin and dining area. Just for documentation.
After eating, I went sleepy and took a nap. Pagkagising ko, Dad was at home with my cousin. Nagdala sila ng Savory Chicken, my favorite! =) While I was eating again, they said babalik na sila ng Bulacan bago mag gabi. I immediately made a decision to go with them. I hurriedly packed up my things and after several hours, we went off.
My dad, cousin and I took a boat ride from our house to the end of Sandoval Avenue, which is about a three-minute car ride. The boat is only improvised, astig nga kasi kinaya kaming tatlo eh ang bibigat namin. Humihinga lang ako every 30 seconds kasi natatakot akong baka mahulog kami. Each time na nagssway yung boat and seems like we will fall off, I was gasping and screaming. The only time I stopped doing so is when dad sternly told me, “ano ka ba, pag nahulog ka naman di ka naman malulunod, hanggang hita mo lang yan noh.” Kahit na, yuck pa din.
Finally bumaba na kami sa bangka-bangkaan. The second phase of our “journey”: A long walk along the muddy, thigh/knee/binti/knee/binti deep flood from Sandoval Avenue to C. Raymundo Ave. It took us 30 to 45 minutes. I was dizzy and about to collapse when I changed my mind, kasi baha ang babagsakan ko, ayoko nga. Kaya I focused and prayed to God to sustain me. As I walked along, I was taking pictures of the place and people were waving and smiling at me when I was taking pictures. Ang Pilipino talaga, kahit ganito na ang sitwasyon, picture picture pa din.
At last, narating na namin ang Arlington, kung saan nakapark yung service vehicle ni dad. I sighed in relief. We went off first to buy pandesal, and afterwards sa gasoline station na maganda na madaming restaurant at Starbucks to eat dinner at Jollibee. Gusto ko kasi ng Chicken Joy. I thought it will make me happier if I eat it for dinner, after all of what happened. My cellphone signal went back to normal, and I texted my friends that I’m fine, thank you. Afterwards I checked my Facebook and received several how are you’s and ok ka lang ba’s and HINDI KA NAMIN MAKONTAK’S. I replied to all of them and I realized madami palang nag alala sa akin, at sa family ko. Yihee!
When I went down to sleep, I began to thank God again for all the things He did and provided to us, to me, to my family. Though I was also worried for some of my friends who were reportedly stuck at their home for almost two days without food (eventually they were rescued, thank God). Then again, before I knew it, nakatulog na ako.
***
September 28. Lumuwas ako to visit my friend in Quezon Avenue because her mom passed away. As I travelled back to Manila, it seems things are back to normal, as compared to last weekend. Lesser traffic. Maybe because classes are all suspended. I was dropped off to the MRT station and took a ride to Quezon Avenue. When I got off the station, one thing caught my attention. A “good” man carelessly threw off his food wrapper on the sidewalk. Mukha mang OA, but I was furious, outraged. I wanted to come to him and demand him to pick off his trash and eat it, or if he can’t, dispose of it properly. Wala kasing disiplina. Kaya tayo sinisingil ng ganitong katindi dahil sa kapabayaan natin.
Let me share to you a thought that I always believe in since when I was in elementary. Pag tayong lahat, nagtapon ng isang pirasong candy wrapper sa daan, at pare pareho tayong nagiisip na, “it’s just a small candy wrapper, wala namang effect kung itatapon ko lang, maliit lang naman kasi”, pag pinagsama sama natin yang mga tinapon nating maliit na candy wrapper na yan, at isang milyon tayong nag isip ng ganyan, isang milyong candy wrapper yan. At pag bumara ang isang milyong pinagsama samang candy wrapper na yan sa mga canal, estero, atbp., may effect na din yan.
In our own little ways, we should be a good steward of the environment. Paano tayo mapagkakatiwalaan sa mas malaking bagay kung sa ganito pa lang pabaya na tayo?
Just a thought.
***
September 26, 2009. A sorta-kinda-typical Saturday for me. Since malapit na akong magresign sa work, hindi na ako masyadong nirerequire pumasok ng weekends, kaya these past Saturdays and Sundays, nasa bahay lang ako. I woke up 11 in the morning. Sarap! I checked at the window in my room, it’s raining hard. And it was sooooo cold. I ate my breakfast/lunch while i was planning to go to Market Market for my pre-employment check up. Yes, pre-employment. I got a new job, but it will start 11 days after my effectivity of resignation in my work now.
I was about to prepare when the rain poured harder than usual. Together with my mom and sisters, I peeked at our glass window of our living room and we were surprised at what we saw. Bahang baha na sa labas! And in a matter of few hours papasukin na yung bahay namin!
Daddy is at work in Bulacan ng mga oras na to. In other words, puro babae lang kami sa bahay. And I looked around our house. 2 sofa, 1 couch, 1 large component, ref, tables, chairs, computer set, and 3 tv sets. Imagine (tonong Vilma Santos/Eugene Domingo)! But we had no time to imagine. Ang bilis ng pagtaas ng tubig baha. Right there and then, nag kanya kanya na kami ng buhat. At first nakukuha pa naming tumawa sa mga pinag gagawa naming pagbuhat. Parang instant Hercules/Incredible Hulk kami that time. Buti na lang malalaking bulas kami. Hahaha! And thanks to the adrenaline rush.
But it came to the point na pumasok na talaga yung baha sa loob ng bahay. Since its reconstruction on 2006, and after more than a decade since the last flood, ngayon lang ulit nakatikim ng tubig baha ang mala doll house naming bahay. This time, we were not laughing. Concentrated na kami sa pagbubuhat ng mga gamit. It came to the point din na nagkakasigawan na kami. Nabagsakan pa ng kahoy yung paa ko nung nagdedetach kami ni ate ng cabinet doors. The electricity was already cut off. Wala nang internet, wala nang Facebook, wala nang YM. Wala na ding signal ang mga phone namin. And lalo pang lumakas ang ulan. Wala na kaming contact sa mundo that time. My last message in Facebook was (if my memory serves me right), “Sige, out na muna ako, papatayin na yung main switch ng kuryente namin. God bless!” After that, wala na.
Up to waist deep ang tubig sa labas ng bahay, while up to almost knee deep ang sa loob. But there’s no way out for us that time, kasi mas malalim pa daw ang tubig sa kalsada sa labas ng subdivision namin. My mom turned her radio na 702 DZAS lang ang station and we listened to any updates. Oo nga pala, wala pala kaming pagkain na stock when this happened (aside sa sandamukal na itlog na nasa ref). But truly God is a providing God. Yung kapitbahay namin na mas naunang lumikas na sa amin (kalahati ng bahay nila was submerged in flood), pinatabi nila kay mommy yung food na napamalengke nila before the flood happened, and eventually gave it to us. Ang cool nga ni mommy kasi she even took time to go house to house to check our neighbors’ condition (Mabuhay ang VP ng Homeowners Association!!!!).
The flood water at first is okay, tubig ulan lang talaga na may halong konting putik at lumulutang na basura, but as time passed by, madami na akong nakikitang di kanais nais na lumulutang (e.g., bonggang bonggang putik at ipis!!!!). Kaya as much as possible we stayed on the second floor at di na kami bumaba. Kaya naman pag may tumatawag sa landline (nasa sala siya sa baba), nagtuturuan kami kung sinong sasagot.
Pagsapit ng gabi, my mom and ate and I stayed at the master’s bedroom, while Karmi is practicing for her recital. Mom turned on her favorite radio (yung isang radio kasi wala nang signal yung 702 DZAS). We looked for some biscuits, ate it and listened carefully to the news updates. This time, it was really heartbreaking. Almost, if not all of Pasig was greatly affected by the flood. Same goes to Marikina and Rizal. It was very unusual because hindi naman kami masyadong binabaha pag may mga ganitong ulan. And what breaks my heart most is the fact that many people are trapped and stucked on the roofs of their homes, waiting for rescue to come. Mapabata, matanda, buntis, artista; walang pinili ang trahedyang ito. Another heartbreaking fact is hindi enough ang assets and resources ng mga LGUs and the government itself to rescue the victims. Hindi ko man gustong isipin, ngunit biglang pumasok ang mga government advertisement expenses, Le Cirque dinner, at yung mga perang naigastos sa walang katuturan. Imagine (tonong Vilma/Eugene again), maipangbibili sana ito ng mga kagamitang pwedeng magamit sa mga ganitong biglaang sitwasyon. Well, naisip ko lang naman. Wala naman may gusto ng nangyaring ito. Pero, come to think of it, kung may reserved resources tayong naitabi for unexpected situations like this, siguro mas marami ang narescue at napakain agad. Siguro, nabawasan ang mga namatay bunga ng kapabayaan ng iba.
Sabi nga ng status message ng isa kong college classmate, “It’s payback time! – Mother Earth”. The message is, I guess, right. Masyado nating inabuso ang kapaligiran natin. And sabi ng isang environmentalist sa radio, expect the worse/t in the coming days. I just don’t know if he’s just saying the truth or nang aasar lang siya at gusto lang niyang matakot ang lahat ng tao sa mga nangyayari. But I hope his motive is just to tell the truth. Siguro nga ganun.
When we heard na maraming tao talaga ang naapektuhan ng pangyayaring ito, we cried. We realized, mapalad pa din kami, dahil except for a few things na nabasa ng baha dahil nakalimutan naming isalba, the four of us are spared from any danger. We took that opportunity to pray and thank God for saving us, and we prayed for those people who need Him at that very point in time. After praying, I felt the effect of what we did a while ago. Masakit na ang buong katawan ko. And before I knew it, nakatulog na ako.
***
September 27. A ray of sunshine touched my face (meganon!) and made me wake up. Magtatanghali na pala. Gising na lahat ng mga kasama ko sa bahay. Breakfast/lunch is ready. Dun kami sa terrace kumain (that’s what I call now “kakain sa labas”). Wala nang ulan and the sky is clear. Pero it seems mas tumaas ang tubig baha. At mas lalong pumutik at dumumi. I took snapshots ng mga bahay at sasakyan na lubog sa baha, and I also took shots ng sala namin and dining area. Just for documentation.
After eating, I went sleepy and took a nap. Pagkagising ko, Dad was at home with my cousin. Nagdala sila ng Savory Chicken, my favorite! =) While I was eating again, they said babalik na sila ng Bulacan bago mag gabi. I immediately made a decision to go with them. I hurriedly packed up my things and after several hours, we went off.
My dad, cousin and I took a boat ride from our house to the end of Sandoval Avenue, which is about a three-minute car ride. The boat is only improvised, astig nga kasi kinaya kaming tatlo eh ang bibigat namin. Humihinga lang ako every 30 seconds kasi natatakot akong baka mahulog kami. Each time na nagssway yung boat and seems like we will fall off, I was gasping and screaming. The only time I stopped doing so is when dad sternly told me, “ano ka ba, pag nahulog ka naman di ka naman malulunod, hanggang hita mo lang yan noh.” Kahit na, yuck pa din.
Finally bumaba na kami sa bangka-bangkaan. The second phase of our “journey”: A long walk along the muddy, thigh/knee/binti/knee/binti deep flood from Sandoval Avenue to C. Raymundo Ave. It took us 30 to 45 minutes. I was dizzy and about to collapse when I changed my mind, kasi baha ang babagsakan ko, ayoko nga. Kaya I focused and prayed to God to sustain me. As I walked along, I was taking pictures of the place and people were waving and smiling at me when I was taking pictures. Ang Pilipino talaga, kahit ganito na ang sitwasyon, picture picture pa din.
At last, narating na namin ang Arlington, kung saan nakapark yung service vehicle ni dad. I sighed in relief. We went off first to buy pandesal, and afterwards sa gasoline station na maganda na madaming restaurant at Starbucks to eat dinner at Jollibee. Gusto ko kasi ng Chicken Joy. I thought it will make me happier if I eat it for dinner, after all of what happened. My cellphone signal went back to normal, and I texted my friends that I’m fine, thank you. Afterwards I checked my Facebook and received several how are you’s and ok ka lang ba’s and HINDI KA NAMIN MAKONTAK’S. I replied to all of them and I realized madami palang nag alala sa akin, at sa family ko. Yihee!
When I went down to sleep, I began to thank God again for all the things He did and provided to us, to me, to my family. Though I was also worried for some of my friends who were reportedly stuck at their home for almost two days without food (eventually they were rescued, thank God). Then again, before I knew it, nakatulog na ako.
***
September 28. Lumuwas ako to visit my friend in Quezon Avenue because her mom passed away. As I travelled back to Manila, it seems things are back to normal, as compared to last weekend. Lesser traffic. Maybe because classes are all suspended. I was dropped off to the MRT station and took a ride to Quezon Avenue. When I got off the station, one thing caught my attention. A “good” man carelessly threw off his food wrapper on the sidewalk. Mukha mang OA, but I was furious, outraged. I wanted to come to him and demand him to pick off his trash and eat it, or if he can’t, dispose of it properly. Wala kasing disiplina. Kaya tayo sinisingil ng ganitong katindi dahil sa kapabayaan natin.
Let me share to you a thought that I always believe in since when I was in elementary. Pag tayong lahat, nagtapon ng isang pirasong candy wrapper sa daan, at pare pareho tayong nagiisip na, “it’s just a small candy wrapper, wala namang effect kung itatapon ko lang, maliit lang naman kasi”, pag pinagsama sama natin yang mga tinapon nating maliit na candy wrapper na yan, at isang milyon tayong nag isip ng ganyan, isang milyong candy wrapper yan. At pag bumara ang isang milyong pinagsama samang candy wrapper na yan sa mga canal, estero, atbp., may effect na din yan.
In our own little ways, we should be a good steward of the environment. Paano tayo mapagkakatiwalaan sa mas malaking bagay kung sa ganito pa lang pabaya na tayo?
Just a thought.
 |
| sala. in a span of a few minutes my sisters and i were able to lift all of these. adrenaline rush. |
 |
| muddy, yucky, waistline-deep baha. |
 |
| taken from our house's terrace. |
 |
| Mercedez avenue |
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