Pause

I have a few posts lined up because we recently came back from a vacation. But I haven't had the heart to write about them thinking about all the people who lost their loved ones, their properties and almost everything they have due to Typhooon Haiyan (Yolanda). Most Filipinos who were luckily spared from the devastation are helping out in their own little way. Honestly, I have been waiting for the right time to make our donations. I know most people are donating now but hopefully more will be left when international aid are no longer coming in. I can only imagine what is going through the minds of the people affected by the typhoon. The magnitued of what has happened and how this will affect their future keep on bothering me. I can only pray that the Lord will give them the strength and hope to go about their daily lives.

I will be back with posts about our vacation, hopefully soon.

Habemus Papam Franciscum*

I’ve been monitoring the conclave since Tuesday. I was not glued on the TV since I can’t afford to lose sleep so I monitored via CNN mobile app and Twitter. When I woke up yesterday, CNN said that it was a black smoke (that is, no Pope yet). For the first day of conclave, the cardinals will only vote once. And then I checked the local time in Vatican, I think it was 2am there so I knew I can spend the whole day not checking if the chimney will release black or white smoke. And then in the afternoon before I went to mass, I saw some tweets saying there will definitely be a smoke around 6pm (this is the first voting for the 2^nd day of conclave).  For the second day of the conclave, the cardinals will vote twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. So yes, I attended mass and then had to do the groceries before going home. When we got home, CNN wasn’t doing their live coverage in Vatican, it was the nightly news with Kristie Liu-Stout. And then I slept. But again the first thing I did when I woke up was check Twitter on any news on the Pope. White smoke! This was around 6:30am earlier, and CNN’s tweet was around 5:30am. So I had to turn on the TV just to watch the replay. I knew CNN will show the announcement of the new Pope over and over again in their different shows in the morning. And I was right. Nakakakilabot when they announced, “Habemus Papam” and then the people cheered.

 

Franch Cardinal announcing "Habemus Papam" - "We have a Pope"

 

And then Pope Francis went out of the balcony. The first time I saw him on TV, I had tears in my eyes. I think he gave off the same aura as Pope John Paul II, very likeable, gave off a warm welcome. Before he gave the faithful his blessing, he asked the faithful to bless him first. Such a humble man.

 

 

 

*This was the first tweet from the new Pope's Twitter account @pontifex - We have Pope Francis!

Photos from CNN.com

Tragedy in our Midst

I know most of us are neck-deep in preparation for our Christmas celebrations but I would like to share these stories of two of my colleagues who were personally affected by Typhoon Sendong. Not to dampen the merriments but just a reminder to help our fellowmen.

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When T left her hometown, Cagayan de Oro, a week ago, she had no inkling that she was not going to see it in the same state again. On 16 December, Typhoon Sendong (Washi) unleashed flash floods in the dead of the night, devastating the coastal city and causing widespread destruction its people have never seen or imagined.  

The raging floods swept away people and property, devastating 20 towns and leaving more than 1,000 dead. The damage was so massive that the Philippine government has declared a national state of calamity.

For the people in the affected areas, the losses were tremendous and the experience, daunting.

T’s husband and family, all based in Cagayan de Oro, were forced to seek higher ground as the waters rose quickly and entered their house, located near Cagayan River. They had seconds to escape in complete darkness. Unfortunately, a 70-year old aunt was unable to get out of the house in time.

"Everything happened very fast, and now things have changed forever," T says. Only two structures now remain standing in their compound which used to be home to five families. Their vehicle was submerged in the floods. Mud covers the few items that they salvaged. T’s family, now based in an evacuation center along with hundreds of homeless families, is slowly picking up the pieces of their lives. They want to start cleaning up, but unfortunately, supplies are limited. Fresh water is not yet available.

Amidst the loss and uncertainty, T tries to find hope. She is scheduled to fly back home before Christmas Eve as she knows that her assistance is needed there. She draws strength from the words and expressions of help and support from colleagues, family, and friends. Starting anew may be difficult, but with others’ help, she – as with the rest of the affected people—can build life anew. "We cannot stop hoping — it is the only thing that sustains us now," she says.

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Article below written by another colleague:

For the past 3 days, as L and I drive to town to buy cleaning materials, food, and water, we witness haunting scenes and hear stories of devastation that we never imagined would happen to our very own community in Iligan.

Two hundred meters from our house, there is a new Honda Civic waiting for its owner—a professor at the Mindanao State University—to return. At around 10 p.m. on Friday, 16 December, the professor tried to save his car from the rising flood waters, before rushing back to his house in Orchid Homes to save his family. But along the way, he was struck by a log and now lies in a hospital fighting for his life. There are many other scenes that speak of this tragedy.

Until this weekend’s floods, Orchid Homes, a  housing development built over the past decade, seemed to be an idyllic place to live in. It is located on a peninsula bounded by the sea and the last bend of the usually peaceful Bayug River. About three kilometers upstream is the bridge on the national highway leading to Iligan, built about six meters above normal water level.

Logs and mud
Last Friday, close to midnight, a torrent of muddy water carrying huge logs from Bukidnon’s forests was raging 2 to 3 meters over this bridge. The water cut down all in a path almost a kilometer wide straight to the sea across Bayug Island, drowning riverside homes—including  our own—and sweeping straight through Orchid Homes.

“Never in my 65 years here has this river’s waters reached this height”, an old-time neighbor told me after the flash floods. The worst flood in this area was in 1982, he said, but the water level was at least three meters lower than this year’s floods.

There was a very short window of time for people to realize they were in danger and act. At about 10 p.m., Army reservists rushed to Orchid Homes and across to Bayug Island to awaken people and warn them to leave. However, many people did not wake up, apparently not believing they were in danger. By 10:30 p.m., the water was knee deep and continued rising over the next minutes. What surprised people was the speed and strength of the water current. Between 11:30 and midnight, the floods peaked, ripping wooden houses from their foundations and completely submerging many single-storey concrete houses.

To describe it, the scene was very similar to the tsunami in Japan that swept all in its path. However, this flood came in the dead of night. Other than cars and debris from destroyed houses, this flood also carried a deadly cargo of huge logs—over one meter in diameter and up to 10 meters long—which hit people and destroyed property. These logs were cut from the forests far away and are now strewn around our neighborhood.

A safe haven for all

Amidst all this devastation, we can only do our best to pitch in and help out. Thankfully, late last year, we extended our house and decided to add a concrete roof to create a large upstairs terrace. On Friday night, this was the highest point in the barangay.

Over 100 people, from babies to the elderly plus pigs and chickens took shelter on our terrace as the waters swirled through the house below. A neighbor, told me that her daughter was trapped in her bedroom and that her husband forced open the door so they could flee the rising waters and reach our rooftop. It is good to know that our terrace became a safe haven for people during the most critical hours.

Yet one cannot help but feel a strong sense of loss. I heard over 400 are dead and 200 are still missing in Iligan. When added to the 700 or more souls lost in Cagayan de Oro, Typhoon Sendong has led to one of the greatest losses of life in recent Philippine history.

Still, we have to move on. For now, we are focused on helping each other out. Many neighborhood children have cuts, so yesterday, L rounded them up so that they could be given tetanus shots by her brother’s nurse volunteer friends.

The new homeless

In between cleaning up and helping out, we visited the suspension bridge which was the link for Bayug Island residents for over 25 years. A few steel cables lying in the mud attached to huge foundation beams are all that are left. B and S, long-time residents who knew L from childhood, were sitting looking forlorn under two pieces of roofing iron, with just a plastic chair and a small bag of clothes—their house gone. R, a 7-year old neighbor, and his five brothers and sisters ate dinner at our house tonight, also homeless. People are devastated and suffering but realize that life has to go on.

Definitely, support for those left homeless is needed as people come to terms with their losses and rebuild their lives. I know that life will never be the same again for the people in our community, but I do hope that the process of rebuilding and recovery can begin soon with other people’s help.

Again here's a list on how we can all help.

*Articles and photos taken from our office website.

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Sendong (Washi)

Please click on this link for a comprehensive list of how you can help the victims of Sendong. Let us all help.

Photo source

Mother and Daughter in Norway

I was fighting back tears while reading this news article.

Messages offer mother, daughter hope amid carnage

Here are some of the text messages exchanged that brought tears to my eyes. Julie is the daughter, Marianne is the mother.

Julie: I love you, even though I may yell at you sometimes.


Julie: And I am not panicking, even though I'm s--- scared.

Marianne: I know that, my girl. We love you very much too. Do you still hear shooting?

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Julie: I am still alive.


Marianne: Thank God for that.

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Praying for the souls of the people who died in this terrible tragedy and for the country of Norway.

Ondoy

I woke up to a rainy Saturday. We had plans for that day - a birthday party to attend to, a birthday treat to go to, Singapore Grand Prix to watch.

My mother started texting me around 11am. She was going back home because their househelp told her water was going inside the house. A cousin helped the maid get some things inside their room but that was it. I think they only got some important documents and immediately left the house because the water was waist-deep. They went to my Tita's house. My mother never got to our house. The jeepney she was riding got them off a nearby intersection. She waited for a few hours then realized she had to check-in in a nearby hotel/motel. She was panicking a bit because my brother was not replying. We were texting back and forth the whole time. While she was worrying about my brother, I was wondering where my husband was. His last message said he can't ride a tricycle because the water was flooded and he was going back to wait for a cab. After an hour there was a knock on our door. My husband braved the flooded streets because he wanted to go home. I immediately told him to have a quick shower and we ate our late lunch afterwards. I wasn't at all worried about everyone else outside our little nook. Later on, my mother texted me that my father and brother are both OK. But that night they slept separately, mother in a motel, my brother with my cousins and my father inside his car parked in a supermarket. My husband and I were able to watch the Singapore qualifying around 12 midnight. The birthday hooplas were all cancelled.

The next day the sun was shining. I thought everything will be OK. My cousin called me asking me if he can go home. He slept with a classmate but I told him not to go home already. They didn't have electricity and the roads weren't cleared yet that morning. So I told him to stay put because he will be safer there. It was only last night when the impact of the typhoon really hit me after I talked to my brother. He was in a panic asking me where our parents where. It was then that I realized it was me who was connecting all of them. My mom was texting me, he was texting me, even my cousin was texting me. But they weren't able to contact each other. My brother told me our little chow-chow didn't survive the floods. Mini was gone. The other dogs were safe. He said the water inside our house was neck-deep, and nothing was salvaged. It was only then that I started to worry. I guess I'm sad for my family. I'm not sure if I could have done something for them. I couldn't even go to them because most roads were not passable. I could only pray that everyone will be safe.

It was also yesterday when friends started texting me how my family was. I think they saw it on the news. I wasn't even aware how they knew or what they've seen on the news. Thanks so much for the concern. It felt like you were more concerned with my family than I was. And for that...thank you! I am so so grateful my family's safe. Even though we lost every thing in our house, I know nothing will compare to the loss of a love one. I am grateful my family was spared from this disaster. No one was harmed.

Still on Cory (and sige na nga..Jamby)

My mom was able to take a photo of Mrs. Aquino's casket and the Fantastic four when they passed by them outside Manila Cathedral. It turned out they went to Manila Cathedral but wen home afterwards. Buti na lang because they wouldn't have endured waiting for Cory for so many hours in Paranaque.





The photo was taken from my mom's camera phone. Uy, look what that man (I'm assuming he's a HE) has on his wrist. A closer look shall we?


If you haven't heard, Jamby Madrigal gave out yellow bracelets with her face on it. Although that bracelet on the man doesn't have Jamby's face tied on it, maybe he yanked it out haha.


Kapal ng face! Galangin mo naman yung patay!

Source of Jamby's bracelet here.

Now and Then

I wish I don't have work today. I would have come with my parents to go to Mrs. Aquino's funeral. Here at the office, we're listening to the livestreaming of ABS-CBN news.

I remember I was 6 years old when the People Power Revolution happened. Our family went there too. Though I don't remember much about what really happened and why it's all been happening but I remember all the people in the streets. I remember while walking along EDSA after the rally, there were a lot of broken shoes, sandals along the road. That was the most vivid memory I had of EDSA hahaha.

What about you? Where were you then and where are you now?

Ma'am Cory

I saw excerpts of the necrological service for Cory Aquino last night from the news. But they didn't show what Insp. Melchor Mamaril's eulogy was. Here's the clip. I can't help but shed a few tears after watching it.



*You may click the link if it takes too long to load from this page.

Tie a Yellow Ribbon*

I am wearing yellow today. Though I have work and won't be able to watch the funeral on TV, I am one with our nation in mourning for the death of former President Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco Aquino. She died on the 1st of August at 3:18am.

*Did you know how the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" was associated to the Aquino's? The song is about a prisoner who is about to come home. And he asked his lover to tie a yellow ribbon in the old oak tree if she still accepts and loves him. When Ninoy Aquino gave his intention to go back to the Philippines in 1983, the Filipino people tied yellow ribbons around the street lamps and streets along the road he would pass to let him know he is welcome to go back.

Photo from here.