By Joel B. Belinan
My heart goes to the small people whose lives were devastated by Typhoon Odette in the Visayas. What with just a few days before Christmas Day, a very important time for Filipinos, and coupled with the suppression of our movements because of the pandemic which is still in our midst. But there were instances in the past when typhoons have visited many parts of the country a few days before Christmas making some to describe ours as a god-forsaken country. Indeed, disaster does not choose the time when it comes and thus the need for preparedness, so they say.
My friend and sister in the ideology, Anabelle Jayco who now lives in Bohol, said that in her neighborhood alone, five houses were totally wrecked many others suffered damages. My garden was washed out, she said, but they are still thankful as nobody was hurt seriously among them in the neighborhood. As of this writing, most of those places where Odette passed through are still without electricity which also gives us an idea of the extent of damages that this year-end typhoon brought to our Visayan brothers and sisters. The only consolation was that every time calamities struck, many Filipinos reached out to the victims showing kindness that are truly innate in humans. And as we speak, relief efforts from the private sector and the government are in full swing.
Looking back on Christmas Eve of 2004, there was also that typhoon that devastated Northern Luzon. I happened to be one of the local media people accommodated in the security chopper of the then Pres. GMA who was spending her holidays at the Mansion House while visiting various affected areas. From the air, we saw how the wrath of nature can easily destroy what we humans have labored for years. Our aerial view also showed that such destruction was partly due to our (people’s and government’s) continued neglect of our environment.
The havoc of Typhoon Odette and several destructive ones in the past, we have lost track of the statistics, made our country a part of the international news. Ah yes, we also have been getting the attention of major news organizations in the recent few years, thanks to the antics and tantrums against United Nations officials and International personalities of our current Malacanang occupant. What I am driving at is, can’t we make it in the international news due to positive stories and not these kinds?
This paper came out and hit the newsstands on Christmas Day and by the time it is uploaded to the world wide web, Christmas Day would be over but if we are to look back in the past before this pandemic, the celebration would not have waned yet. That’s the characteristic of Filipinos or maybe what we developed, thanks to the numerous western colonial powers that taught us about Christianity, but we ended up overdoing things and we ended up being laughed at by those who taught us.
Last year when this pandemic was at its height, Christmas revelries were suppressed to a level never seen in the history of this country maybe even worse than during the Second World War. This year, the restrictions have been relaxed, it’s just that for us majority of Filipinos, we do not have the extra cash to engage in those usual revelries. But again if we are to follow the spirit of the season, the most important thing is that we have our loved ones with us, and we are in good health, ready to face the challenges in store for us by the future in this adventure called Life.**
Merry Christmas TO Everyone!
