LETS MOVE ON AND HELP

Ondoy's wrath as we all of us know here from Facebook has brought a certain spirit of "bayanihan" in all of us. Time lines, geography, nor social status were insignificant during those times of need. Everyone pitched in with all the ongoing relief efforts, rescues and even updates from everyone, who to save first at this certain location or which orgs needed more volunteers and the likes. Blow by Blow accounts for one week, non-stop and more... But as typhoon Pepeng struck the north for a week now, it seems that after most of us prayed that it won’t land in Central and Metro manila, and landed on the north, the donations and the same charitable spirit seemed to dwindle...

I might be wrong, or might misinterpret the whole scenario but it really irked me a lot to have this inevitable conclusion that people were just extra concern because it was manila that was struck big time... proximity did a big role on the spirit. and now, since it was north, no matter how badly hit all the provinces were, its seemed an OK situation for most and it would take a good shaking before they would further on what they started with Ondoy... lesser updates from what was happening up north, lesser concern except for a few people who understood the significance of such natural disasters...

Maybe I’m ahead, or right away misjudging, but I’ll take the hit. It’s a subjective observation of mine that I can't seem to contain anymore. More people up north needs the all the help they can have, farmers almost to harvest loss billions collectively. Even Baguio with its altitude, has floods, Pangasinan is more than 90% underwater and the facts go on and on, probably the most expensive typhoon damage ever for our country since the great flood of 1972 when Central Luzon was in the same position... It’s time to light that candle of charity, of wider concern for our brothers... a collective effort once again to help out a greater population. If you don’t have time, prayers will do wonders, volunteer again and donate to your able charity that has the capacity to utilize and distribute all donations in this massive scale.

The government, civil society, private sector, common people and everything in between should be taking notes with what has happened. This is actually the time when people running for government positions next year should be tested with what they can do. But in the midst of all of this, I am actually proud to see that boundaries seemed to be in gloom for a while when groups actually function as a part of a whole. When the process of how a certain mission, though in individual, seemed to cohere in one and made the mission fan out to its original purpose. Help. Swift help.

We are continually tested for our spirits as a nation. Probably we are slated to be the first nation to actually feel the fury of nature because of man's deeds and materialism, global warming and the continuous conscious disrespect for our environment. But there’s always a silver lining for the lucky Filipinos if they would just see it in a different perspective. Studies for both urban and geographical model flood simulations have a better gasp now of what is to happen next time, funding scientific studies result to factual information on how to deal with very predictable disasters. There is a chance now for better urban planning and people have a better understanding that cheaper land isn’t really a good land, even being conscious with locations, types of housing and even safety precautions of so. Agriculture wise, there should be proper funding and support for all the people involved in it, that farms and primary crops should be dispersed and encouraged all over the country, that in case of this kind of disaster or any that would devastated our food supply, other provinces can be tapped. Let’s face it, we are built for agriculture not subdivisions. If only the government can make simple farmers into really capable experts with their crops, then probably we are exporting out surplus now. And individual people could actually make a difference by participating on a common purpose if they would just really work hard on it. For the past decades, we’ve been wailing to change the governance that the people we sat in office are doing, but we almost forgot that we can change as people and eventually a whole population with the same basic idea of an able country. A fresh start if you could put it that way.

Idealistic, but very feasible.

When the Steel Kubo Sank

No one was really prepared for anything, les changing their lives forever. September 26, 2009 was just an ordinary day for most of us but not till that afternoon when most of Metro Manila, the capital of vulnerable Philippines was hit by a month’s worth or rain within six hours. Life altering indeed and it came from the waters that gave life to the capital who’s been the country’s main port city.





Life versus Material

As the raging flood waters enveloped most of the city, when cars toppled upon another, when the walls of your house that protects you defied its purpose, and when roofs become the only solace of safety available, one couldn’t help but wonder. With all material things striped from you, you are left with your humanity and shaken faith with God. This was hurricane Katrina with a big mound of rice in it that most of us couldn’t bare to swallow. As the hours trickled on, and the rains pour vigorously, we held on to that faith. We know that its common sense that the murky dark waters of mud, garbage and the hard earned life of the people, swallowed house after house, subdivision, buildings, aimlessly and indiscriminately: commoners, politicians, actors, rich or poor, all succumbed to its wrath.




Democracy and Government

Let’s go back when we were mourning for the death of the Mother of Philippine Democracy, Corazon Aquino. All were moved, appreciative of what she gave us back, restored our soul as a race and as freemen. It’s the time when nationalism and love for our country was at its peak. I think that this event made us more responsive and vigilant regarding what’s happening around and it did helped a LOT during Ondoy’s wrath. The evening of September 26 became a milestone for everyone. A shining silver lining on what we are as a race drowning in fear and chaos: the birth of a new breed of people.

People online became newscasters, weather men, making everyone aware of the extent of the disaster. Groups helping out for relief efforts, volunteerism and compelling hoards in prayer, people connecting to people as their voice to direct them for and to help. It’s the only time when politics and government was irrelevant and noticeably non-existent. Media took over and everyone has a voice. True democracy in action and deed… an exercise of when a person governed himself and saw his part of a greater group, the results seemed so much more significant. To be frank, people online were far more organized with coordinating, informing and acting on Ondoy’s victims and the help needed for them, more than the Philippine government itself. Shame on you people who we pay to govern us.




Your Declaration of the State of Calamity is Good… But Where is the Rubberboat?

As the rescue operations started with people stranded in their homes, roofs and even powerlines, one can’t help but wonder how our government is so ill prepared with calamities such as this, that it’s such a given fact that our country is bombarded by typhoons several times every year. We don’t need your words. We need action. And coming from the glistening positive behavior of the Filipino people, the government should be threatened. Why? Because this was the instance when they’re needed to act and no one really cared if they do. The bayanihan spirit was so alive that people depended on other people to survive, that the boundaries of society were defied and deemed insignificant, that the bottom-line of it all was that people need help, so they’re going to get it, and no politician would put malice on such humanitarian effort. It’s simply us, like a family.

Stories of Bravery, Death, and Survival…

Relief work started immediately, first in small ways such as checking your neighbor next door, prayers and small bits of heroism here and there. But the full story of this chapter in our history didn’t really materialize till the day after the storm, when practically a giant pitcher of rain water was poured all over the city like a tsunami. Death littered the streets like the gunk and garbage it has, pushing 300 as of this moment. The whole world was watching as people wade around puzzled with what has happened to a modern metropolitan city they live in. Story after story, each one more disastrous, sad, heroic than the other… It’s a whole chapter of stories that we as a race are capable of writing legibly and properly.

This is a test given by God and we are given this chance to have straight A’s. Yes, you might think it’s just a small part of a country with seven thousand plus islands, and Manila is not the Philippines, but the capital, after all, is the melting pot of all the people in our country and properly represented. God probably thought that the Filipinos are very ripe for this. We were given a chance to rekindle our soul as a freedom loving and respecting race a couple of month’s back, and now is the time to act on it with Him on our side.



Moving On…

After all the relief efforts that’s going on right now, giving victims means to survive the day, what efforts are we supposed to do to help people stand on their own once again? Everything that’s offered now is just temporary, but rebuilding back intangible lives is a bigger task. Sometimes I entertain the idea that Ondoy is a chance for Manila to retrofit its urban planning, a chance to view our capital in a different way, a capital more respectful of nature, and aware of environmental concerns, a clear message for everyone to participate in the global drive to combat global warming, an example for other cities in the country to re-evaluate and asses what’s lacking in their community, an opportunity for groups and organizations to practice their mission and vision, and simply relive a value that makes us all Filipino. Bayanihan.

Together we should force ourselves to move on and be prepared all the time after this disaster. We are resilient as a race, dutiful with our spirituality but we all tend to forget sometimes. We don’t need another Ondoy to kiss the cheek of our mother country just to make us realize why our race is a survivor or why we are Filipinos, and be inspired to write our history better and with an A+ from God.

CALLING ALL FABULOUS 30'S AND 40'S MEMBERS AND FRIENDS, COME TONIGHT, SEPT 29, 2009 AT THE KAPIHAN SA GATEWAY, COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF TONIGHT TO DISCUSS HOW WE CAN HELP OUT THE VICTIMS OF TYPHOON ONDOY AND FELLOW MEMBERS WHO WERE AFFECTED TOO...

My Ode to the Mother Of Democracy

Her family mourned, unselfishly
Her country, drenched in yellow confetti
streets, lines of people
hearts, rivers of tears

yellow, bright... bitter sweet
songs of praise
half mast raise
honoring our mother of freedom
silently watching from the kingdom...

sorry if we've been disobedient
sorry if we sometimes did wrong...
sorry if as your children we've strayed far
and sorry as citizens we seemed to forget...
like a mother, you still forgive and inspired many to do right...

further on, her message states
to take care of the thing she fought for
the freedom, enabled us to have a voice
today, tomorrow we should be thankful for...

her crying children, forced to share
the only mother they've known
to the country who grieves with them...
at the end of the day, realized
in her eyes
we are all citizens of this country.

goodbye our mother of democracy...
goodbye our yellow rose...
bloomed, wilted and now ready to shed...
shed the seeds of her sacrifices
for the country she loved unfazed...

the orphaned Philippines will miss you greatly
Our president, our mother, our giver of freedom...
thank you.

Timely Flight of the Yellow Dove by Cholo Ayuyao

For the past days, as the country mourns over the death of former president Corazon Aquino, there’s a certain feel of calmness all over the land. The eerie silence actually transcends fluency that is cloaking each one who is affected by her death, some viewing it like the loss of a mother, a sister, a leader both spiritual and political. But after being hooked by this historical occurrence and observing the people’s behavior this afternoon as the remains of the former president sliced through the seas of people towards the Manila Cathedral, one couldn’t deny the fact that no other leader of this country has ever commanded such ardor and respect from the masses the way Corazon Aquino does.


She’s a perfect example of what a leader should be: Imperfect and admitting that she is. That humility raised her status to a very influential leader even after her tenure as president. Even in her death, she still commands that same influence and even more. Her death maybe a great loss for her closest of family but it is very much timely for the country. In her death, I’ve noticed the silence from politicians aiming for positions on the coming elections next year. The recent SONA, which was a failure in itself and managed to only light up a little candle from the expected bonfire it would produced was still outshined by her death. The snowballing of event signified one thing for our country: In Cory’s death, she’s still telling us a message to be conscious of what our government is and what the state of the Filipino is now.

The Filipino is a resilient race, Cory believes. Her death is telling us to gather up our senses as a people and make next year right. Her legacy to the world of not using violence, but prayers en mass and act on that faith and belief to make it be heard and materialize further on. It’s a wakeup call for everyone to guard that democracy and practice it the proper way. Cory gave us back the voice that we needed now, a choice if such ill governance and political hodgepodge shall persist. Her death is telling us that each one of us is significant in democracy, that our collective voice would make our race wiser the coming year. From the death of her husband till her death, she sacrificed everything for our democracy and continually fought for it when circumstances try to tarnish it. That was her commitment to us, her people, and she’s expecting that kind of sacrifice and commitment to be returned by continuing that legacy of freedom and prayer.

Untying The Yellow Ribbon by Cholo Ayuyao

When I was still a child, around the year 1986, my aunt who hails from Manila came in for a certain family gathering. Playing with my cousins at the porch she stood there with a stern stance and talking to the adult side of the family. I didn’t bother to know what their conversation was but I did notice pins bearing the colors red and blue being handed out by her. Then in my utmost innocence I asked for one and pinned it in my soiled cotton shirt. It read “Marcos-Tolentino”. My mind could not really grasp the state of the nation that time but I know now that after I pinned that campaign material on my shirt, it would have been so awkward for my aunt to hear all of us cousins who were playing in the porch yelling “Cory-Cory-Cory!” as a helicopter hovered past above us. That was the first memory of who Cory Aquino, the first lady president of our country, to me.

More than 20 years past that day at our porch, I have now a bigger spectrum of understanding on who is Cory Aquino. Her color of choice, Yellow, has become a symbol and beacon of democracy and freedom for the Filipino race though when I was kid I did funnily chose the yellow over the red simply because I thought it was prettier. Cory’s demise this morning is almost sanctified. Her death was around 3am, like the Savior’s dictated time when He redeemed the sinners in the Bible. This blessedness I think is what kept Cory apart from the present president. While the present was toying with the books, Cory’s hand was towing the books of prayers. That’s Cory’s power. Even after three presidents, Cory’s rule would transcend from generation through the next with her motherly stance and teaching the country who she helped restored their democracy that prayers could actually move mountains and even change the phase of a country’s history. That is Cory Aquino for me now.

Further more with the comparison of the two lady presidents, which is utterly inevitable, it’s so uncanny how the two commanded the country differently. So opposite in fact, that their middle ground can’t be even described as grey but more of black from white specially zooming in on their last SONA’s. With her almost unabashed feistiness and stern scholarly knowledge of the constitution, GMA’s speech was beautifully crafted to whip back at her detractors and strategically constructed sentence after sentence to polish a tarnished Filipino soul. Though I think that with the new batch of people, specially the younger set who’s consciously making themselves understand how their government works, read between the lines and could analyze the full valedictorian speech behind the purple French fries. Cory’s speech though, during her last SONA was more of gratitude, thanking the people and her constituents for trusting in her capabilities to rule a tortured country. People listened then silently, like a child listening to his mother. One comparison though that stands above the rest is that while everyone’s almost paranoid to make sure the present doesn’t stay further than her term, in Cory’s time, more people begged her to stay and in full humility, the housewife turned commander in chief chose not to stay, instead opted to be ck to her normal life.

The legacy of Corazon Cojuangco Aquino can’t be tarnished by anyone. The whole country is now praying for her eternal rest as she arrives in the heavens and being patted in the back by the creator for a life well lived with substance. The country mourns but thankful for her legacy. In her sacrifice, she brought back a country’s soul through prayers and democracy. The heavens laments he leaving, dark skies around the country as the rain drizzles and soaks the yellow ribbons around the hospital she’s in. Yellow isn’t just a pretty color for me now. Yellow is Hope, Peace, Freedom, and the color best worn by a woman dressed in a gentle motherly fashion with a will and faith of an armored warrior… Cory.

An Affair with a Cupcake by Cholo Ayuyao

This is ongoing for the past weeks and I can’t really explain why. I know I’ve always been a pastry fan, anything that’s drenched in butter, frostings and the works to embellish and flavor a humble piece of baked dough. It all started one day at the mall, having my hair shaved and still on an emotional roller coaster with “stuffs”. I can remember the smell of pomade from the old man beside me as my designated barber bombard my fragile scalp with a heavy hand and a buzzing hair clipper. I was just there staring at myself, face glistening from the harsh fluorescent lights around me, showing every nooks and crannies of my imperfect face. The barber turned my face into the clear door of the shop to shave my head’s right side and there, I saw a kiosk selling what seemed to be confetti of colors conveying a message of relevance and comfort. Dots of colors in circular form covered the racks of the refrigerated glass cabinets, choking my eyes with glee. I sigh. Like an adolescent seeing his crush once again. The barber splashed my head with aftershave and the sting of alcohol on newly shaved skin jolted me, realizing the barber was done with me. After I paid up, I went to the enchanting sight of rows upon rows of cupcakes. I bought myself one and held it in my hand with utmost dexterity.

Striding along the mall with a cupcake in my hand, I felt giddy all of a sudden. I stared at the cupcake that I was holding and saw the florettes of icing in different colors. Finally I stopped at my favorite coffee shop and ordered a cup and placed that tempting cupcake of mine on the table. I just stared at its magnificence, wondered how that chocolate pastry below the clouds of hardcore sweetened butter tasted like. Then my coffee arrived, savoring the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the alluring colors of the cupcake. I was thinking this is foreplay. I picked it up and placed it in my mouth. Taking deep breaths my mouth started salivating till the first peak of whipped cream, butter and castor sugar touched the roof of my mouth, feeling that cloudy softness rapture along my stiff palette. My teeth sank into the chewy and moist goodness of the cake, probing deeper as my upper and lower teeth connected and displacing that big morsel into my mouth. I exhaled so hard that it sent shivers down my spine. Moistened and drenched with my saliva the cake started to melt, feeling that sense of excitement once again for another bite. But the cupcake was such a tease. It doesn’t want to be hastened. I knew, like a partner, it wanted to be consumed slow and with grace. Caressed by my tongue, the morsel cloaked me in satisfaction. I chewed on further. I could feel crumbs of chocolate cake embracing the walls of my mouth while swirls of sweetness drape my teeth with elation. Don’t swallow, my cupcake seemed to be saying. And I obeyed dutifully. It was both painful and gratifying at the same time while my eyes shut. But I’m just human I thought and eventually succumbed to the urge to swallow. Heavy breaths upon another I could feel the churned goodness’ talons clutching my throat. I can’t resist I reckoned and pushed it deeper inside me. My lips pressing like a child committing his first sin, wetting them with my tongue. I released a sigh while looking at the unconsumed cupcake in front of me. I know it was telling me “don’t… not yet.”


My heart was pounding when I peeled off more the paper cup that was dressing it. It was totally nude now with all its natural dark skin of chocolate. I knew I was in control now. I won’t be submissive anymore. I opened my mouth once again and put it in my mouth. I know how it wanted to be treated gently but I’m rough now, my mind clouded with temptation. I bit, licked, and took advantage of its gentleness and unabashed sweetness. Bit every crumb and swirled it around my mouth as I licked off the sugar from my fingers laid with its oozing sweetness. I’m hungry for it, sweat forming on my forehead and nose. The coffee doesn’t matter anymore as I feel myself choking with its goodness as it never wanted to enter me. Then it finally succumbed to my yearning and finally slipped down my throat. It was so explosive I closed my eyes in satisfaction and had the weirdest urge to light up a cigarette with my naked body covered in sheets in mind. I wiped off the sweat from my nose and stared at the cupcake’s robe of corrugated paper cup. I smiled, my eyes closed and satisfied. Then I felt a small pain at the back of my head and heard a buzzing noise.

“Sir sorry po” the barber told me after he saw the dot of blood from my nape, poked by his buzzing hair clipper. Then that was the moment I realized that I was just day dreaming inside the barber shop. I smiled at my silly self and said to the barber that it was ok. I paid up and went straight to the cupcake kiosk in front of the barber shop, bought a pack of six chocolate frosted ones, rode a jeep home and went straight to my room. I placed them on my side table near the bed and thought that it’s true when people say “once you go black, you’ll never go back.” and silently laughed at my odd behavior that day. From then on, I never missed a craving of those silly ol’ cupcakes, I was so consumed by the craving that people thought that it was actually a person. I can’t blame them though. I talk about them cupcakes like they were actual people in the first place. Today, I’m ten pounds heavier but contented with my cupcakes. Even in my disfigured, unflattering, sugar rich form, they would always not mind and try their best to satisfy me, and without the commitment- Haha!