The year that was 2012

For the year that the world is supposed to end, 2012 will bring a lot of memories. These will stand out to this white hair chronicler.

1. Prudential Plans Inc. closed shop early this year. Just three months before my son would have availed of his educational plan. When the other pre-need plan companies first experienced difficulties paying off claims, Prudential assured the more than 300,000 planholders that the company is stable.Then more than three years ago, they offered to buy back policies at cost. I opted not to sell, thinking that the company could actually rehabilitate itself. Today, I am one of the victims of the pre-need plans fiasco.

2. Habagat brought torrential floods ala Ondoy. But unlike Ondoy, which came and left, Habagat came, left, came back, left again, and threatened to come back again, all in a span of five days. But this time the local governments and the citizens were prepared.

3. In the IT front, nameless hackers, well, hacked into government websites exposing not just the vulnerabilities of websites but the lack of preparation to recover from such incidents. I've posted before that getting hacked is almost inevitable so the next challenge is how soon one can restore one's site.

In the social networking scene, some offices are still afraid of social networks. But there is reason to believe that those who are seemingly afraid will not be so afraid if top management will think that it is their idea and initiative.

4. Sources say frozen shoulder occurs in about 2% of the population. I belong to that 2% now. I realized how painful and inconvenient it could be. It is also said that it occurs to 10-20% of diabetics. I am not diabetic but my mother and grandmas are so it could be that I am pre-diabetic.

5. While Les Miserables will make its way to the big screen next year yet, I am again reminded this year that Javert and his types abound in the workplace. The Javerts are rigid, process-bound, and steadfast in their pursuit of ill-perceived goals. In short, typical bureaucrats.

In a less personal note, aren't we glad Pnoy is our president? The man has shown tremendous political will. He has booted GMA's Chief Justice, quixotically lashed at China, pushed for the sin tax, and signed the RH law. He has deftly maneuvered through fragile alliances in congress to get his pet laws enacted, unmindful of political and religious backlash. He is on his way to becoming the greatest Philippine president by just doing the right thing.

And for 2013, we all must do as Pnoy does.

We must. Just do it.

The Age of Stupid 5

When Ondoy flooded San Juan last September, our small city did not get any media attention at all. I just thought that other areas are worse hit, that's why. In fact, other places that never experienced flooding before were suddenly under water. Some places will be under water for months. Indeed, Ondoy swathed a wide area of destruction.

But still, San Juan itself suffered the worst flooding ever. The Youtube video of cars swept away by the flood currents was taken at the UERM hospital, just across the San Juan river. So why is San Juan not in the news? Not that we are kulang sa pansin, we just want to say that "hey we were victims too". Fortunately, despite the lack of press notice, aid still poured in.

It was also noticeable that during the floods, rescue operations were nowhere in sight. Again, I attributed that to the many people that needed rescuing. But after the water subsided, victims were in unison in saying that no help from the city officials arrived. The rescue efforts that saved hundreds were all initiated by friends and families from higher grounds.

Days after the flood, giant banners were put up by the mayor to exhort San Juanenos to be strong, to work together to make the city rise again from its own efforts, to work together to enliven the people's spirit. Good idea, only if people did not learn that the good mayor sneaked out of the country in the morning of the floods for Singapore to watch(?) the races. Surely, he could not have foretold the great flood. Definitely, he has the right to watch horse races. Absolutely, he is the son of his father.

But talks are rife that his people asked the media to be out of San Juan so people won't notice his absence. Without the media coverage of the people's pleas, help did not come. With the mayor absent, his men were clueless in the rescue operations. He did the wrong thing in going to the races. He did the wrong thing in isolating the city from the media. He is wrong to think that the people does not know any better.

This is the age of stupid.

The Age of Stupid 3 - Ironies of the Times

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink - Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner

The scenes at the aftermath of Ondoy and Pepeng are replete with ironies.We all know that non-biodegradable plastic bags and bottles contribute largely to the environmental problem we now face. But given their practicality and with the lack of alternatives, they are widely used now in the distribution of relief goods. We use them to pack the goods, keep our dry clothes from the mud and flood, and as trash bins. These plastics will eventually find their way to clog the waterways and fill the landfills; which will cause further floodings and environmental degradation.

 The recent floods brought us more water than ever, but people trapped on their roofs are thirsty. The evacuation centers do not have access to clean water, even if it was water that forced them there.

At the clean up operations when mud started to cake, I wished for more rains even if it was rains that caused the floods, so I can easily sweep away the sludge.

At the evacuation centers, hapless people were happy to see politicians pretending to care even if it were the leaders' ineffectivity contributed to the people's misery.

I remember Heber's song:

At kung tayo'y nanahimik/ Huwag kayong magalit/ Ang dapat sa atin ay tawagin/ Mga gago!/ Subalit hindi ganyan/ Hindi tayo dapat ganyan/ Marami nang nahihirapan/ Marami nang sumisigaw/ Marami nang namimilipit/ Maging ako'y nahihirapan/ Kaya ako'y sumisigaw/ Sumisigaw! - - Heber Bartolome's "Hoy Utol, Buto't Balat Ka Na'y Natutulog Ka Pa"

The Age of Stupid 2

The strong rains brought floods that exposed a weak state and a weak republic. Let me add to that. The floods also exposed what we suspected before, the weak candidate of the administration will be a weak leader too. A blog exposed that the coordination efforts of the National Disaster Coordination Council was a disaster. A television footage of an NDCC meeting at the height of the relief efforts showed the military generals with heads bowed in shame because the NDCC was ineffective.

Meanwhile, life goes on in San Juan. We have always been in the forefront of flood stories before, but we take a backseat now despite the heavy damage Ondoy brought because other places were more devastated.

The photo at left shows the scene in front of our house four days after the flood. Contrast that with the other photo showing the actual flood in its early hours. The photo was taken around 1:30pm. The flood was deepest at around 7:00pm, when it was 2.5 ft more than the 1:30 level.

It took a while before things got a semblance of normality. But the people living under the bridge near SM Centerpoint (Sta. Mesa) were back as soon as the flood subsided. I observed them returning to their abode on the 27th, the day after the flood. The pictures, taken on the 29th, indicates that they have washed their clothes, salvaged their belongings and have started to move on. The SM high rise condominium complex in the background is less than 100 meters away.

There are hundreds of other households living near esteros, under bridges, and on other waterways. They clog the canals not only with their waste but with their very presence. They endanger their lives with every coming of the rains.

But how does a weak state implement existing laws against settling on these places?

It doesn't. This is the age of stupid.

White Hair Chronicles XI - Ondoy (Ketsana) and The Age of Stupid

I just watched "The Age of Stupid" last September 24. It is a documentary/ futuristic take on climate change that is more engrossing than Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth". And then on September 26, it was as if it actually happened. Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) poured torrents onto a hapless Metro Manila, deluging us without relent for 6 hours, resulting to the worst floods (I've seen many) I've experienced. This is the age of stupid and we have to learn fast.

I was about to leave early that Saturday morning. But the street was already flooded so I decided to stay home. My son, who was going to attend make-up classes, forgot to bring his lunch money and came back. It turned out to be wise decision. By 11:00 am the water on the street was already waist-deep, and the rains never let up.

My neighbor has moved by then his brand new Pajero to an elevated driveway in the barangay hall across my house. Flood water continued to rise and swiftly crept to the wheels of the Pajero. It was too late to move it to higher grounds because that would mean passing thru already chest deep floods. All the owner could hope for was for the flood to remain at that level.

By noon, the water is already around 8 ft high. And the current was strong. This flood is like no other that I've seen. Whereas before, the flood waters would slowly rise and then ebb, but not flow, as if it was slowly drained out. But this time, the water current was strong enough to move stranded vehicles.

By 2:00 pm, water has started to seep in the second floor of my house. We vainly tried to stack things on top of the tables. The water then was around 12-13 ft. When the flood reached electric outlets, we decided to move next door, where my mother lives. Her portion of the house has an attic, perhaps the floods won't reach us there.

Power was cut off. It was getting dark fast. We had to be rescued quickly before total darkness sets in. But help won't come soon.

Some brave souls decided to use an air bed to take us out of the house. It was around 5:00 pm. We had to go by batches. The first to go were my mom and the kids - my sons and nieces, then ladies - my wife and sister-in-laws. My brother and I carried them piggy back style. But going from the attic to the door meant wading through cold, murky, chest-deep floods, while pushing away floating tables, chairs, TVs, monitors, etc. in near total darkness. And in the little moonlight aided by a tiny penlight, I could see that there were snakes. They were around 10-12 inches long and just about a little finger in diameter, nevertheless, they were scary. I managed to grab a floating plastic flute recorder and swatted away the snakes. I hit around four snakes. It was crazy. This typhoon would put to shame any Hollywood special effects movie.

My brother and I and a neighbor were the last to leave. On the airbed, the rescuers deftly tried to veer away from sharp and pointed edges of the roofs we passed. The flood was already at roof level. They had tied lifelines on the posts. We tugged on the lifelines towards the direction of the higher ground, against the swift current. We passed several houses with people on the roofs begging to be let on the airbed too. But we were already five people on a 5'x6'x8" airbed. And we couldn't risk the airbed getting nicked by the galvanized roof sheets and us sinking to the rushing 15 foot-deep flood waters. After what seemed an eternity, we finally reached higher ground. I was gnashing and gritting my teeth. Perhaps from the cold, perhaps from anger. What stupid thing have we done to deserve this. It was only 7:00pm. It's going to be a long night.

We stayed at my brother's house in the next barangay. My sister-in-law's family is such a nice family. They gladly clothed and fed us. The kids were in high spirits despite the ordeal they just went through. We were thankful we survived. Fatigue and biting cold were not a concern. We were concerned about the others on the roofs we passed by. We were sure many, many more were in far worse condition.

By Sunday morning, the water was gone. It was only then that I discovered that a portion of our adobe wall had collapsed towards the vacant lot next to us. The snakes surely came from that lot. The great flood is over but the cleanup has yet to begin.

It was at that time that I felt I aged a lot overnight. I was soaked in flood waters for a long time, but I felt shriveled, humiliated, and puny against Ondoy.

I am in the age of stupid.