Electricity
The first thing that usually goes out when Signal No. 3 hits is power. And together with sanity also goes, for some, water, phone lines and other power-dependent services, like the Internet and radio. Some people curse the black-out then proceed to the nearest mall. Some decry the feeling of living in the Stone Age as if it was electricity that gave humans intelligence.
Not much we can do when our power lines are overhead instead of being underground or embedded on ground-level structures. Yes, it’s an engineering issue but don’t we have enough engineers now to make us decide the best options? Even if one never studied engineering, it still makes one grunt in frustration at knowing politicians have more control over infrastructure projects and “countryside development” than engineers do.
Water
Water, the essential element, is also one very ironic thing. With so much of it coming down from heaven, we panic that we have no mineral water to drink. Water, water everywhere but not many wise persons around! While it refreshes the land, water also causes fear when cyclones blow. Again another source of engineering problem that should have been addressed many years ago with wider and more efficient canal systems but because of lack of vision, we all suffer unnecessary floods. Of course, up in the mountains and in the forests, the issue is that of gravity and saturation capacity of the soil. But it is also an issue involving human dominion. Much of the destruction that nature inflicts upon us is merely a result of human abuse and negligence. Let’s stop whining for our own errors. We all deserve it!
Billboards
How many times have people warned against this menace of the landscape? How many times have we heard ordinary people and artists decry the desecration of the environment with this modern invasion of the senses and the sensibilities? Will we have to go to court to decide if we can allow them to rake in money and endanger – no, kill – more lives? Enough! Away with those free-standing billboards! You hear the cry in a loud unison but one wonders if someone hears at all.
We shout against billboards when we could have avoided all the trouble if we only had the sense to see through the maze that blocks our vision to clarity.
Fallen trees
Trees will fall and branches will break as surely as the wind blows. (I personally don't believe Typhoon Milenyo only had 130kph winds to topple those many trees and billboards. But more on that in the next post.) So why plant them where they can do damage – right beside power lines or next to a house? There must be a sensible way of avoiding danger before it happens. If you plant a tall tree alongside a road, chances are it will fall on it. Or if you build a road where a tall tree is, somehow, it will fall and block, if not, crush a vehicle. How tall is a tree anyway? Can we not give enough space for it to fall upon without doing much damage? In the howling wind, I think that I shall never see a problem as deadly as a tree.
Typhoon Warnings
Alright, PAG-ASA may have put out typhoon bulletins on the radio and TV but isn’t it presumptuous to expect people, who wake up one morning and seeing only rain, not to venture out? The fact that many people were caught out there in the offices during the height of the typhoon means our typhoon signals are nothing but bulletins and not really effective signals like the sirens or tambulis (horns) used in the past. Filipinos, in general, respond more to a warning sound than to sound bites. Sounds alarming? It better be; it's your life at stake.
With almost everyone having cell-phones, why can’t the government and the telecommunication giants come out with a system that will warn people of an impending cyclone, tsunami, landslide or earthquake? Anyone would be willing to pay P1 for such a service 4 or 5 times a year. What is P5 if it will save a life?
I say, much of our hysterical reactions are out of place. No, I do not mean our grief and pain, or our fears and our valid concerns. But if we do what is in keeping with common sense and plain wisdom, we have no reason to suffer, to panic or to worry when disasters strike.
But there is another side of typhoons that we fail to see which, if we did, would not leave us feeling so helpless. Here are a few of what we do not appreciate:
Clean air
Typhoons give us a breath of clean, cool air for a day or two in the polluted metropolis and other urban areas. Instead of shouting, breathe in deeply and enjoy this rare blessing from heaven.
Silence
Hear the silence of the night when no karaoke, TV, radio or car engines dare invade the eye-of-the-storm peace that comes after the typhoon. It brings back those childhood days in the provinces when only the cicadas and the creaking bamboos ruffled the night.
Humility
City life usually brings pride to its denizens. Having lived in Baguio for 12 years, coming back down in Metro Manila was a humbling experience. I couldn’t recognize new buildings and got lost in the maze of flyovers and underpasses. People of course “knew” their way around and in fact felt they belonged to the city. I did not. Typhoons do that to us. We feel lost in the silence and the darkness. But others just don’t get it. They would rather whine and complain that they should suffer such a curse. Try humility; it is the first step toward real wisdom and strong character.
Open space (no billboards)
As we said, be thankful, we can see the skies once more, if we try hard enough to peer through the naked billboard trusses. It may seem like a cruel thought; but a fallen billboard is nature’s way of reclaiming its supremacy over decency.Swelled Clean Rivers
Feel the surge of full and cleaner rivers flowing by and be revitalized. But city-dwellers miss this opportunity. Once power comes back, they go back to watching TV and singing karaoke. But right in the city is nature putting out a show we fail to appreciate and give thanks for. We don’t even take time to watch Pasig flow lazily by anymore; unlike in Rizal’s time when they spent afternoons beside her pristine banks. Why should we? And smell her normally putrid waters?
Less traffic
Who drives during a typhoon? Who else but the people in media, in government or in business. And those caught unaware in the storm. The streets should be no-man’s-land during such times. But it goes back to what we said above: how should people know? Nevertheless, it helps nature clean the air faster.
Time to think
Thinking triggers new energy. It leads us to make amends for our errors and omissions. Storms give us time to think, if not of personal matters, at least of ways to improve our way of dealing with our environment and our manners. It is not too much to expect some good coming out of seemingly bad things.
Finally, Filipinos are wont to say that typhoons and other disasters are God’s way of telling us we should change. We all welcome that. But we tend to look at typhoons in the same way we look at Lent, Christmas or New Year. We rejoice at being given another chance to do it right this time, a chance to be better people and a chance to make it happen for our country. This makes the Philippines the most hopeful country perhaps in the entire globe. But, too much hope without enough progress becomes a tiring farce. We have been hoping since the time of the Spaniards. Rizal’s final poem still echoes our national pathos: “Adios Patria adorada! Region del sol querida; Perla del mar de Oriente, nuestro perdido Eden!”
Today, we live in a virtual Paradise but still behave likes slaves and victims. After each storm, we all feel like Adam and Eve just out of the Garden -- heads bowed down, eyes on the dirt and debris, pride shattered and pockets even more empty. What we forget is that if we turned around, we would see that the way is wide open for us back to those loving divine hands. Back to where abundant life reigns. Alas, we would rather live East of Eden!
1 comment:
I must have edited this article a hundred times and it still doesn't respond to some changes. So sorry for the formatting blahs. Blogging can be confusing. But, hey, it's free! Can't complain.
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