Aftermath

Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng have gone, but most of us still suffer from its aftermath. At least two friends from the Marikina area had to abandon the luxury of their condos and stay with their parents for a while. Two more friends from Pasig still have houses underwater and are seriously considering moving residence to Quezon City.

While I was ironically spared the floods, given that I live somewhere near Araneta Avenue which usually floods, my immediate family wasn't as lucky. My eldest brother's bungalow in Rosario, Pasig was completely submerged along with three cars. From the stories they candidly tell, they were having breakfast one moment and scrambling for their dear lives the next minute. They practically had to climb walls and jump roof to roof to get to a neighbor's 2nd-story house to save themselves. They spoke of staying in a small room, together with other "neighbor- refugees" and sharing a two-pack noodle soup with 20 other people. They are staying another week at our youngest sister's house even when the waters had already receded, since there was still mud around and my sister-in-law's foot already got infected.

Ate Rhoda wasn't the only one injured. Dra. Che, our dentist sister, braved the floods and currents of Quezon Ave and Araneta Ave to get to St. Theresa's that fateful Saturday night. She and my youngest sister, Gayle was suppose to pick up my stranded niece, Abby who had a ballet class earlier. Unfortunately, Dra. Che fell into a manhole....wait, let me correct that, she fell into one of those diggings left uncovered by either one of our beloved utility companies. We were all thankful she didn't drown, but she did bash her head on something and her bruises and deep scratches stretch from her elbow, hip to her leg and ankle.

Speaking of unattended diggings, Dra.Che isn't the only one with a beef with our utility companies who are so fond of "destroying" our streets. My cousin, Edlyn personally took to task a particular waterworks company doing consistent diggings in the Kamias area. The local government had already installed bigger pipes and canals to drain away rainwater which periodically inundate Kamias. However, with the diggings constantly going on, the dirt and sand had blocked most of the canals and probably even clogged the pipes. As such, many streets in the East Kamias area were flooded with water entering most homes which were previously safe being on high ground.

Meanwhile, another sister and I are working for DSWD. Most of our direct services staff have been deployed to help with relief work, with technical staff being asked to augment manpower. Sadly, some of our own DSWD staff were flood victims themselves, and that includes an Undersecretary. Everyone is still reeling from the devastation. While DSWD-NCR, Field Office 3 and 4-A are still busy attending to the needs of typhoon Ondoy victims, DSWD -CAR, Field Offices 1 and 2 are likewise faced with dealing with Pepeng's flood and landslide victims in their respective regions.

We have no choice but to grin and bear it. We can only rely on the characteristic resilience of Filipinos and our unique Bayanihan spirit. Maybe we shall surprise ourselves yet again with our strength and capacity to deal with change.