WHEN PRAYING HAS TO BE COMBINED WITH ACTION

A friend gave me a tattoo stick device for internet use. 3 G Folks. I had thought internet usage would be a breeze. The first two times that I used it, it was really fast. Then the third time, the password did not work anymore. Then I sent it to the company for fixing of password. It worked again. Then the password did not work again. So I went back to the company and had it fixed. It worked, while I was at the supermarket where the company was located. But when I got home, this device worked off and on, off and on. I had to log in about ten times already.

I wonder if in other countries, this happens also? How about if Mars becomes a habitable planet, would our internet usage undergo the same conking out so often?

You see Folks, what do I use the internet for? I only search the latest news from the New York Times and the Guardian. After that I breeze through the latest art news. I sometimes go through beautiful art images in order to make my life audio-visually attuned. I also of course send emails to my friends and to companies from which I request for funding of our Regalo Magazine for children and teenagers.

Now I am wondering why my blog creates such a havoc in the tempers of certain sectors? I think that some government officials think that their posts are theirs. They do not like being criticized. But criticism is good if it is constructive, isn't it? Besides, why are they so onion-skinned? When they assume posts, they should be ready for the brickbats because government posts are public property. We own the government as we pay our taxes well. In fact, even if I do not earn so much, I pay my taxes just so I can say, "I am a taxpayer." I like the idea of saying, "I pay my taxes" so I can say also that "I deserve good public service."

What is wrong with exercising our critical mind? Am I not a good citizen in this manner, paying my taxes and at the same time contributing my ideas on how to run the government? I am sure if I had been given a post in the government, PNoy would not be receiving so much flak as now. I think he has even taken criticisms personally now by the way he responds to them. The thing is when people who assume posts don't have a background in social work, as Dinky, has, they are bound to just fit into the bureaucratic posts and repeat the same rigmarole.

I think also that this is why Dinky has survived the onslaughts of criticisms because people know that she is really doing her job well as a social worker. But the others, especially those in the infra, they are just plain bureaucrats, unmindful of the consequences of their work on the public. Energy is full of publicity, yet we don't really need that. We need another electricity server so that Meralco will experience having a competitor who will serve our electricity needs more cheaply. Why concentrate everything on Meralco? In fact, the government should have another utility company to serve our electricity needs that will provide it cheaply. This is just like the field of broadcasting. There are many private companies, but we also have RB, DZBR and PTV 4. So we get a glimpse of government work in the whole Philippines. Now the government should extend that to utilities and telecoms.

In the UK, I was told by a friend that she is a member of a cooperative that buys electricity, gas, and even celfon connections for her and her husband. And my goodness, it is so cheap. The coop buys from the market from the different servers. They haggle and bargain as to who can provide the cheapest service. Because they have many members, they can afford to bargain well.

I think we should wise up already and think of ways how we can use collective power to soften burdensome charges of utilities. Our peso has gone very low in terms of purchasing power. Imagine, I bought only a few items, hardly ten items, and they cost already P300 +. Soap sachets -- 25; pesto sauce for my breakfast - 139; oats - 75, raisins - 46, crackers - 28; French bread - 40. I am now watching my expenses because NGO work--mainly educational --  entails a lot of sacrifices.

If PNoy wants to be truly remembered, I think he should provide free transport of fruits and vegetables from the provinces to bring down their prices in the market. He must also command the Energy Department to think of a way of putting up our own refinery and buying our own oil ourselves instead of being dependent on these 7 sisters for their skyrocketing greed. Malampaya should give us the money for that.

Folks, praying and praying everyday we could be making God deaf already. We should also act. I do pray every morning -- thanking God that I am able to still exist and be healthy. Sana magtagal pa. And I also pray that our Muslim brothers and sisters would find it truly a haven being part of our larger community and would not think of seceding should they experience what we are experiencing now. From the warring zones, they go to the quiet zones with hopefully not war-inducing problems like what we have now.

I pray for my children and the Filipino people to have a truly good government in our lifetime, at least. Amen.

WHAT WOMEN WANT

What are the things that matter most to women?

It is still cheap daily living, which means cheap electricity so we can use our laptops and charge our celfones without thinking of sky-rocketing bills; flowing water so we can even have a bath in the tub but that is not possible friends unless you can afford high living; fresh air along sidewalks in the cities wide enough to accommodate five people together, seats at all supermarkets for those tired of window-shopping or for being loaded with too many bought goods while waiting for relatives to fetch them,  being transported by public vehicles smoothly; without your having to swish here and there, cheap but nutritious food outside the home or at restaurants costing less than P50.00, daycare for mothers so they can engage in business outside the home if they choose to; and educational discounts for those who want to enter college or any school for additional knowledge, among others.

In the case of government services, what do we really want? I would like to have a telephone directory that gives the correct and honest numbers of department and agency, without my having to shift to another section, unit or any other bureaucratic box;  to make every responder to a phone call take the message and try to solve it by channeling the call, if need be to the right section right away; a brochure containing a listing of government agencies and their functions, including officials to write to, what kinds of problems they deal with to be made available for free at every agency for the public to use; a complaints desk with a box beside it where we can lodge our angst against employees who dare to assume an arrogant pose or who waylay us making us move from one office to another or who give us wrong information; public libraries at every barangay with modern and updated books, as well as daily current newspapers -- English and Pilipino to read for free; a call number to report police officers who do not act on complaints of pedestrians and a reply from no less than the head of the PNP as to what has happened to the complaint to signify that the complaint has been acted upon; DSWD call number to report erring husbands or relatives who smoke inside the house with impunity, without regard to the health of the housemates, especially children, as the barangay refuses to act on such matters thinking that it is a domestic and private matter; making the barangay chair show her face to constituents three times a week at least and should not have an office with dark glasses so that we do not see anyone inside; meal allowance for serior citizens who can no longer move about and an ambulant food server of the DSWD who will deliver food three times a day in every barangay; free tutorial services at every school to be conducted by part-time teachers who are employed only for that task; EASY LOANS for artists, homemakers, those who want to engage in business in order to live humanely; free transport and care for those senior citizens who cannot go to church or worship houses on their required days; free vehicles once a month for families which cannot afford to go to Luneta, any nearby park for once-a-month outing, free whosesome cultural shows and not only basketball games viewed by men in the majority, at barangays once a month and many more.  

The list is endless, Folks, as we go through this journey to a life of equality, development, spirituality, and peace. Amen. 

Planet Earth, Finances, Supermarkets, Etc.

The earth is still spinning despite the maddening events occurring in our midst -- the loss of a Malaysian jetplane last March 8, the war in Syria between the rebels and Assad, the dictator, the encroachment of Chinese ships on Philippine waters despite the UN setting of boundaries of territories, the capture of top communist party leaders in the Philippines who decry their arrest but continue to mouth slogans depicting themselves as staunch members who will not be cowered by their jailers, the wishy-washy writing of news saying one thing and then another in another page, the announcements of news by a religious station and then not doing so within the hour depicting a lack of sincerity in respecting the listeners (hey, not even a word of apology for the mishap), and the growing number of twins born to Filipino couples in our country (has anyone ever examined this phenomenon?)
***

I really pity our Earth Mother. She spins and spins and yet the earthlings do not bother to take care of her. How many bombs are exploded? How many nuclear tests are conducted yearly, how many road-widening projects are done, narrowing down the sidewalks for the pedestrians, and making MetroManila a  place for roads and vehicles, no longer so much for people; and most grievously of all, a consumerist society where the mantra is buy? Please buy this and that. 
***

If we are really going to be serious about  counting the jobless, we should include in the calculation the number of people who are abroad and departing everyday. They are the ones who cannot find jobs here. My heart bleeds for workers and professionals who must leave the country just so they could earn at least as much as P30,000 per month. Everyone seems to aim at that salary level, no longer just P12 thou or P15,000. Why stick to the Philippines only to earn this much anyway? 

***
However, I have also been thinking, if the government wants to arrest joblessness, it should conduct a vigorous lending program to everyone, especially homemakers who want to earn and not be dependent on their partners for subsistence. I have seen sad-looking partners who seem to envy those who go out everyday to earn their keep while they have to do the routine jobs of washing, cooking, ironing, etc., activities that could turn any man berserk if he does it everyday, I suppose. 

***

I receive a lot of offers to lend me as much even as P1Million, without collateral, without guarantor. But what is the requirement? Hah! I must have a credit card. You see Folks, the first and last time I had a credit card, I cursed it no end. Why because, the printer which I bought for P15,000 turned out to cost P38,000 after my paying the loan to the lender. I felt very sick but I could not do but pay because of the threat of being sued in court. I think that there should be a limit to charges of loans. The legislative sector should create a law that would put a stop to predatory charges of lending companies. Worse of worsts, when the statemnet arrives, the figures do not state: how much you still have to pay, how much you have paid all in all. If we get a history of the payments we have done, for the total price, we would be able to assess if it is worthwhile borrowing again. 

***
I wonder why supermarkets do not have price tags on every item. Many times, the cashiers have had to send the bagger to get the exact price of an item I am buying. I am sure there would even be customers who would want to buy an item but would not do so anymore because "nakakahiyang magtanong kung magkano ang item." ("I would be labeled poor or 'kuripot'" maybe the consumer thinks.  

Another time, I bought an item with a generic label below to apply for all the products on the shelf. But when I was paying for it, I was told the price was over what the label was. 
Isn't that false advertising?

I think that the Dept of Trade and Industry should require all the items to be labeled properly,

Also, it should have a 3-number celfone that people can call up for complaints to be handled easily. 

Commerce is what moves a country to progress. If people buy goods, then manufacturers will have a heyday of churning out products all the time and Ms. Kim Henares and her staff would be happy. But if people experience great difficulties buying through legal routes, then they would just patronize ambulant vendors and never mind love of country. We would prefer buying in a jiffy than having a "classy" place to buy from but experiencing such situations as mentioned above.

***
By the way, I notice that a great market to go shopping to somewhere here in Quezon City has plenty of seats for weary shoppers. They even wheelchairs for senior citizens who wish to avail of them. (BTW,  I take spirulina tablets (KDSI brand only) everyday so that my legs and thighs would stay strong until I reach the age of 100, Folks). And of course, the cashiers are very nice. What just gets my goat are those supervisors with their swishing long hair who take such a great time to come over to punch the registers for discounts to senior citizens. I have told the supervisor already to sweep up their hair so that they can move about more freely. But to no avail. I guess the magnet of TV adverts of shampoos and conditioners is really very strong to them.

***

Also, I wonder why there are cashiers who get back at customers who examine the receipts they have paid by excluding one item which has been laid on the counter. They have a good memory of the complainants, Folks. 

And should we not bother anymore to go to the Customer Service? In one supermarket, I complained that I lost my mouse, while ransacking my bag for my wallet and I had had to place my things on the counter. I asked to see the CCTV recording but I was told "Hindi puwede." I asked Why. No explanation. Then a week after, all the cashiers were changed in that particular branch. If they did not notice anything wrong, why would they change the staff at all? No explanation until now about my lost mouse. 

***
Folks, it is March and the rains have come over, making the air cooler over here in metroManila. In the past, March ushers in summer heat. But the rains are always welcome because we cannot afford to have the electric fans running all the time because of the high costs of electricity. 

So OFWs and Filipino expats come home and enjoy our country now while the sun is hiding behind gray clouds. 

UNLESS WE WERE IN A WARZONE

When it comes to the most important goal that anyone should have in this world, I always put a premium on education. I encourage every person I meet to go into formal or non-formal education. For me, using our minds is the best thing that can happen to human beings. However, when using our minds, our emotions are at work too. The strong desire for education that we have is equal to the achievement we are capable of. 

Some people think that graduating from college is the best thing for them and then they just plod on through making a living, an accolade, a medal, a high position. But to my mind, continuing education is forever; as the UN says, education is lifelong. 

Our national hero, Rizal, emphasized the need for education of our people even before they should have won independence. Sadly, the colonizers denied them that right and so our history went on to another colonizer who had known our vulnerability -- our hankering for education. 

Thus, I felt very sad when I read that a Philippine Military Academy cadet was going to lose his chance of graduating, after four years of hard work -- meeting the requirements, simulation exercises of being a soldier in the field, etcetera. 

It would been very easy to solve that problem of "dishonor," which occurred over a light situation but which has been given so much gravity by the honor committee. Why did they not just hand down any of the following decisions:

1. Extend your schooling year;
2. Write a long paper on an international issue from the point of view of a civilian and a soldier;
3. Write the histories of rebellion in ten provinces and their implications on using war as a solution;
4. Enhancing the entry and participation of female cadet students in the academe;
5. Plotting the career paths of honor students of the PMA since its birth; etcetera.

In this manner, by emphasizing a mental solution to the problem, the PMA could have saved its face and would have shown it as an institution that values the rational and humane education of our Filipino teenagers -- boys and girls. Aren't they in their teens when they enter the PMA?

I do think that the DEP ED should step into the picture and insure that educational theories that truly raise the levels of learning in all educational institutions are implemented. The faculty of the PMA has to undergo a revaluation of its own curriculum to find out why the members of the so-called Honor Committee could turn out that way -- insensitive to the plight of its own co-students. Education should not be a burden, but rather an exciting adventure into the unknown, to raise our knowledge, shape our values and teach us the proper behavior to achieve our goals, personal and social. 

Yes, we welcome all forces to the Democratic Society. We should insure that everyone is given a chance to speak out, to exercise our human rights, except if we were in a warzone, I suppose, and which we are not. 

Long Live Freedom!

AUTOCRATIC HONOR

AUTOCRATIC HONOR

A Philippine Military Academy student, supposed to graduate salutatorian is now being threatened with non-completion of the many years of studies he has done over one instance: he did not admit or he was not honest about the true reason why he was late in entering a class.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat????????????????????????????????????????

If our soldiers think this way, we can really be sure that we will not be able to expect any real honest-to-goodness protection from the military. Honor is viewed in the narrowest, autocratic sense.

Why so?

How many years does a student study? And if that PMA student was really diligent, he had spent not the regular number of hours a student pours in his studies, but more. More than what a non-honor student did.
Yet, the honor committee, supposed to have rendered judgment on that one instant wants him to be expelled from the list of graduating students.

What kind of mindset are we building of our soldiers, mechanical? robotic? unfeeling? non-sensitive?

This is the reason why I believe that all kinds of arm-wielding institutions should be requestioned as to their basis for existence. Holding arms, knowing that one has the protection of a gun, an armalite, a bullet, he or she will have the tendency to abuse power.


In the academe, we are supposed to build, TO BREED, TO REAR
humane beings, not puppets. I hope that the authorities would be able to read this.

ERRATA

Folks, I cannot fathom why whenever I go back to my blog, so many errors occur which I am 90% sure were not there when I sent them to you. My sincerest apologies for them. Emma

EDUCATION VERSUS INFRA

So in MetroManila various public works will be executed, destroying the balance of educational activities. The DepEd has been asked to shorten the schooling days to 4 DAYS in order to prevent the students and faculty from experiencing stress. 

Where in the world does this kind of political act happen, where the education of the students gives way to public works? I am truly aghast at this idea. It is tantamount to making the students stupid for the moment, encouraging them to laze around while roads are being built. 

What are the priorities of the government, roads versus intellect of the people?

Look Folks, Carlos Albert High School and Betty Go Belmonte Elementary School are located inside communities here in Quezon City and their students come from the various poor communities like Tatalon, Talayan, areas of Barangays Dona Imelda and Santol. Majority of the students just walk to the schools. Now why shorten their schooling days? I don't understand it. It is a very dangerous move. CAHS is known to have drug-addicted students some of whom I think have been prohibited from enrolling there. 

It is very hard to prove drug addiction but I saw a student who was so angry because he was not accepted for enrolment. Yet he is about to graduate from high school already. When he talked he had that aggressive mien which I sensed was not a normal act of a student. I figured he could be into drugs. 

I think that this four-day schooling should be rethought again and again. Public works should give way to education, not the other way around. 

DESTROY THE NETWORK OF WEBCAM CHILD PORNOGRAPHY BUSINESS

Utterly disgusting, utterly gross. Parents are pushing their children to serve as sexual visual objects of pedophiles from abroad for dollars. What has happened to parents in the Philippines? Are our people that desperate to earn, to the point of selling their children to do lascivious acts in front of webcams? How did our morals descend this low, objectifying children, corrupting their minds instead of making them feel dignified to be in this world, destroying their Christian values of what human life is, the image of God, as God made us in His/Her image. 

Worst of worsts, the Philippines is number one in webcam child pornography? How did we become so?

"Desperation is the emotional state of despair in which a person feels a situation to be hopeless and without satisfactory options. Decisions made in desperation may be more rash, impulsive, and inappropriate than those made in a rational frame of mind," so say the sociologists and psychologists.

I think that the volume of economic problems we suffer from -- especially the pork barrel scam, the misuse of the Malampaya funds which could actually save us from the rut of economic downturns, the continuing spiral of oil prices which could actually be curbed through price regulation of oil products, the emotional distance created by separation of families, if not family destruction -- all these are just too much for any needy person, usually lowly educated to handle. Hence, it is difficult to say that we must pressure the parents to stop this criminal activities altogether. Right away!

 "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Jesus Christ knew the vulnerability of children. Those victims will not be able to say no to their parents. They are too weak, emotionally and physically, not to obey. 

I think that there is still a way to curb this crime of abusing children. Let the barangay captains be answerable for this heinous crime. Catch and arrest them right away. Surely every leader in the community knows what is going on. Every barangay has a purok leader, the eyes and ears in every corner -- who is putting what business, who is sleeping with whom, who is being used and abused. And should a barangay captain does not know that, then he/she does not deserve that post at all. 

Come on, Folks, let us stop kidding each other. We have failed the next generations. It is time for us to push our generation to stand up and fight for children's rights for a dignified life. LET US DESTROY THE NETWORK OF WEBCAM CHILD PORNOGRAPHY BUSINESS! NOW NA!

HALF-HEARTED REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH MOVEMENT

It was not surprising at all that our population will be reaching 100 millionth this year. That means an increase of 20 million in a year's time, more or less.  That means 55 thousand babies will  be born in the Philippines every day. Is that shocking? Not really Folks. 

There is a half-hearted push for reproductive health in the Philippines. 

We put so much emphasis on the legalities which by the way is already moving in the Supreme Court. I don't think the Court would stop the implementation of the law backing up our movement. Not at all, when they know that with 55 thousand babies born, that would be translating to P5,500,000 pesos every day if we will be spending P100 per day for food per baby. And that amount does not include yet the children who have been born already. 

Can you imagine Folks, where oh where will the government get the funds to feed these newly born babies?And where will it get the money to give them education in the next twenty years?

This is why not even the legalities would solve this problem at all. Telling a couple, "Hey use contraceptives when coupling," will solve the burgeoning increase in population. Why, because whenever the men go out of the house, they see on the jeepneys, on the roads, whether small streets or big avenues in the cities, women, girls, female tots, even elderly women -- fat, thin, obese, poor, rich -- walking around in short shorts. I have seen the men's faces turn, their eyes getting blurry when they look at those sights of them who do not care how their looks affect the libido of men. 

Even jeepney drivers cannot help stopping for a few moments to gaze at those sights. And some women have the whackiest habit of all to be sitting by the entrance to the jeepney. 

We must have a comprehensive movement to tackle the continuing impregnation of Filipino women. That should include efforts from all sectors, especially education, religion, local government units and non-government organizations. 

I think that Filipino women are losing their sense of Philippine identity,  a case of low self-esteem as they copy with great abandon the fashion that comes from abroad. Whatever they see on the TV screen, with women gyrating in the skimpiest clothes, they ape the same. And who are these latter performers but I do believe, nighttime nightclub performers hired to perform on daytime just so to titillate the viewers and increase their number for more advertising profits. Who is the dancer willing to wear such types of costumes if not those who are comfortable wearing them on stage? Ballet dancers and modern dancers I believe would not agree to wearing them for TV entertainment, except if the script has more valuable message to say.

Now why should we bother about Philippine identity? And why not? The recent declaration of Hong Kong about stopping Philippine officials from entering their airports without visas, is a sign of our lowered esteem in the international circles. The intrusion of China into our waters is another. The preponderance of drug cartels brought in from Mexico, Nigeria, etc. is also a sign of our loose commitment to the higher values of life. 


Aren't there statistics to show that sexual crimes have risen, the most horrible of which is the use of children for cybercrime pornography? 


What about the latest 2008 statistics about the number of sexual assaults recorded by police in our country per 100,000 population? We are number 37 out of a list of 50 countries. It says .025 per 1,000 population. In terms of rape, we are on the 7th level with 2585 per 100,000 population in 2009. 

So, as we lose our international moral standing, and crimes continue unabated in our midst, the Filipino women fashionistas, walk and run in great abandon thinking that this is the way for them to express their freedom -- to show their thighs without thinking of the consequences. 


We used to say that the Philippine revolutions would not have been successful -- the fight for independence from colonial rules -- without the participation of women. Now we say, that the degradation of the country, the economic poverty of the people -- is also influenced by the way women carry themselves today. With few clothes on their bodies, aren't they saying that "Yes, I love my body. You may look at it anytime, anywhere. Now come and persuade me...."

It is a come-on when a woman bares herself, a come-on to appreciate and possibly make her feel sexy all the time, morning, afternoon or evening. That is what revealing their bodies is saying. We cannot go any lower than that. 

All these show that the standards for womanhood of the women have gone berserk. They no longer view intellectual debates or even creative work as prime motivations for appreciating them. Rather, they prefer to use their bodies to bring attention to themselves. Immediately at that. Isn't this a case of low self-esteem?

(That student of UP Manila who committed suicide, wasn't that an example of low self-esteem at work on her part, after her request for continuing attending the school was rejected?)

How come local officials have not said anything about women parading their bodies in the barangay streets, in the city avenues? It is because it is a beautiful sight for the machos who want to feel that men ought to be fed with sexy scenes all the time.  And the women who disagree feel helpless, hopeless about the situation, so some of them join in. 

Why, the media continually remind them of that as well, from print to TV. Mind you on the radio, have you heard, "Malaki, gusto ko malaki" a girl utters with great frustration, which is a hint of the size of the p_____ of the men. Then another spiel, "Ang tanga-tanga ko talaga" a girl's voice  referring to her lack of knowledge of a radio feature of her celfone. Who wrote these spiels? Why air such spiels if not to regard women as sex objects, as ignoramuses not befitting of equality in society, a complete denigration of the women's movement?

By the way, how come, the education officials have not come up with a dress code for the students of some universities and colleges where girls go to classrooms in short shorts? Why oh Why? The male students have lower grades, lower attainment in these schools.  

Moreover, the existence of gender and development units in these institutions is mere lip service to the women's movement. The officers of these units are not that brave enough to confront their academic officials and most of all the education officials for their moral lapses in enforcing a more appropriate attire for Filipino female students fit for doing academic work and not for lazing around in the beach.

Some religious officials also would rather contend with the government about poverty rather than pointing out the need for a more modest dress for women, something that would make the women be revered like Mother Mary and other female saints (not necessarily dress up like them as they belong to a certain age.) Why don't they express their disgust at all, (and what about the women in the religious sectors) about the very revealing clothes of women in public? 

Why? Why? Isn't the physical aspect also responsible for the uncontrollable impregnation of women and for the increasing number of unwanted and unschooled children?

How many parents could give quality time to the rearing of five or six children? And what quality time are we talking about here? What kind of life will women lead if they would be taking care of babies all their lives?

I think this is also why the crimes against women have become more brazen, more violent, as the sex crimes. 

The women's movement in the Philippines is at its lowest, despite the demonstrations for the non-repeal of the reproductive health law. Maybe it is time for us to take stock of where the movement should be going; its coverage; and who the leading sectors should be. 

So to 2014, Kong Hei Fat Choi, let us have more and more babies!. Bring them on!. Bahala na ang Diyos kung paano silang pakakainin, dadamitan, kung saan ititira at kung paaaralin pa o hindi na. 

HE BELIEVED AND OVERCAME

HE BELIEVED AND OVERCAME

Wilhelmina S. Orozco

25 January 2014

He was in Cebu for team building but had a very strong feeling that something was going to happen. In the evening of November 6^th of 2013 Rod Senense came home to Leyte, earlier than expected.  Typhoon Yolanda was going to come roaring in three days and so he deemed it necessary to prepare for it in advance.

“I had a strong feeling na kailangan kong bumalik ng Leyte upon learning about the super typhoon. So I arrived at 11 pm. On November 7^th, early morning, I went to the market to buy things that would keep us afloat during the typhoon – noodles, water, rice, candles, just enough for 72 hours. Yan ang natutunan ko sa disaster preparedness. Mabuti na lang at nakabili ako kasi after 72 hours, wala ng mabili. Lahat ng stores ni-ra-ransack na.”

The nature of the typhoon was highly unusual, according to Rod. “Yung typhoon kayang baluktutin ang bakal. ” (The typhoon could curb steel.)

To put his children to safety, Rod used his experience in scouting. “Naglagay ako ng table; inipit ko sa dalawang kabinet. Dun ko pinatago ang mga anak ko, dalawang lalaki. “

HANGIN

The wind was going berserk, moving in different directions. Rod recalled, “Ang Tacloban, napapalibutan ng dagat. Ang Palo nasa loob. Kalaban namin yung hangin. Umuugong malayo pa. Maniwala ka sa hindi, ang hangin clockwise, tapos spiral, tapos patayo kung umikot.

Alas 6 ng umaga, onwards hanggang mga alas 9 ng umaga. Tumatahimik ang hangin 6:30, 7:30, 8:30 at 9:30 pero bumabalik. Nung kalakasan ng hangin kitang-kita ko, bumagsak ang bintana."

Rod could only pray over the seemingly unconquerable force of the typhoon. Although he is scientific in his approach to life, he could only attribute unusual occurrences during the typhoon to the intervention of God. “Saan ka nakakita na yung bahay, tinayo nung 1970 expected ko na magigiba. Ini-expect ko na magigiba. So nagdasal ako, 'Lord, tirhan mo kahit kalahati lang.' Ganun nga ang nangyari. Natira kalahati, natanggal yung 70 to 80% nasira. Pero hindi nag-iba lahat.”

Even the trees in front of their house, the normal tendency of which was to drop on their house, suddenly fell away from it. “May dalawang puno sa harap ng bahay namin, kaymito at mangga. Anytime, puwedeng tumama sa bahay. Sa awa ng Diyos, nang bumagsak, hindi tumama sa bahay namin.”

One memorable occurrence which he felt so much in his heart was when the pictures of his children when they were still young, suddenly fell on the waters. “Noong nagkakagulo, nahulog yung picture ng dalawang anak ko noong bata pa sila. Kaisa-isa lang yun. Gusto kong kunin. Pero bago ako bumaba nagtalukbong ako ng plastik na silya. Ewan ko kung bakit ko ginawa yun. Noong nasa baba na ako, biglang may nalaglag sa ulo ko, isang haligi, puro pako.

Talagang nangilabot ako. Pero kinakasihan pa rin ako ng Diyos. Siguro, may naramdaman na akong may mangyayari kaya tinalukbungan ko ang ulo ko."

For many, many years, Rod and his family have been living in Tacloban peacefully. Suddenly their life became topsy-turvy, a complete overhaul of their lives. “No communication, no lights, no food. Outside, there was anarchy. Walang batas. Nakawan, lahat ng establishments, Robinsons, kinuha lahat ng mga goods ng mga magnanakaw.

I went to Baybay, Leyte to get a signal (for my celfon), to inform my relatives in Manila. Pagdating ng Baybay, lobat na ang celfon ko. Naghanap ako ng macha-charjan ko. May isang tao, my generator. Napakabait, pina-charge ako. 'Magcharge ka,' sabi sa akin. Nagcharge ako ng dalawang celfones. So I was able to talk to my wife, my parents."

The media at that time was already releasing names of people who were missing in Tacloban as reported or texted to them by survivors. Three of those missing were Rod and his two boys.

“ I had to make that call kasi ang labas sa media, patay na ko.”

Rod's networking business under the King Dnarmsa Spirulina Inc. was a great help to him. In this hehas built a huge network selling Humus Plus - a kind of soil conditioner which helps increase the yield of the land - to farmers in Eastern Visayas – Leyte, Samar, including Cebu. His co-networkers are highly inspired by his leadership that they are already the top money-earners in the Visayas.

Hence, Rod cannot be said to be really lacking in resources. “Maraming pumasok na pera sa akin noon. P200 thousand one day, P200 thousand the next day padala through Cebuana Lhullier. Nagpunta ako roon para kumuha ng pera. Pero hindi ako maka-withdraw. (Siguro baka dahil maubusan ng pondo ang tindahan. Maraming nagwi-withdraw) Ayaw akong bigyan.

So I pretended to be a policeman. (Kung ikaw ang nanduon, hindi ka dapat mawalan ng disposition.) May flashlight ako ng pulis. Bisaya ang mga pulis dun. So nag-Bisaya ako.

“'Ma'am, maraming patay. Perang yan gagamitin ko.'” So binigyan ako. Ginamit namin yung pera para pamasahe papuntang Maynila."

WATER "Ang main source of water namin ay putol. Pero after 3 days, nagkatubig na. Binuksan. Pila-pila sa tubig, isang kilometro ang haba ng pila. Ang tubig namin, sprite. Pero meron akong sinuhulan, kako, “Bigyan mo ko ng isang container, P200. Binigyan naman ako.”

PAGKAIN

"Nagluluto kami ng noodles, tinitipid namin kasi di namin alam kung kailan kami makakapunta sa Maynila."

THE LONG TRAVEL TO MANILA

"Sa Tacloban airport walang masakyan. Limited ang pasahero. Pila pa. Yung priority mga may sakit, babae, nakatatanda. So from there, nagpasya akong pumunta kami sa bus terminal"

Rod could feel the greed permeating the society then. It was highly sickening, from food distribution to water fetching, up to traveling to Manila just to escape the hellish and anarchic situation.

"Yung bus naman, sinisingil ako ng isang libo para pamasahe. Nagrason ako: 'E nawalan na nga ako ng bahay, bakit mo pa ako sinisingil ng ganyan?' Hindi ako pumayag. Nakakita ako ng tricycle, sabi ng driver P400. Tumawad ako P350, binigay naman."

Then Rod and his two children reached the terminal wherein they would board a bus to the pier;  and from there, the bus would get on the Roro, the roll-on-roll-off ferry boat that links Leyte to Samar.

"Sa normal bus travel, 21 hours papunta sa pantalan, sasakay sa Roro. Inabot kami ng 39 hours. Na flat pa kami ng dalawang beses."

Even the buses allowed to leave Northern Samar were limited to certain companies only. “Ang priority sa Roro na mga bus, from Northern Samar, mga Philtranco at Silver Star lamang. Ang Roro tatawid papuntang Bicol. At yung bus, tutuloy ng Maynila."

Because of the critical situation where anyone could easily cash in, drivers who were not regularly employed suddenly surfaced. The driver that took Rod and his sons to Manila stopped so often along the way. "Ang driver hindi alam. Nagtatanong sa daan, 'Boss dito ba ang papuntang Maynila?'” But he could not complain at all since it was even pure luck that he and his sons were able to get on the bus. 

Rod looked not so haggard when he was being interviewed at  the office of the KDSI. But on his face is marked relief from a disaster that usually would only be seen in full as horror movies. 

However, everytime someone asks him how he is now, after that harrowing experience, his eyes belie a certain sadness – because for one brief moment, all the efforts at building his networking business nearly collapsed totally although he is still grateful because he and his two sons are alive. 

Rod and his team in Eastern Visayas did not suffer much, and he was even advised not to return yet to Leyte. They still have the guts and the roaring energy to start the business again, one that helps the farmers, the victims of the typhoon, to recover their lands, and make them productive again, through the application of the humus plus.

Sabi ko ngayon, “I am resurrected.”

"Everything happens for a reason. Sa likod ng tragedy na ito, may opportunity. Yung crisis – what happened in Leyte – is more than a crisis May opportunity dito sa tragedy sa Leyte. Magiging faithful ang mga tao. They will recommit themselves" prophetically, Rod said.

“I learned many lessons here.” 

Great lessons for him are always trust in God; no human being will be deserted ever; and people will overcome so long as they believe.