Disaster Preparedness

“Be Prepared!” This is the Boy Scout motto which can also be embraced by people including the government authorities to minimize the destruction wrought by disasters. The onslaught of tropical storm “Ondoy” should serve as a wake-up call for all of us to be prepared in times of calamities.

We should also be prepared to rescue ourselves and not just rely on the government to rescue us. The heart-rending sight of hundreds of people marooned and helpless on the roofs of their houses submerged in floodwaters, desperately waiting for help for hours, is an indication that the authorities were not prepared for the magnitude of this disaster.

Understandably, we cannot predict when a disaster will strike but at least we should have an emergency plan in place. I don’t want to blame anybody for their inefficiency in the face of this unforeseen disaster but if the government cannot provide a timely response and assistance to victims then they should start to focus their efforts on empowering people and train them on how to be self-reliant and protect themselves in times of disasters. Residents themselves should be prepared to rescue themselves and not rely on supposed rescue groups which may not be forthcoming or helpful in times of disaster. Communities or barangays should be trained in disaster preparedness. If we were conducting fire drills and other emergency preparedness training, we should also conduct training on what to do in case of other natural disasters and calamities. They should know where to go and what to do.

When I was still a Boy Scout, one of the many things we were taught was an emergency or disaster preparedness. I hope that this is still being taught on today’s generation of scouts. In fact, it will be better if disaster preparedness can be taught not only in scouting but also as a subject or part of the curriculum in schools nationwide.

In the tragic upshot of this disaster, we can only wish we had more efficient ways of doing things. We hope that we have a more efficient weather forecasting and a more efficient rescue and relief operations.

One saving grace is some people’s display of heroism in the midst of disasters; Filipinos showed that they care for one another. We have plenty of stories of people who risked their own lives to save their friends and the lives of complete strangers. Some people and organization sprung into action without much prodding, they volunteered and they offered help. Indeed, nations are molded by crises. And crisis also brings out the best in all of us.


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MYX Daily Top 10 (September 30, 2009)

Top Ten

01. Justin Bieber - One Time
02. Pedicab - Simulan Mo Na
03. Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me
04. Super Junior - It's You
05. ChicoSci - Diamond Shotgun

06. 2NE1 - I Don't Care
07. Hale - Bahay Kubo
08. Sarah Geronimo - Dahil Minahal Mo Ako
09. Paramore - Ignorance
10. Jonas Brothers - Fly With Me




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MYX Daily Top 10 (September 29, 2009) Featuring ChicoSci's "Diamond Shotgun"

Top Ten

01. Justin Bieber - One Time
02. Hale - Bahay Kubo
03. Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me
04. Pedicab - Simulan Mo Na
05. Paramore - Ignorance

06. ChicoSci - Diamond Shotgun
07. 2NE1 - I Don't Care
08. Super Junior - It's You
09. Jonas Brothers - Fly With Me
10. 6cyclemind f/ Gloc-9 & Wendell Garcia - Kasalanan





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State of Calamity.

I have never been so happy to see the sunrise as this morning. Really, this is a great reason to be thankful and to count even small blessings from the Lord. This is in the midst of reports of a growing number of people killed and displaced by extensive flooding in the metropolitan Manila and nearby municipalities in the Philippines due to the onslaught of tropical storm Ondoy (international code name Ketsana). As of writing, the death toll now rose to 73 based on the TV Patrol World newscast.

Earlier in the day, a state of national calamity has been declared over 27 provinces in 7 regions, as well as in the NCR. The provinces included are Mountain Province, Ifugao, and Benguet (CAR); Pangasinan, La Union, and Ilocos Sur (Region I); Isabela, Quirino, and Nueva Vizcaya (Region II); Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Tarlac, and Bataan (Region III); Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon (Region IV-A); Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, and Marinduque (Region IV-B); and Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, and Camarines Sur (Region V).

Weather forecasters said that the equivalent of one month’s worth of rain fell on Metro Manila in less than a day. Reports said that about 34.1 centimeters of rain fell on Metro Manila in just six hours, close to the 39.2-centimeter average for the whole month of September.

As of 11 a.m Sunday, the tropical storm has moved on to South China Sea but it left a number of areas still underwater particularly in Marikina, Pasig, the Camanava area and parts of Manila, Quezon City and Rizal.

The sight of people stranded on rooftops desperately waiting for help is heartbreaking. Some of them are on their rooftops since the nine-hour deluge on Saturday. I even saw on TV and on Youtube how the raging flood swept away shanties and even automobiles.

If you are just like me who was spared by the typhoon or the flooding, then you are lucky. It is now time to count our blessings and be thankful to God. But it is also the time to help our fellowmen who have lost their loved ones and their homes. The government is exerting its efforts to help in the rescue and recovery of the victims but we can also do our share. Media institutions and various NGO’s are conducting telethons and fund-raising activities to help the flood and typhoon victims. Let’s do our share to help.

God bless us all!

Here's a video from Youtube taken at UERM in Sta. Mesa Manila.





Photo Credit.

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Fun Friday - My Younger Photos

This post is quite late but as some people would say, it’s better late than never. This topic is intended for Friday but because of my problems with my internet connection, I wasn’t able to post this on time. Anyway, I just thought that this week’s topic is interesting and I don’t want to miss participating in this Group’s activity twice in a row. This week’s topic is to show pictures of our younger years.

It’s a good thing that my parents are currently living with me and they’ve brought some of my old photos from the province. Below are the youngest photos of me that I have here in the house.


This was taken when I was in First grade with my father. It was our Commencement exercise and I was the class valedictorian but for a change I pinned my ribbons on my father.



The photo below was taken when I was in Grade Four with my mother.


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“Engkwentro” bagged a top award in the 66th Venice Film Festival

“Engkwentro” an independent film by young filmmaker Pepe Diokno won the top award in the Orizzonti (New Horizons), which is a section that provides a spectrum of new trends in cinema, in the 66th Venice Film Festival.

The movie which was also a finalist in the Cinemalaya 2009 was one of only 23 feature movies selected from around the world.

“Engkwentro” tells the tale of two teenage brothers on opposite sides of a gang war. Complications arise at a deadly midnight clash when one is tasked to kill the other. All these happen while the City Death Squad, a band of vigilantes supposedly backed by a Big Brother-type Mayor, is hot on their trail. The two brothers must find a way out of their squalid situation in order to stay alive.

The film was inspired by actual killings in some cities in the Philippines where almost a thousand people have been murdered by hitmen, allegedly sponsored by the state, in the last decade.

Pepe Diokno at age 21 is the youngest Filipino ever to participate in the Venice film festival.



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MYX Daily Top 10 (September 14, 2009)

Top Ten

01. Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me
02. Sarah Geronimo - Dahil Minahal Mo Ako
03. 2NE1 - I Don't Care
04. Paramore - Ignorance
05. Hale - Bahay Kubo

06. Jonas Brothers - Fly With Me
07. Lady Gaga - Paparazzi
08. Pedicab - Simulan Mo Na
09. Silent Sanctuary - Hiling
10. Demi Lovato - Here We Go Again



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