Filipinos’ Bayanihan At Its Best
Photo courtesy of Pastor Dennis Sy (through facebook)
One thing I love about our Filipino culture is the bayanihan spirit that is very, very evident these days in the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy.
As of last night, more than 300,000 people have been displaced and/or affected directly by the massive flooding caused by a heavy, 6-hour rain that almost caused a standstill at the Greater Manila area and major parts of the Rizal Province.
In my blog yesterday, I wrote that Marikina City remains covered with mud and debris caused by the overflowing of the Marikina River at the height of the torrential rains.
Montalban, Cainta (which is still flooded and some part of the road impassable by vehicles), along with San Mateo were also hit heavily by flood and rain.
Hundreds were rendered homeless, in need of food and water as well as medicine.
And while Ondoy left a gigantic need and a trail of dead, injured and homeless, Filipinos from different parts of the National Capital Region and well as provinces just outside of the NCR have thrown all kinds of support to the victims of the typhoon.
My wife, Ava was sharing to me over dinner how God can use crisis like the one brought by Ondoy, to bring unity in our nation.
I agree with that.
I believe in every bad situation, God can bring something good out of it.
And in our case, the good that happened was that people from various status in life joined forces to help each other pick up the pieces of their broken lives.
Over at Victory, relief goods continue to pour in at the different centers—Fort, Ortigas, Quezon City, Caloocan City and here at U-Belt.
Allow me to thank all those who have donated food, medicine, clothes and blankets during the past few days when we began the relief operations.
There is still so much work to do to help those who were affected and displaced by the typhoon, but one thing is sure, we are all making a contribution towards rebuilding our nation.
Small Contribution Is Big Contribution
We just arrived an hour ago from a relief operation in Marikina City, one of the hardest hit areas in Greater Metro Manila after just six hours of torrential rains brought by Typhoon Ondoy yesterday.
The sight of the Marikina River Banks a day after Typhoon Ondoy onslaught that battered Metro Manila.
Ava’s sister Aubrey and her family live in the three-storey house they bought two years ago in Melrose Townhomes, which is just one block away from Cinco Hermanos Subdivision along the Industrial Zone of Marikina.
As we traveled there this afternoon with my wife, his youngest sister Aryane, her friend Nikka and their cousin Al, who served as our truck driver, our hearts just bled at the sight of the horrible destruction brought by the typhoon.
Broken tree trunks, branches and house roofs completely removed from the residential areas were scattered all over C-5 extension while the Marikina River was littered with debris.
We distributed food in one of the nearest barangays within sight of Melrose. And people from that barangay—young, old, teenagers—were all excited as they lined up to receive plastic bags of goodies.
In fact, it seemed that these people have skipped meals and are waiting for help from anywhere at that point because nothing was left of their houses.
Aubrey’s subdivision was submerged, with water reaching to about 15 feet, rendering most of the people’s appliances destroyed, while cars were left floating for a 12-hour period.
By the time we began cleaning up the place when we reached their area around 4 p.m., the ground was covered with mud.
Though the scene appears discouraging for most people, yet, one thing that’s encouraging was the sight of people in Marikina helping one another.
There are only two things people could do at this point in the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy’s destructive onslaught—offer help or watch.
Whether big or small contribution—a prayer, an encouragement through text message or a 2-minute call, sending some clothes or food to any of the people displaced—these are all help worth giving.
It will not just ease the pain caused by the typhoon, it could also spark hope to these people as they live to see a new day.
Ateneo, Poised To Bring Out The Broom In The UAAP Finals
The UAAP men’s championship between Ateneo de Manila and the University of the East is moved to Thursday (due to Typhoon Ondoy), enough time to give some breathing room for the Red Warriors, who are coming off a hard-earned sudden death victory over the FEU Tamaraws last Thursday at the Big Dome.
Dismantling FEU’s twice-to-beat incentive was no easy job, considering that UE doesn’t have the manpower to match up with its University Belt neighbors.
Yet, when FEU’s top management decided to drop ace point guard Mark Barroca from its roster following reports of alleged game fixing, things began to go sour for the Tamaraws.
Now, UE will have its chance of ending its 24-year title drought in the UAAP at the expense of Ateneo, the same school that prevented the Red Warriors from annexing the 1987 UAAP men’s cage championship when the Blue Eagles still had Danny Francisco leading the way.
Well, the 2009 season is a completely different ballgame to start with.
Ateneo has a veteran slotman and 2008 UAAP Most Valuable Player Rabeh Al-Hussaini to lead the way for the back-to-back title seeking Blue Eagles.
Of course, the presence of multi-titled PBA mentor Norman Black is the biggest factor why the Blue Eagles are the favored bets to win the UAAP crown.
His coaching experience that spans more than 20 years, is Ateneo’s biggest weapon going into the Finals.
Curiously, both Ateneo and UE are entering Game One of their best-of-three title duel this Thursday carrying a long winning streak.
Ateneo has an 11-game winning streak intact, including its 81-64 demolition of my alma mater University of Santo Tomas a week ago in their Final Four match up.
On the other hand, UE is coming to the Finals with an eight-game winning run that includes its consecutive playoff wins against FEU.
Defense will surely be Ateneo’s ticket to the championship, something UE will really have to improve on in its bid to frustrate Black and his Blue Eagles.
UE do have a slew of scorers capable of puncturing the hoop—Paul Lee, the hero of the Red Warriors’ twin victories over the Tams, big men Pari llagas and Elmer Espiritu, as well as shooter Val Acuna and guards Rudy Lingganay and Toto Bandaying.
Friends of mine, who are avid UAAP followers have all predicted an Ateneo Finals sweep.
I, too felt Ateneo has the big advantage in its goal of annexing its second UAAP crown this decade.
With the sea of blue and white cheering expectedly come this Thursday, the Red Warriors better be ready or Ateneo will bring out the broom.
In The Eye Of The Storm
Electricity in our area in Mandaluyong (near Boni Avenue) has just been restored 10 minutes ago. This is the first time in 13 hours that I was able to get in touch with computer.
My wife and I had been wondering what had happened outside (in the Metropolitan Manila area), considering that our mobile phones’ batteries were all drained. And without electricity, we couldn’t charge it. Plus, our TV and radio were useless.
Good thing Jing, Pastor Bong’s wife was just a phone call (landline) away so she was the one feeding us information because the area where they live in Sampaloc, Manila didn’t suffer any power outage.
Typhoon Ondoy surely will never be forgotten because its fury was completely felt in major parts of Luzon. Here in Metro Manila alone, major cities had been waist or even neck deep as reported in many flash news.
Ava’s sister Aubrey, who lives in Cinco Hermanos in Marikina City jolted us with a news just yesterday afternoon as she said their house was already inundated with floodwater reaching the second floor of their four-storey house.
We wondered how terrible life was for people who have no decent shelter to protect them in these moments of crisis.
Sometimes, things don’t seem to make sense. And people are probably asking, “Where is God when we needed Him?”
That’s a hard to answer question.
And while Ondoy has been lashing our country with its fury, the Scriptures runs afresh with powerful words about God and what He is capable of doing even in moments like these.
Isaiah 25:4 says, “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat…”
Yes, God is our refuge from the storm.
Storms like Ondoy can be intimidating and bring fear sometimes in our hearts, but when we look at God and consider His “bigness” in the scheme of things, we can always receive peace and security that only He can bring.
Post Script: If you know of anyone who is severely affected by Typhoon Ondoy, this is a great moment to share God’s love to them. A prayer, maybe send some bread and clothes to them could make a world of difference in their broken “world”.
Photo Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6ryKynE90m8/SF7pfjzKKfI/AAAAAAAACyc/eDeEkkcVGY4/s320/flood+in+manila.jpg
Poetic Justice For Mark Barroca?
Mark (right) and Pipo (center) during one of our weekly small group meetings at Dunkin Donut's Espana.
I got two tickets from Pipo Noundou, Far Eastern University’s rookie forward so I was able to watch, along with KC Fitero, the UAAP sudden death match between the FEU Tamaraws and the UE Red Warriors this afernoon at the Araneta Coliseum.
I wasn’t surprised by the energy displayed by both teams at the start of the match, considering that this afternoon’s game determines the Finals opponent of reigning UAAP champion Ateneo.
I wasn’t surprised as well by the strong start of the Tamaraws, erecting leads of 10 or is it 12 points (?) behind the aggressive offense of JR Cawaling in the first two periods.
Everyone in the FEU bench was on a high for the first three periods, but noticeably, the Red Warriors kept their composure.
And instead of FEU pouncing on some UE miscues, it was the Tamaraws’ turn to fumble, particularly in the final five minutes of the game.
Rookie point guard RR Garcia, who took over the playmaking chores from estranged playmaker Mark Barroca, couldn’t even fill the shoes left by the latter.
He turned the ball over in the final three minutes of the match as UE wrested the lead for good, 70-68 on an undergoal stab by Pari Llagas.
Then, Paul Lee, the man responsible for UE’s resurgence in the playoffs, connected on some crucial free throws in the endgame, resulting in a come-from-behind 78-72 victory and a chance to end their 23-year UAAP title drought.
If you ask me, Barroca’s presence, experience and composure could have prevented any monumental collapse by the Tamaraws.
In fact, I personally believe if FEU didn’t even entertain any thought of Barroca’s alleged involvement in any game fixing, the Tamaraws could have been playing in the UAAP finals already.
I called up Barroca just several minutes after FEU’s painful loss and putting to waste its twice-to-beat advantage. And his voice was cracking while he wept after watching helplessly on his television monitor.
He said he badly wanted to help the team win a championship this year, because he honestly felt 2009 was the year of the Tamaraws.
He could have been right. But the game fixing controversy that dragged Barroca‘s name eventually, disrupted whatever kind of momentum the Tams had going into the Playoffs after finishing the two-round elims with a 11-3 win-loss record.
If you’ll ask me, I don’t believe Mark would allow some gamblers to ruin his college basketball career as well as his name by a single five-digit payoff.
God is in the process of changing Barroca’s life, having been part of our small group at FEU for the past two years. It isn’t easy to battle the lure of fame, money and women, but having known Mark Barroca since his days in Team B, I’m convinced he’s clean.
Anyway, Mark is now concentrating on playing for the Smart-Gilas RP developmental team, where he is under contract till 2011.
On the other hand, , FEU’s coaching staff led by Glenn Capacio, along with the entire Tams players, will have to do some serious soul-searching and learn the hard lesson of trust, teamwork and family atmosphere.
As KC and I walked out slowly from the Big Dome, two words came to my mind—poetic justice.
Could it be that FEU’s loss was poetic justice for Barroca?
If you’re a UAAP follower, what’s your thought?
