LEYTE

It's my first time to travel by plane for work. I am beginning to dislike airplane rides for the basic reason that i can't hear and my ear hurts. I didn't even know that Cabu Pacific had records of past crashes. There's this joke about 'em airlines: Cebu Pacific-- Fly to Cebu, Arrive in the Pacific or Asian Spirit-- Fly to Asia, Arrive in Spirit. Doesn't bother me anyway about crashing. I am really fantastically distracted with my auditory nerves being repressed. But still, I have the luxury to be paid by the heart station to endure that.

Leyte is Leyte. Tacloban is Imelda Marcos city. Who cares? Good thing though that i wasn't greeted with flamboyant displays of riches and shoes. Upon arriving, i met our driver Kuya Teddy who drove us to the southern part of Leyte. Fuck. 6 hours. Me and my writer were punished by the roads.

The long and winding roads to the south had great potential for cinematic appeal. Tall trees, provincial topiaries, dewy flora, wrinkled Leytenos, gray beach to your left. A Manilenya in the South... reminds me of road movies and the Forrest Gump jogging. Scenery provides redemption. Kuya Teddy drove really fast enough for me to suddenly rekindle ties with God. He told me before that there was this media person who was in such a hurry that he drove a 4 hour ride for just 2 hours. So kumusta naman ang misa habang nasa daan, de bah?

Then we arrive in St. Bernard. Ms. Bea, our gracious house host was so generous to provide 3 viands per meal. She made us eat balot for breakfast with a really maasim na suka to boot, guinamos (white version of bagoong which i don't really like) for merienda, some kamoteng-gata and if you are a banana lover just go to her backyard and you can just pick out the latundan breed. It's utmost hospitality. She even picked flowers for our banyo to smell good and she let me sleep on a water bed... 

Off to work. We interviewed victims of the tragedy in Ginsaugon. Every 4 hours somebody was crying in front of me as he/she retold his/her experiences. I prepared a roll of tissue and it was finished by the end of the day. For a while i thought, it was because the loss of loved ones and then you will really be shedding tears if you knew that they were buried alive. Gaahd. I hate dying while losing oxygen. A girl said that it was like the movie Deep Impact sans the water. The same wave. The same picture as in the movie only in mud. As in pure friekin putik. I haven't seen that movie yet.

The mountain was cut and the yellow rocks fell on their town like it was Soddom and Gomorrah. Then comes a tsunami of putik. The victims were running until they were reached by the wave of putik that would slap their backs to death. It was said " Ate, para akong sinampal sa likod nang abutan ako ng putik "

Ms. Bea said that when the rocks and mud fell, it really was meant for Ginsaugon. It had a route of it's own--- those rocks and mud. It didn't follow the natural course of gravity to fall straight from where it started. The mud and rocks turned left even evading the 2 small mountains that blocked the town. It was rooting to go to that town. It was as if it had been planned like some robber on a bank attacking at the most unexpected. It was fast. Attacking with big rocks first the size of a car at 10:30am while a women's parade was going on and all the children were at school. 

10:30am at the next town after Ginsaugon, a man was smoking tabako to his rooster, savoring the provincial air and looking to the mountains still green and perfect, then he looked at his rooster and turned again to his mountain view in shock as he saw the mountain cutting itself. He dropped his rooster and froze. The rooster ran away. He thought he was going to die since his kubo was at the boundary of Ginsaugon. 2 meters away from where he was standing, the mud stopped. His knees melted from being frozen and shockingly fell.  

One person said that the town was festered by illegal loggers. On that day, the illegal loggers were in Tacloban. Probably while they were being paid for their logs their wives,children, house, land and pets exchanged payments as well.

The lesson was plain and so elementary as said by an interviewee. Don't cut trees. Don't mess with Mother Nature. It was so simple. When you're good to Mama, Mama's good to you. I think everybody knew that in kindergarten and in Queen Latifah. 

Tears were wiped off. So much for the tissue. And then they were comforted by the tissue.  Mother Nature must be so comforting yet unforgiving.