HOYOYOY ONDOY > > CHAPTER 7: PUTIK YAN!

Happy Birthday to You 5x... Hiyaw at himig ng ilang ahente, coaches at TL’s. Kaarawan pala ni TL Jenny ngaun at biniro rin niya ang kanyang subordinates na pagpasenyahan ang kanyang handa na relief goods. Napaluha ako at bigla kong naalala, birthday din pala ni mama ngayon at tinanong ko siya nung Friday ng hapon bago ako matulog kung ano ang gusto niyang pasalubong ko pag-uwe after shift - kung cake or ice cream?

Mas lalo tuloy akong nag-alala sa kalagayan nila at ng bahay. Mabuti na lang at lumiliwanag na. Bandang 5.30am ay napagpasyahan na ng karamihan na bumaba at umuwi sa kaniya-kaniyang tahanan. Wala na daw baha sa 1^st floor at nagpapalabas na ang guard na inatasang bantayan ang pinto sa magdamag para walang pumuslit ng walang paalam. Then there goes the usual morning routine, nagligpit kami ng mga pinaghigaan at konting stretching, sabay punta sa restroom para makapaghilamos at makapag-ayos. Then off we go...

Putik yan! As in it was literally putik. Mabaho rin ang alingasaw ng paligid mula sa pinto at habang papalabas ka mula sa 2^nd floor pababa ng hagdanan ay maaamoy mo rin ang diesel o gas na mula sa mga nalubog at nasirang sasakyan. I was also stunned seeing watermarks on concrete and glass walls as i walked along the oozy staircase. Damn! It was overhead! Can you imagine?! E what more pa sa ibang lugar at sa may mas mababang terrain. Our site was elevated from Bonifacio Ave. which means that the surrounding houses were flooded almost at the ceiling line of their ground floors. Good Lord we were secure the whole night.

The once picturesque view of Marikina Riverbanks was now a ruin. You can’t even describe how disoriented the place was. But I’ll give it a shot... A lot of different establishments and households around were shattered. Aged narra trees at the riverpark were also destroyed. There’s an inch thick of mud everywhere. There was even a crowd of bystanders and stranded passengers who maybe spent their overnight on rooftops or along the overpass at SM Marikina. Cars were overturned and some were floating by the riverbed. Foods, garments, appliances and other bits and pieces you can think of were scattered everywhere. Even bloated flesh of livestock was nearby.

It was a shocking occurrence, pero nangyari na ang lahat.  The rain was nature and God's will - No questions ask. And I think we just have to blame only but ourselves for the situation. Ganyan talaga ang buhay... Ganyan din maningil ang Inang-Kalikasan. :-(