it’s a crazy time to be living.  the freak flooding that happened in metro manila only happens in emmerich’s disaster movies, scenes played out for all the world to see. crazy crazy.  the networks get their news from facebook and twitter, their video footage from youtube.  this is the age of technology and alarming climate changes.

last saturday we were in a shoot on location in new manila when it started to rain all day.  ondoy was at work.  titatems started calling me about the flooding in the metro.  fortunately we werent being encroached by rising waters so we continued to shoot in what would become an island.  vans could not get into or out of the area we were in.  by merienda time, the staff could only serve cup noodles because the caterers’ kitchen in makati got flooded, plus the roads have become impossible to traverse through.

i was worried for the dogs at home and none of our neighbors were responding to texts. communication started to lag or waver and we eventually lost electricity in the shoot area. good thing we were running on generator.  apparently, carlo’s family were affected by loss of power too and a bit of flooding in their house in montalban, rizal.  his grandmother’s backwall collapsed and the floodwaters started to pour in her yard.  my aunt and her family in cainta is currently in waist deep waters and has practically lost everything.  my colleague lolafer’s house in pasig was also filling up with waist deep waters while we were shooting.  his neighbors broke down the door and tried to bring up his stuff to the 2nd floor in his apartment.  most were saved, including his 3 dogs, except for his electric organ and the refrigerator. he left the shoot early so he could tend to the house. was texting him way into midnight and he only been having coffee since there was no food to be had.

we’re fortunate to be living in an area in katipunan that was not affected by the rising flood. electricity, water, phone and even cable tv and internet were unaffected. carlo and i got home around 11pm saturday and found the dogs extremely hungry though.  we slept troubled but well enough to prepare for the 2nd day of shoot the next day.  the production decided to go on with the shoot since everybody else was practically stranded in that house location. there was no way the equipment could leave anyway.  even the talents that were packed up at 10am had to stick it out until the next day in the house, otherwise theyd just be stuck immobile on the road home.

it’s heartbreaking to realize thousands of people losing a lot in the flood.  and i cant even begin to comprehend how much damage has already been done. personal belongings, clothes, houses, cars, pets, family members. as i stay here dry and comfortable, im compelled to do something and reach out.  this afternoon carlo and i decided to go get food and cook them for distribution.  we couldnt afford to get sacks of rice and boxes of canned goods. but we strived to have cooked food for the victims and so we sent tuyo, boiled egg and steamed rice to akbayan, food you can easily eat off your hand even while standing up.  also packed our old clothes and shoes and sent those off.

tomorrow’s another day and we’re expecting two more storms coming our way.  like in cagayan de oro when the city got flooded again 1 week after the first flooding early january this year, im sure when it starts to rain again, the flooding in metro manila will get worse. the earth’s climate is really haywire and we’re suffering.  i dont know if any of this is repairable. how can you fix that hole in the ozone layer? the warming of the earth’s atmosphere? the melting of antartica and the snow caps, the shift of ocean currents and the mercury retrograde?

dear Lord, only you can save us from all this. Lord, help. love, ben.

images pulled out from the internet. no copyright infringement intended.