VALID ID # 1

Mahigit 40 years nang nagmamaneho si Daddy, at sa dinami-rami ng taon na pasahero niya 'ko, lahat na yata ng aral sa kalsada at pagmamaneho naituro na niya. Hindi naman ako sobrang matanda na pero sa dami ng taon na yun, ang dami ko na ring napansing pagbabago sa daan. At minsan, nakakatawang ikumpara yung gawi ng kalsada noon sa gawi ng kalsada ngayon. Eto lang ang ilan:

Sa kalsada ngayon, may tatlong uri ka ng taong makakasalubong. Una, yung naglalakad nang normal. Pangalawa, yung nagte-text habang naglalakad. Pangatlo, yung kaninang nagte-text habang naglalakad, ngayon, nasagasaan na. Hindi ba kasi makapag-intay yung ka-text mo?! Siya pa yung galit 'pag binusinahan mo. Sorry naman.

Sa kalsada ngayon, may tatlong uri ng sasakyan. Una, private. Pangalawa, public. Pangatlo, motorsiklo. Oo, hiwalay sila. Kaya nga may sarili silang lane sa EDSA at Commonwealth eh. At dahil special sila, pwede rin silang mamili kung pedestrian ba sila o sasakyan kahit kailan nila gustuhin.

Sa kalsada ngayon, wala nang may right of way at joining traffic lang. Basta may maiaabot kang pang-meryenda, ikaw ang nasa tama. Epektibo rin 'yan kung DUI ka o kaya napagdesisyunan mong mag-beating the red light dahil masasaraduhan ka na ng drive thru sa McDonald's.

Sa kalsada ngayon, lahat kailangan minamarkahan at binabarikadahan. Green fences para lang di magbuwis-buhay ang nagmamadaling tumawid, "Nakamamatay" signs dahil hindi na yata naiintindihan yung salitang "bawal", mga pink na guhit sa bangketa, urinals, at kung anu-ano pang pampadumi ng daan. Bakit parang nabuhay naman tayo dati sa simpleng pedestrian lane at traffic lights lang?

Sa kalsada kasi ngayon, lahat may kalayaan--- walang gustong magbigayan. Lahat tayo ginagawa lang kung anong gusto natin gawin. Lahat, gusto mauna. 'Pag libre ang daan, kahit pula ang ilaw, gora lang. 'Pag nalalayuan sa footbridge, tawid lang sa kung saang butas kakasya. Paparahin ang sasakyan sa eksaktong dapat babaan, kahit 5 metro lang ang layo ng tamang babaan.

Anong nangyari? Bakit parang sumobra na ang gulo? Babalik na naman ba tayo sa usapin ng tamang pagpapatupad ng batas? O simpleng arogante lang talaga karamihan ngayon ng tao? Siguro pareho.

Kung naalala niyo si Alex Lacson at ang aklat niyang "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country", ang pagsunod sa batas trapiko ang unang-una sa labindalawa:

"1st  : Follow traffic rules. Follow the law

Traffic rules are the most basic of our country’s laws. If we learn to follow them, it could be the lowest form of national discipline we can develop as a people. A culture of discipline is crucial to our destiny as a nation.

Whenever we follow traffic rules, we show our love for our neighbor, our love for the Filipino."

Respeto lang naman eh. "Lang" pero napakalalim niyan kung tutuusin, bilang sobrang gulo na nga sa kalsada ng ka-Maynila-an. At hanggang hindi ako nakakasigurong ligtas na ngang mag-full time ako sa pagmamaneho, Valid ID#1 na lang muna ang Driver's License ko. #

photo credit: House of Wards

PUNONGBAYAN

Some twenty-one years ago in 1991, I woke up to a breath-taking scenery of white outside our apartment window. It covered trees, cars, house roofs, and almost every surface where my youthful sight could reach. But it wasn't snow --- I was right in the middle of a small town in Mandaluyong. It was lahar ---thick, powdery, white traces of heavy ash fall.

White ash fall spread across the nation on June 16, 1991

For Filipinos, volcanoes and quakes were never common subjects over dinner until the eruption of Mount Pinatubo that historic June 15th of 1991 where white ash fall reached even our neighboring countries. Instead, these were mysterious matters of nature waiting to be unearthed in their own scientific cycles --- 100, 300, 600 years doesn't matter; we just know it will come.

And for Mount Pinatubo, it just so happened that its 600th year cycle came at the start of the twentieth century, threatening a good start to launching urban and suburban developments across Luzon. But there was one man, a Filipino so dedicated to his visions of making these forces of nature be understood by us, ordinary people. As he accurately predicted Pinatubo's eruption since an earthquake hit in July 1990, he never stopped leading Phivolcs in education, evacuation, and disaster preparedness projects. And though the eruption still left 847 people dead, tens of thousands of people below the tripoint of Zambales were saved, and 18,000 members of the US Air Force and their families left the Clark Air Base in Pampanga just days before the explosion because of the timely warnings. His name was Raymundo Punongbayan --- former Phivolcs director, and a late grandfather.

Dir. Punongbayan inside the old Philvolcs office in 1990

Hands-on was Punongbayan that he literally lived at the Phivolcs office to monitor the Pinatubo crisis. The Aetas of Pampanga were so used to his visits and teachings that they called him "Tatay." And on the aftermath of the world's second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, lahar, fault lines, earthquakes, and volcanoes became layman's terms. Why not? After all, we are sitting on the Pacific Ring of Fire and should be much aware of disaster mitigation more than anyone else in Southeast Asia.  

His son Stauro would define him as "selfless and indefatigable," and would usually see him "lying on the sofa thinking of what else he could do for the country, for the people." Punongbayan never stopped --- until a helicopter crash killed him with 8 other members of the Red Cross. They were in the middle of a search for a resettlement area for the landslide victims in Quezon on that 28th of April, 2006. His ashes were scattered over Taal Volcano, a thing he always wished and told his children when he was still alive.

Though the government did not give much financial support to a very important department, he proved that this should not stop him from finding means to help his countrymen. I dare not call him 'lolo' as I can't even remember how many times I met him. But the country owned him, and that's what I most admired about Punongbayan. He led a simple life, but with much of a scientist and a Filipino's integrity.

We don't need to bleed ourselves researching on scientific subject matters to save thousands of lives. Perhaps we just need to put a little of our being a Filipino in whatever we decide to pursue, beyond support for a Fil-Am AI contestant or a famed boxing champion. So here's to three occasions this week: Mount Pinatubo's 21st Anniversary, Punongbayan's 75th birthday anniversary, and to the Philippines' 114th Day of Independence. Mabuhay. #

photo of the actual eruption in 1991

* much thanks to PDI for a headline feature that came out on June 15, 2012.