It’s
another day, and for hundreds of thousands, no power.
36-year-old Eva Aquino of Tagbilaran City remembers
the days when everyone would struggle to prepare food and clean the house with
a sporadic power supply.
“Electricity was a luxury then,” says Eva, a
pensioner.
There were times when her family had to use “lamparilya,”
a small night lamp, because of frequent brownouts.
More than 15 years later, she faces the same
tribulations. “It’s the same thing. Naanad
nami. It’s going back to basic.”
 |
| Residents fetch water in artesian well... |
Preparing meals for her high school daughter is a
tough job without electricity. Cleaning the house is another ordeal.
“Foods should be consumed because there’s no
refrigerator,” says Aquino.
As
result of the massive brownouts, water supplies were affected because water is
distributed through electric pumps.
Residents in Booy district, Tagbilaran City have to
go to deep and artesian wells to fetch water.
32-year-old Domar Quibol would wake up at 4 a.m. to go to the communal
artesian well for their family’s share of water. Cues were long and access to
clean and safe water was low. Others go to Caingget Beach’s “tubod” to wash
their clothes, bath and fetch water for home use.
 |
| ...and some go to Caingget Beach to bath and fetch water. |
Resorts in Panglao have diesel-powered generators
for use during scheduled outages or brownouts, but it’s becoming expensive to
run now that we are experiencing power and water shortages in the province
after Yolanda hit the country.
Because other residents could not afford to buy
generators, they make use of used oil and salt to make a lamp.
We
have been in the dark since Yolanda hit our place. When will power begin to
flicker?
More
than18,000 customers have had no power in Tagbilaran City, according to the
Bohol Light Company, Inc (BLCI).
“Hopefully,
we are doing our efforts to restore the power maybe earlier for that matter. We
are hoping for the best before December 24 or earlier,” says May Hope “Dice”
Arcenal, public relations officer of BLCI.
May
Hope Arcenal is living up to her name --- she is giving accurate and up-to-date
information about our electricity (most of the time glad tidings of great joy
not only to the thousands, yes, count’em!, BLCI valued consumers but also to
the whole community listening to her on radio.)
BLCI
(like Boheco 1 and 2) is only a power distributor so the company is at the
mercy of the supplier.
Hospitals
and water suppliers are given priority in the power rationing.
“All
we can do is to bear with these crises we are facing now. We have plenty to be
thankful for what we have because only the power is out. We are still fortunate
enough we don’t experience what the Leyte people have experienced,” says the
unassuming, low-key and down-to-earth Arcenal. “Just be patient as of this
moment. We need all your understanding.”
 |
| May Hope "Dice" Arcenal |
Bb. Pilipinas World-2006 and Bangon Visayas crusader Anna
Maris Igpit
posted on Facebook: “Boholanos, I know we have been
experiencing power and water shortage in our province. It's becoming a big
hassle for us because we are not used to it. But I think we have to be reminded
that our problem is nothing compared to the sufferings of those in Leyte,
Samar, Capiz, Iloilo, Cebu, Palawan and other places. They have nothing to eat,
no roof, no houses, no water, no livelihood, basically NOTHING. So let us stop complaining and ranting because we are
still blessed. I would also like to appeal that our government declare Bohol a
SPUG (Small Power Utilities Group) area so that NPC can provide electricity or
gen sets at affordable rates. We can't afford to allow this power shortage to
affect our economy.”
While
we are at it, UB’s Registrar Leah Tirol-Magno shares these very smart and
practical tips:
We have been in an
"American living" mode for so long now, and with the recent
development that Tagbilaran City and the whole province of Bohol will be on
blackout mode for an undetermined period, let me share some practical tips, as
we go along with our daily lives:
1. In "ironing" clothes, use a damp face towel, rub it on crumpled or creased clothes. Hang the clothes to dry. Now it's ready to wear like it's freshly ironed.
2. We use paper plates, plastic spoons, forks and cups so we don't need to wash dishes. Save on water and same on time. Sorry for the additional garbage amount.
3. Guys, you may pee
in the garden, so you need not use water to flush the toilet.
Note: In the old Booy
neighborhood, we walked kilometers to fetch water bringing our containers and
galloons. Life was very simple then; there was no electricity. Electricity and
water came in 1980s...but we survived.
***
Lobocanon Ana Liza Abao, a Masscom student at Southwestern University, shares her
story on Christmas, Pinoy style, in her “Let’s Bring It On”:
On one rainy morning
when Zoraida tried to have her name be remembered, I was riding in one of Cebu
City’s passenger jeepney when out of nowhere, three youngsters hopped in with
alarming looks. In a minute or two, they started their showdown that had
awakened my senses to comprehend what they really want. Placing his right hand
above his chest that seems like a ‘Panatang Makabayan’ gesture, one of them
made an introduction in Cebuano dialect and said, “Ma’am, Sir ayaw kamo
kabalaka. Dili kami daotang taw niining buntaga. Buot lamang kami mopaambit sa
among musika tungod kay lagi Pasko na. Wagtanga ang problema kay mipalayo na si
Yolanda. Break it down, oh yeah!”
Mighty goodness, it
wasn’t a hold-up and that was a relief. To continue, the three of them
entertained us with their originally composed Christmas carols in humorous
lyrics. The elderly woman seated next to me responded with a grin and might
have been delighted by the beat box and sound effects like Showtime’s Jam
Bunganga contestants as she handed to them a fifty-peso bill instead of the
reminder ‘Barya lang po sa umaga.’
Oh yeah, it’s almost
Christmas. In the aftermath of catastrophic disasters which reminded us that we
have not been good stewards of nature and now we reap the harvest of our
indifference and wrongdoing, I wonder how many of us are still eager towards
Christmas countdown.
With the way things
are, how are we going to celebrate our Christmases like the way we used to- our
Boholano homes adorned with colorful decorations along with Christmas delights.
And to complete, those house-to-house caroling ended with the words ‘Ang babait
ninjo, tingkyu!’
Christmas may never
be the same from the previous years but the Lord- the Emmanuelle is still the
same God-who-is-with-us and His presence in our lives light the way for all
whose lives we’ve touched.
Yes it is. For all whose lives we’ve touched.
Needless to say, our ‘bayanihan’ spirit in the midst of the threat of
calamities has inspired others to share what they have. Those nameless millions
who have donated cash and goods from the different parts of the globe and the
untiring time, effort and willingness of others to repack those relief goods
have kept our resilience even in turbulent times.
Just as it is more
fun in the Philippines, truly we can easily find ways to laugh or smile after
the unimaginable quake that hit our beloved Bohol and Yolanda’s hellish wrath
in the region.
I remembered how my
calm and refine 87 year old aunt laughed upon reading the quake-licious menu
with a twist offered by one of Loboc’s floating resto (that is Loboc Riverwatch owned by Tessie and Libby
Sumampong- LPU) such as linog-gaw and
manganitude with 7.2 bagoong. In addition, they also have seafood kurog-kurog
with suman dagan-dagan and bingkang naliki. What an earth shocking offering.
When Yolanda struck
unmercifully after Napoles exposed her favorite piece of “I invoke my right”
matched with “I don’t know”, I knew of someone who devoted her time, effort and
confidence to take ‘selfie’ pics having the caimito tree with its leaves
swinging in the strong wind and rain as her background. People of this age.
Oh yes, Napoles.
Remembering the pork barrel queen makes me create a wild imagination that it would be better for her
to be thrown into the sea as a sacrificial offering to prevent Yolanda from
coming. Like the reluctant prophet Jonah in the days of old, Napoles can be
swallowed by a big whale and be vomited into an island where she can think
things right.
Since electricity had
been cut off for two days in the vicinity where my Bol-anon co-boarders and I
are staying, I made use of my time by reading Bob Ong’s book entitled
‘Stainless Longganisa’ which was bought by my sister right after we visited our
barrio cemetery in Loboc. There is no connection with the book and the cemetery
but at least I had an early Christmas present during All Souls’ Day. And Bob Ong
must be a lover of gags when he wrote “Iniaalay sa mga punong ginawang papel
para maging libro” instead of dedicating his book to his family and loved ones.
As to when will be
electricity be ever restored to normalcy is still uncertain. A text message from
a friend expressed her dismay as she missed to watch the fairytale wedding of
the year. She was referring to Ser Chief and Maya’s matrimonial vows. And that
wedding was trending on twitter #BCWMHthefairytaleweddingoftheyear. Someone
added, “kilig much.”
Heck, that wedding
day was on the same date when that 7.2 trembling quake hit Bohol.
On the other hand, as
there is always the negative side, it is disgusting how Satan and all his
minions tried to disunite us even in social media portals wherein some
individuals belonging to a sect have raged war against Catholics claiming that
they are the only ones who will be saved and that Catholics must be doomed and
perished from the earth.
Instead of claiming
for salvation exclusively or condemning others because of religion, it would be
better for us to be reminded the story of the woman caught in adultery where
Jesus said to them, “Whichever of you has committed no sin may throw the first
stone at her.”
Each of us is a
mixture of good and evil but there is always God’s spark in us. Let us then use
this spark even in our own little way and become bearers of charity and
goodness to others.
To all of us who are experiencing
these dark moments much more than Anderson Cooper had seen in reality, now is
the time for us to assert each other that we are one as a grateful nation- a
Christian country who knows how to smile even if the world doesn’t smiles back.
In unison, let’s
bring it on!
***
Thanks
for your letters, all will be answered. Comments welcome at leoudtohan@yahoo.com,
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