The morning after, I scanned the clear skies and there was no sign that the night before they shed copious tears that drenched scores, drowned many and rendered thousands homeless.
Ondoy was a great equalizer, sparing neither rich nor poor, neither the famous nor ordinary mortals.
Among the showbiz folk badly hit were Cristine Reyes (and family) rescued from the rooftop after several hours, K Brosas who was rescued only yesterday morning with her child also from the rooftop, Jean Garcia and daughter Jennica whose house was flooded up to the second floor and so was that of John Prats’, Gladys and husband Christopher Roxas rescued from their flooded house by Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos, Alyssa Alano whose house was submerged neck-deep, and so were the houses of Star Cinema exec Malou Santos and Edgar Mortiz and wife Millet Santos whose kids had to swim to safety.
Willie Revillame was trapped by the flood around the ABS-CBN area and didn’t make it to Saturday’s telecast of Wowowee, and so was guest Piolo Pascual who lives only five minutes away. Eat, Bulaga! aired a replay because the hosts were stranded on the traffic-jammed streets for hours.
My colleagues were victims, too: The STAR’s Ching Alano’s house in Mandaluyong City was flooded up to the ground floor and she and her sisters had to evacuate their bed-ridden mom to the second floor with the help of neighbors; Eric John Salut’s house was wiped out, leaving him with only the wet shirt on his back; Lolit Solis, trying to avoid the traffic and the floods from Fairview to the GMA Studio on Timog Avenue, spent hours inside his stalled (new) car on Kamias Road and showed up late on Startalk like a basang sisiw; the ground floor of Inquirer’s Chelo Banal-Formoso in Marikina City, one of the worst-hit areas, “disappeared” in a jiffy; while Aster Amoyo was stranded at the parking lot of Makro in Cainta up to press time yesterday, sleeping in the car and throwing away her purchase (several kilos of beef, pork and fish) that had rotted.
I have my own little story to tell. My nephew and his family including a baby were trapped in the second floor of their San Juan City apartment, so I called Pres. Joseph “Erap” Estrada who, unlike most public servants/officials who forever “cannot be reached, please try again later,” answered the phone himself. He asked for my nephew’s name and address and assured me that he would dispatch a rubber boat to save them and other residents in the area.
I checked with San Juan City Mayor JV Ejercito several minutes after my call to Erap and he said that, yes, his dad had relayed the “SOS” to him and the rubber boat was on its way. Thank you, Erap, you are such an angel!
Northern Samar Rep. Emil Ong also sent a rubber boat, manned by his son, and even extended an invitation to my beleaguered relatives to spend the night at his Horseshoe Village home but by then the floodwaters were starting to subside.
Our sister and her family were also trapped in their townhouse in the Ermin Garcia area in Cubao and we were able to rescue them only at way past eight Saturday night when the floodwater subsided to knee-deep level. Nearby, my friend’s wife and two kids were screaming from the second floor of their apartment as floodwater rose rapidly by the second. They were rescued before the water hit the ceiling.
Kris Aquino, who anchored the ABS-CBN telethon from morning till night yesterday, was right in repeating the truth that yes, indeed, the worst of times does bring out the best in everyone. GMA also held it own telethon and, like the rival station, got million of pesos in donations and pledges and relief goods to boot.
Ondoy was relentless.
On the way back to Fairview yesterdays afternoon, we saw scores of people, displaced from their shanties under a bridge, shivering in the rain on the streets atop whatever scant personal effects they could retrieve.
As we would say in reference to anything in excess, when it rains...
Let’s just pray that no more (heavy) rains will fall.
Bong’s wet birthday bash
Bong’s very special guest was Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who came with Presidentiable Gibo Teodoro.
Asked if he’s running as Gibo’s running-mate (since Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos has declared with finality that she is not), the birthday boy simply smiled. But Lani is definitely running for congress in Cavite.
The Revilla family danced to the tune of Nobody, much to the amusement of Bong. Later, he showed the trailer of his new starrer, Panday, which is intended for this December’s Metro Filmfest.
And what is Lani’s birthday gift to Bong?
“A giant wall clock,” joked Lani. “Malabo na kasi ang kanyang mga mata, para makita niya kung anong oras siya dapat umuwi.”
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com)