September

We’re close to the final quarter of the year which means the Yuletide season is just around the corner. I’m always looking forward to Christmas, the most festive time of the year where everything sparkles. It’s just sad my country was recently marred by super typhoon ‘Ompong’ which badly devastated the northern part of the Philippines, what a rueful nature's wrath.  

I was complaining the morning after typhoon ‘Ompong’ started lashing because our ceiling collapsed from excessive rain water (thank God no one was harmed) but felt ashamed for ranting after what I saw on the news. A lot of our countrymen did not only lose their homes but family members and friends due to landslides and deep flood water which submerged everything they have. Let’s face it, the local weather reports/news did not fall short in terms of warning everyone. I was even surprised for consistently receiving emergency text message updates from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) pretty much every after a few minutes for emergency notifications. 

My heart goes out to everyone who lost someone before they were even able to celebrate Christmas. To those who weren’t affected by this calamity  let’s help in whichever way we could or by contacting local government units to see how we could be of assistance. Little help could go a long way. My sisters and I decided to donate used clothing hoping it would be useful to another family who lost everything, their shelter and clothing. Let’s also bear in mind how badly the farmers were affected by typhoon ‘Ompong’ which resulted to a sky rocket in the prices of root crops, vegetables and fruits, it wasn’t their fault. If we are ranting, let’s think about the farmers who tilled the land yet barely earned/reaped anything out of what they sow because of the damage the typhoon has caused to the crops. Let’s help each other, ranting isn’t bad as it's our way of release, but, it will not really help, prayers would.