by Telly Gonzaga-Ocampo
Justice and the Heart for Generous Service
The title for today’s episode is culled from the column of peripatetic by my good friend and choir master Eric Cañete. This subject matter is the call of the hour and of the days to come from the Odette aftermath.
Most of the town events nowadays are about the distribution of relief packs mostly done in towns centers, with people going to the sawang (or poblacion) to claim their share. My question is: Could these packs not be distributed right in the barangay? I have heard that DSWD has already distributed some packs to one of the inland barangays.
The days following Odette were filled with despair. After the torrential rains the night before, we woke up bereft with drinking water and water to wash the dishes and the clothes. It seemed that right after Odette, I had this feeling of deep disorientation. Everything was drenched; there were debris all over and there was an inevitable fear that one will get wet if it will rain again. What with part of your rooftop gone and some roof sheets in disarray on the first 3 days? What with your feeling of not being able to quench your thirst especially with the thought that you had to stock enough water good for three (3) days? What if you didn’t know where next to source your water for drinking, cooking and washing?
It is in these critical times when you look for one with a heart for generosity. Did I find one? Or some?
My good neighbour Connie (Geonzon), opened her reservoir of water to the community. She had her generator working for water distribution in the morning. In the afternoon it was used for charging of mobile phones and solar lamps. She did this until early January despite the scarcity of crude oil to feed her generator.
Connie’s business at the start of the Covid pandemic was adversely affected since her ventures are tourism oriented. This was also coupled with the illness of her partner. Yet, Conie did not hesitate to give her all amidst the scarcity of her situation. The generosity of the spirit still abounds in her despite the fact that two years back, the water system of our town cut off her water service for a month’s failure to pay the bill. Local governments ought to have a heart of understanding the plight of businesses amidst a pandemic or emergencies as a way of easing the sufferings of failures in business or otherwise.
Because of the lack of water after typhoon Odette, we resorted to going back to the old reliable, Baliaut spring. This, too, was badly damaged by Odette. Its sea wall turned into bits of pieces from the lashing of strong waves at the height of the storm. Napuno ang Baliaut spring ug lapok ug murag tanang klase sa basura. And nothing could divide and secure the place when the sea wall collapsed.
Because of this, the Bayanihan and pintakasi practices were back in our old Baliaut. On Christmas day, concerned citizens surrounding the area gathered together for a massive cleanup job. It was like in the days of old, when young boys of Baliaut together with their elders flocked to the spring before the town fiesta to do a cleanup work.
This time it was picnic on Christmas day but with an urgent purpose: to provide water for washing and laundry. If only I were younger, I could have joined in the fun and feeling Christmas doing something for the common good. We had so much fun in our youth swimming in the waters of Baliaut spring.
Yes, we had that urgent need for water immediately after Odette attached us. Drinking water was scarce. We were thankful that Dave, my son-in-law, brought mineral water from Cebu supplied by their company. Water refilling stations here had their stocks dry. Since there was no electricity, there was also no water from the system.
People in our town flocked to barangay Canggawa for their laundry since it was always full house in Baliaut spring. Anad gyud ang akong sinaligan nga si Irene ug panglaba sa Bobon. This was something ordinary in my youth. We were the regular “guests” on Saturdays at the Baliaut spring to wash our school uniform. We were the ones who first used tide powder in place of perla. the soap bar.
Until now, water is still scarce in some barangays. Water system is not yet fully restored. Private citizens have done their initiative of distributing water. It’s Richli supplying. There’s no other way. It is simply the need of the hour. If the water situation worsens, let us join that initiative of distributing water to the community.
And for a long term solution, let us revisit the atabay of old in our purok,
barangay or in our backyard. I’m pretty sure, kanang mga karaang balay have their own atabay. Nganong dili man na ibalik?Let us also clean and green the surroundings and expose the young to the importance of the atabay in our daily lives and not just during times of calamities. In our dear Baliaut, it was a haven for us developing lasting friendship. It was our initiation to community building.