Aid for Typhoon Ondoy Victims

Sometime yesterday, while watching videos of the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy and constantly monitoring the weather report for the "expected" two low pressure areas coming, I came to the same realization hundreds have also arrived at. If those two hit Manila with the same force as Ondoy, what will happen to the evacuation centers, the volunteers, the depleting supplies, the available drinking water and the other half of the population who were not directly affected the first time? Do you think this crisis will end after a few days, weeks or months? No! It will take years for those displaced, or whose businesses were grounded (literally with mud) to recover. The enormity of the whole chaotic mess just hit me that I was suddenly spurred into action as soon as I woke this morning. Even without discussing this first with my husband or my mom, I decided to volunteer as well.

Here in the Bukid, we may feel we are separate and this does not concern us, so let's stop a moment and think about who these people are. Every one of us has a family member, a cousin, a friend, a colleague, a neighbor, a student, a child, a parent, a grandparent, an acquaintance... in Manila. Don't you think we should at least do SOMETHING simply because we know them? We may be far from where the action is, but there is something we can do. We can help in any way we can. We can send money. We can send medicines. We can pray.

My brother, JOEY CUERDO, is involved with the relief operations in Quezon City. His house in Marikina was one of those which collected water up to a certain height, but fortunately, his family did not have to evacuate. Just had to do some major cleaning.

To help in his efforts, I am volunteering my house as a receiving point for donations in kind: medicines, blankets, towels, personal items, grocery items, clothing, baby necessities, shoes, slippers, soap, shampoo, milk, chocolate powder, sugar... anything that can be used / eaten immediately. LBC, 2GO and Negros Navigation have already promised to send these packages for FREE.

My house is located at : CUERDO's COMPOUND, Purok Menzi, Damilag, Manolo Fortich (across from Menzi Orchard Residences). You can contact me at (0920) 9600 192.

We are also accepting donations in cash via bank deposit:

BDO (Lapasan Branch, CDO)

Account #: 3160-0412-76

Account Name: REGINA C. AMADOR (this is a company account, and funds will automatically be transferred to my brother)

Let us join together in this effort. These are our brothers and sisters crying for help! You may not know them, but you never know who they know.

p.s. Those reading this blog, I would like to request that you forward this message to everyone, who might want to donate, or who might know someone who would like to donate, or if they don't, to just forward it on until the message has been spread. Regaining a life is more difficult that building one. We must help them!

Thank you and God Bless Us All!

Bukidlife Safe from Flooding

This is one of the incidences where I'm thankful to be living in the Bukid.

I'm taking a break from my Koronadal trip blog to comment on the drama of what just happened in Manila last weekend.

It was a rainy Saturday morning here in Northern Mindanao and I was attending a Leadership Seminar in Midway Resort, at Initao, Misamis Oriental. I was taking hourly videos of the growing waves and kept remembering my brother, Joey, who is a surfing enthusiast. He would have loved these waves, I thought, and decided to send him a text. Maybe he would add this to his list of surfing destinations next time around.

His reply brought a shock: Ok, dangerous flood in marikina now. This was at 1:21 pm, Saturday, September 26.

Then later that night, my friend, Myra, who works in Manila City but goes home to Los Banos texted that she had been stranded at the bus terminal in shin-deep water since 2 pm and had only reached her home at 12 midnight. Her clothes still had not dried even after traveling for over 3 hours.

True enough, come Sunday, the internet was deluged with videos and pictures of the flood that, it seemed, had only suddenly appeared the day before. According to a batchmate who had been attending a Family Day in Marikina, water rose 4 feet in just one hour.

As shocking as the news was, what was more urgent in my mind was: WHY? Then again, I asked the very same question when the same thing happened (flash flood) here in Cagayan de Oro City last January 2009. It should actually not have occurred to me to ask it, but I did. Why?

Not so much "why it flooded" but "why so much water in such a short time"??? Normally, when it rains in Manila, there is a certain amount of water flowing in the streets but it usually drains out quickly into the rivers and drains. This time, it was like everything filled up at the same time, leaving no room for outflows. Even the underpasses in Makati were filled to the brim. How could that have happened? And no one could have done anything because it's like you just turned around and water was everywhere.

People on the news last night were blaming rescuers for being too slow in their reactions to save those trapped. My reaction was how could they have moved faster when their own families were in danger? Bayani Fernando could not save his own daughter (she is alive, by the way) who was working in another barangay of Marikina because he was busy with the efforts within his vicinity. Christine Reyes, an actress, and her family had to climb up on the roof of her house and wait for rescue in the cold and unending rain. They were rescued 12 hours later by no less than another celebrity in the person of Richard Gutierrez.

I ask again. Why? What could have been done to possibly prevent this tragedy? Is it because Marikina is situated beside a major riverway that water easily spilled over? Is it because most of the drains in Metro Manila are so plugged up with garbage that water cannot find its way out anymore? Is it because of illegal logging that all the water from the mountains just poured out into Manila?

I have another theory to add: Some of you might not be aware that there was a 6.1 earthquake that shook the country on the evening of September 18, its epicenter estimated to be at Mindoro Island. For some reason it was only felt in the western parts of the country, namely Palawan, Western Mindanao and South Central Mindanao, where I was at the time. Knowing that there is a major faultline in Marikina, could this have had something to do with the unprecedented rise in floodwater?

I pray for the safety of my relatives and friends who still are unaccounted for in Marikina, Antipolo and Cainta: Betsy and Andrew Aytin, with their son, Diklap, who live somewhere in Bayan, Marikina; the Banzon Family, whose house is located right inside the Marikina Public Market; Sharon (Cuerdo) Marcelo and family, who live in Antipolo; Luchi (Cuerdo) Cirujales and family, who live in Antipolo; the families of Dani and Del Tan, from the main town of Antipolo; the family of Tita Sol (who works for my husband's brother in Kuwait), from Town and Country Village in Cainta; the family of Aileen Mendoza, from SSS Village, Marikina; and those still trapped on the roofs of buildings and those who have been rescued but have nowhere to go home to. May God have mercy on you!

Strengthening Ties

We just got back from a road trip to the City of Koronadal, South Cotabato, where, along with my colleagues at the North Bukidnon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I stayed for 4 days. This series of blogs will cover all four days and all the places we were able to visit.

DAY 2

Our second day in the City of Koronadal dawned bright and sunny, after a night of heavy rain and thunder. For the opening ceremonies of the 18th Mindanao Business Conference, we had been advised to wear the traditional Filipiniana costume. (Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of us, sorry.) Among the expected guests were none other than Hon. Kristie Kenny, US Ambassador to the Philippines and Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, author of the PROPEL movement of PCCI.

After the day's convention, we were again invited to attend a dinner, this time sponsored by the Province of South Cotabato. Here, we were serve

d with unlimited sashimi and fresh, fresh fruits in season -- pineapple, rambutan, mango, guava, watermelon, durian, lanzones, papaya, banana and what have you! If you didn't want to have the fruit salad, that was okay, because they were all mixed in your stomach anyway.

While we were eating, we were pleasantly serenaded by a very talented singer, an amazing choir and a very entertaining troupe of folk dancers. It was after dinner that we were surprised to discover Koronadal City's secret: FASHION!

(I apologize for the quality of my pictures. I was using a 2 MP camera phone.)

Road Trip Over 5 Provinces

We just got back from a road trip to the City of Koronadal, South Cotabato, where, along with my colleagues at the North Bukidnon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I stayed for 4 days. This series of blogs will cover all four days and all the places we were able to visit.

DAY 1

We started moving at 4:00 am (from Camp Phillips in Bukidnon). It was important to keep to the schedule because we had a Chamber Management Seminar to attend at 1:00pm. Fortunately, we made good time (we had a well-versed driver) and arrived in Koronadal City, South Cotabato at shortly after noon. The roughly 8-hour drive brought us from Manolo Fortich, all the way through the provinces of Bukidnon, North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and finally, South Cotabato. Whew!

It is interesting to note that the extent of the rice production in South Central Mindanao is so much wider than that of Central Luzon. We drove for about 4 hours straight and saw nothing but rice fields, in varying stages of maturity. All in all, it was a pleasant ride, without much activity. The only signs that reminded us we were in Muslim territory were the Islamic monuments located at the entrance of each city as we passed through.

After the seminar, all the participating chambers were invited to have dinner at a local restaurant, Tiana's Cafe & Bar. The meal turned out to be sponsored by an aggressive presidentiable for the upcoming 2010 Elections (whose name I'll omit because I want to remain as colorless as possible). Unfortunately he was unable to be around but sent his campaign staff, one of whom was the President of the Sorsogon Chamber. The food was delicious and the company pleasant. As for the sponsor, I have no comment except 'Thank You for the meal.'

I Love Manolo Fortich Pictures

(clockwise from left): Billboard at Alae Quarantine Area, Lighted stage at the Manolo Fortich Gym, Candle-Lighting Ceremony

I LOVE MANOLO FORTICH

I Love Manolo Fortich... Not just because I was born here, but because it is the home I have chosen. We could have lived in Manila, what with all the work opportunities over there. We could have migrated to Australia, where my sister and her family lives. But we chose to settle down here, where our roots are.

September 9, 2009 (9-9-9) marked the grand launching of the I LOVE MANOLO FORTICH Special Project of the Manolo Fortich Government Unit. The event began with a simultaneous unveiling of welcome billboards at Barangays Alae and Maluko (boundaries of Manolo Fortich), followed by motorcades leading up to the Manolo Fortich Gym where a program had been prepared.

The opening prayer (The Prayer by Celine Dion) was sung by a very talented NBCC student, then a singing of the Philippine National Anthem and Bukidnon My Home. The emcees were so enthusiastic about their task that it was difficult to keep an objective standpoint. There was an impressive video presentation of the mayor's 14 Special Projects, of which this launching is one, and my next door neighbor, Bojun Bagayas, the municipality's tourism officer, elaborated on the concept. (Problem was, he spoke in the deep, deep dialect of Cebuano, so I couldn't really understand it.) Then the unveiling of yet another billboard and speeches from a couple of "our very own" celebrities -- Ms. Portia Paula Raposala, the reigning Laga Ta Bukidnon 2009, and Ms. Hazel 'Sheree' Bautista, a member of the famed sexy group Viva Hot Babes. Other endorsers (not present) were Mr Caesar Catli, Jr., a PBA player and Dr. Juan Acosta, a well-known plant scientist.

Towards the end of the show was a moving presentation of "Inang Bayan", a candle-lighting ceremony and community hugging to inspire all those present to feel some sense of belonging and pride in ourselves and in the town's progress.

Of course, the show had to end with a bang. Ms. Sheree had brought along her friends, Ms. Katya Santos and Ms. Maui Taylor, to entertain the audience with their sexily witty stand-up acts. Some might have thought them inappropriate for the general assembly but, they were certainly a big hit with the majority.

"I Love Manolo Fortich... a community inhabited by happy, peace-loving and responsible citizens!"

Congratulations, MF!

p.s. I have to apologize for the scarcity of pictures in this blog. I still haven't figured out how to transfer them from my (high tech) phone to PC, as the former did not come with a USB cable. Once I have, rest assured, pictures and possibly videos will abound!

North Bukidnon Chamber Opens New Office

Today, September 8, they say, is a good day to start a new business. According to astrologers, Chinese and other fortune tellers, the number 8 brings good luck to anyone who wants to start something (business, wedding, diet, etc.) Well, in our case, we hope it will bring good fortune and much success to the New (we pray "Permanent") Office of the North Bukidnon Chamber of Commerce.

After months of discussions and negotiations and suggestions, the Chamber has finally decided to open office in Damilag, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. Unlike the previous offices given to the organization, this space is located on private property and comes with a lease amount. The previous two locations were "donated" by the Local Government Unit and were, therefore, unsatisfactory when it came to privacy and management.

Today's activity was just Soft Opening, but several members already brought their products for display and a business opportunity seminar was held after the main program was over. We pray that the chaos caused by excitement for new business is a sign that more opportunities will come our way and that our location will attract more business people to join.

New Office Details as follows:
PCCI-North Bukidnon BUSINESS ASSISTANCE CENTER
La Montaña Building
Purok Menzi, Damilag
Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon
Philippines

Contact #s:
+63 (920) 926-7913 (Malou)
+63 (919) 272-8112 (Alain)
+63 (920) 9600-192 (Gina)

Email Address: nbcci@yahoo.com

pictures will follow during the grand opening (still tba)