A typhoon letdown

Driving to Makati Sunday evening for a dinner, one braced oneself for the worst effects of Typhoon “Luis,” which had literally stormed through northern Luzon for most of the day. Rain had soaked much of Mega Manila—as with the rest of Luzon, I gather—and the radio news was filled with reports of flash floods and local governments declaring the cancellation of classes the next day.

But what do you know, Monday morning arrived and the day was bright and sunny. Typhoon Luis, it was reported, had exited the PAR or Philippine area of responsibility, and the first thing that came to mind was that students must have been elated by the sudden free day to be enjoyed in good weather.

At a news conference, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas sounded upbeat about there being “no casualties” reported in the wake of Luis.

True, two had died as a result of the sinking of an “old, rusty and creaky” ferry off Southern Leyte. But, said Roxas, the accident occurred before the typhoon (but not bad weather) made landfall, so the deaths could not be blamed on the typhoon.

Still, it was a bit of a letdown to suddenly face sunny weather while one braced for high winds, torrential rains and floods. Let me make a prediction: Today and in the next few days, expect snarky comments about “overpreparedness” on the part of authorities. That’s just part of the game, and to these “never-to-be-pleased” people, let me just say: better to be OA than to be caught unawares. Let’s overprepare rather than allow ourselves to be lulled into complacency.

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Another “typhoon” that fizzled out even before it could be launched was the scheduled public defense of Vice President Jejomar Binay, who personally and with his family is facing charges of corruption during his time of long service as mayor of Makati City. The Binay family has been “reigning” over what must be the wealthiest city in the metropolis for nearly 30 years, with first, Jojo Binay’s wife, Dr. Elenita Binay, and now his son former councilor Junjun, taking turns occupying City Hall in years when term limits forced the patriarch to take a hiatus.

According to his spokesperson, Binay chose to visit the beleaguered province of Isabela, where his mother was born, to “check on” the impact of Typhoon Luis on this province, where it made landfall. He had been set to deliver a public address where he would get back at his accusers in a “presidential” manner, perhaps in reference to the public addresses resorted to by P-Noy when he has urgent matters to transmit to the Filipino people.

While Binay is said to have rescheduled his speech for later this week, I wish he would choose instead to simply attend the Senate blue ribbon committee hearings on the issues being raised regarding not just the Makati City Hall parking building, but on other peripheral matters—like the cost of birthday cakes given free by the city government to senior citizens—revealed by the witnesses that the committee members have managed to corral.

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If the point of the public explanation by Binay is to rebut his critics’ charges, which he has repeatedly dismissed as “politics,” why can’t the Vice President, or even his son the mayor, simply show up at the Senate and face his accusers?

Perhaps the Veep already feels his exalted stature (his position, I mean) prevents him from hobnobbing with mere senators and disgruntled former city officials and bidders for Makati’s many infrastructure projects.

But his continued avoidance of the hearings merely raises suspicions about his culpability, and gives the witnesses’ testimonies added credence. Time to face the music, and time for a face-to-face confrontation even with the belligerent likes of Senators Antonio Trillanes and Alan Peter Cayetano.

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MY friend Maloy Ramos-Barairo (others may know her as Marilou or Malou) came home the other week on a sad mission: to share the final moments of her sister, Ate Linda, and then to lay her to rest last Aug. 31 in their hometown of Sta. Teresita in Batangas.

From Maloy’s stories, it would seem that while her sad duties as the youngest sister of Ate Linda, whom she described in her brief remarks after the necrological Mass as “the wind beneath our wings,” brought her much grief, it also brought her in contact with caring and compassionate health professionals who looked after Ate Linda in her final days.

Ate Linda passed away from complications due to pancreatic cancer at the Mary Mediatrix Medical Center in Lipa City. Maloy would like to make special mention of Dr. Jose Teodoro Villanueva and his sister Marie Pascual. Both of them facilitated the confinement of Ate Linda in their hospital and worked with other doctors in looking after her sister. Other doctors who looked after Ate Linda were: Rommel Barte Lojo, the assistant medical director and surgeon; Fe Esperanza Caridad Martinez Leynes, internist; Erwin Perea Maralit, gastroenterologist; and Dr. Flores, a resident.

Also worthy of mention were doctors Maricel Morada Laroza, Michael Charles Lat Tabora, Joselito Caringal Ramos and Brian Zara Villarin who worked as a team in caring for Ate Linda while she was confined. Maloy makes special mention, too of the “compassionate care” rendered by Mark Reyes, the critical care unit nurse.

“I would really like to commend the hospital staff for the way they looked after Ate Linda and respected our need for privacy during and after her last moments,” said Maloy, who came home from San Francisco to be with her sister when they learned the grave nature of her illness. It was Ate Linda who looked after their aging and ailing parents, and then helped to raise her nephews and nieces and, in Maloy’s words, “allowed us all to soar.”