It's been 20 years since Typhoon Ruping took place. I decided to write this piece because Typhoon Rolly entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility weeks ago. I was five years old when Typhoon Ruping hit the Philippines on November 18, 1990. It was a horrible Category Five Super Typhoon. It was a powerful typhoon, and I remembered how horrifying it was. I could remember sleeping in total darkness during the evening. The worse thing was that there was no electricity for some time. I think it was ONE MONTH without electricity and the effects were that bad. It didn't help I used to live in an old ancestral house where ghost stories were being told a lot.
The typhoon was just the beginning of the disaster. It didn't help it was boiling hot, and there was no electricity. That means cold water became a luxury. I could remember how our neighbors would ask for water from us because we had a water pump. I could remember how it wasn't good for my late paternal grandmother to be in that condition especially when she was in her mid-70s. I also had aging maternal grandparents too who couldn't see properly. In fairness, I got my bad eyesight from both my parents and my maternal grandparents. I was really scared of the evening not especially when I had an annoying nanny I hated with a passion who loves to tell paranormal stories. Every night, I grew scared that there might be a paranormal being and it was really that hot. Studying for lessons during the evening was a challenge since we had to use kerosene lamps and made sure we had kerosene DAILY. It was really that bad compared to succeeding typhoons that hit us.
The typhoon was just the beginning of the disaster. It didn't help it was boiling hot, and there was no electricity. That means cold water became a luxury. I could remember how our neighbors would ask for water from us because we had a water pump. I could remember how it wasn't good for my late paternal grandmother to be in that condition especially when she was in her mid-70s. I also had aging maternal grandparents too who couldn't see properly. In fairness, I got my bad eyesight from both my parents and my maternal grandparents. I was really scared of the evening not especially when I had an annoying nanny I hated with a passion who loves to tell paranormal stories. Every night, I grew scared that there might be a paranormal being and it was really that hot. Studying for lessons during the evening was a challenge since we had to use kerosene lamps and made sure we had kerosene DAILY. It was really that bad compared to succeeding typhoons that hit us.
What was I told why there was no electricity? People just kept going back to the Marcos narrative. But wasn't Marcos overthrown last February 25, 1986? All they did was blame the Marcos Years all over again. Back then, I was just that naive child. I was always told that the Marcos Years were to blame. But what I was never told was that the Marcos Years were the golden years for PROTECTIONISM. Besides, protectionism also allowed the Marcos Years' human rights abuses to happen. The Marcos cronies heavily benefited from protectionism. With lack of employment and the like - how can the Philippines even pay for the debt that Marcos owed other countries? What was worse was that it took ONE MONTH before electricity was fully restored in several areas outside Imperial Manila because almost everything was focused on the capital first. Worse, there are so few power companies and too many Filipinos needing electricity.
I would say the trauma of a five-year-old caught in one month without electricity is something. Sure, we didn't have much cool stuff back then. We didn't even have the old PC models until the late 90s. Yet, nobody can deny it's very scary to be in the evenings of darkness. Besides, the late Corazon C. Aquino was also called the "brownout queen". Would have the 1987 Constitution dismantled the state protectionism of the Marcos Years - I think the Philippines would've been ready for the huge brownout disaster. Just imagine if there were many power companies both Filipino and foreign - you could think about how electricity would've easily returned. Instead, it was all going back to "blame Marcos" again. I'm not saying Marcos is a hero, he was a despot, but the Marcos narrative is really getting old. Why didn't they focus on FIXING the damage Marcos did than getting FIXATED with it?
The trauma of Typhoon Ruping would be one reason why I'd say it's time to REFORM the constitution to free trade economics. My memories of it are no longer as clear but the trauma is still there. Some Filipinos may have grown up considerably with that bad trauma. It's time to ask yourself are you willing to pass through another traumatic experience like this?
Comments
Post a Comment