Quakes in Congress, too

What else could the media talk about except the devastating earthquake that hit Japan so suddenly yesterday with the unbelievable force of magnitude 8.9 on the Richter scale? When one thinks of how terrified we used to be upon sensing a tremor of only Magnitude 3, one can just imagine how terrifying the experience of the people in the stricken area had been. International news dispatches said it was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. Later reports said it was the fifth strongest, but the other four were not mentioned.

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At first I thought it was only one of those common tremors in Japan, Tokyo especially. The first time I went to Tokyo, we were walking under a railway when we noted the earth shake a bit. My companions, all from Bacolod City, were scared, but we noticed that the Japanese people were just going about their business unconcernedly. Later we were told that such little quakes were common in Tokyo and some parts of Japan. But yesterday was certainly something else. The 8.9 jolt, as shown by footages on TV, had houses and offices shaken down, and, as of this writing, between 200 and 300 people were feared dead.

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Worst, the earthquake also triggered tsunamis, those fearful giant waves that have already impressed on us their ferocity and deadliness in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. And the world is just getting over the damage and loss of lives, among them of Filipinos, in New Zealand. Panic almost heightened in the Philippines when reports started coming out that the ensuing tsunamis could even reach us. As of last night, however only Hawaii had reportedly been touched by one, and in the Philippines, the waves monitored were rather unusual, but not threatening, according to officials, and only Alert 2 level was raised.

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The tsunamis did not spare Japan, too, the quake also caused raging fires, and sea water to flood the Sendai Airport. This was explained as a phenomenon called “liquefaction” which is caused by intense shaking of the earth that can turn the ground to liquid! What is happening in the world we live in now? Places that are not devastated by natural calamities are rocked by protests and civil wars, with infighting and killing of fellow nationals, as in Libya. Japan, which is known to have mechanisms in place for such emergencies as earthquakes, suddenly found itself calling for help from other countries this time. Meanwhile, while we continue praying here in the Philippines that we continue to be spared from such calamities, let us include our fellow human beings in those places, that the quake yesterday will not occur again.

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Over here, in our country, people living in the areas identified to be possible sites of the moving tsunamis, have been advised to evacuate, just in case. The places include parts of Bicol, Leyte, Samar, and Davao. Later reports also said that even parts of the United States, especially the West Coast, are also in the path of the wicked tsunami. Up to late last night, all the major TV outfits like CNN and BBC, continued to cover the places hit, or likely to be hit, keeping the world informed. I’m sure many people were holding a vigil last night and until morning to see the developments on this calamity that seems to be expanding in both the Asian and American countries. Thank God, as I write this, BBC was announcing that the alert in the Philippines had been lifted!

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Meanwhile, the quaking continues in the House of Representatives and the Senate, while the impeachment case of the Ombudsman is being taken up. Probably the strongest hit is Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez who, after stoutly declaring confidence in the Senate, finds out that its members, too, are for her ouster, this time for her action on the Plea Bargain case of plunder-charged general Carlos F. Garcia, and not for the other claims of the House members against her. She is now finding out that, if it is not one thing, it could be the other. So far, 15 senators are reportedly also gunning for her. And it is with its members that she had confidently hoped for a hearing and judgment that is fair, to her. As for the other generals, believed to have made off with a lot of Army funds, they may get away at the House and the Senate, but now must watch out, because “Behold, the Taxman cometh!” Not even the most clever mobsters in the U.S., who could bribe officials and hire the best of lawyers, could escape when the Internal Revenue office came after them.*

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