A brilliant director, indeed

Yesterday, President Aquino was shown on TV handing out relief packages to survivors of “Yolanda” in Tacloban. I am sure he did not stay there all day doing that task, but what I am sure of is that he will get bashed again for doing work that could easily be delegated to his underlings, or even to volunteers from the community. Well, he must know by now that, in his position, it will always be D--- if you do and d--- if you don’t.

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Also, he must know by now that all this bashing and fault-finding against him will not stop, it will only escalate because, in about three years, another election will be held, and even if he himself is no longer qualified to run, he will be backing someone he believes can continue his programs. In the meantime, his political opponents will go to town in Noynoy-bashing and he must always remind himself not to be onion-skinned. All his predecessors went through this, too. Unfortunately for him, his detractors found a very good opportunity to pounce on him with the arrival of Yolanda.

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Meanwhile, was it really a miracle that had saved the residents of Manicani (hope I got that right) in Guiuan, Eastern Samar during the onslaught of Supergirl Yolanda? During the initial warnings about the coming of this calamity, it was announced that the place most likely to be hit first was Guiuan, and the people there were alerted to the danger. Now, Manicani is said to have a population of about 3,500, but it recorded only ONE fatality during the time the island was being smashed by Yolanda.

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How did that happen? Someone from the community who was interviewed said they were able to evacuate to safer ground on time. Three days before the expected landfall of the typhoon, they had already moved away from the shore area, and that had saved them! But hadn’t places like Tacloban also reported that they had also held advanced evacuation? Does that mean they had no places sturdy enough, and far enough, or high enough to be safe from the rushing water? We do not know, but, as the devout people of Guiuan insist, they had been saved by their faith.

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Meanwhile, the latest report on the casualties from Typhoon Yolanda was given at 3,976 yesterday with 1,500 missing. By this time, sad to say, the 1,500 could already be counted among the fatalities since more than 10 days have passed since disaster struck. If the missing had not been identified by their kin from the bodies collected for the mass burial, then they could have been swept to the sea during the retreat of the water which, I heard, was the real cause of destruction because it returned to the sea with a stronger force.

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Meanwhile, aside from doing all we can to help the survivors and the homeless in the affected areas, let us also pray for the souls of those who were killed during the visit of Yolanda, and for the bereaved ones they left behind. At the same time, we must also not forget to pray in thanksgiving, for having been spared the wrath of the typhoon, and that such a tragedy never happens in our country again. This we should include in our everyday prayers, knowing how vulnerable we are because of our location.

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On a happier note, we were glad to have attended the launch at SM Bacolod yesterday of the famous works of the talented young movie director Brilliante Mendoza yesterday. His two outstanding movies, “Thy Womb” and “Captive” will be shown today starting 8:15 a.m. at the SM cinema. Yesterday, Mendoza himself was introduced at a program attended by Bacolod’s artists, society and civic leaders, who were astounded to see that the prize-winning director is so young and likable, and not at all the eccentric or egoistic character they expect such talented people to be.

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The crowd was also titillated by his announcement that he is thinking of doing a movie on Negros and Bacolod City. I kidded my companions that maybe we could line up now to be extras, if that happens. Imagine, being in a Brilliante Mendoza movie, and maybe getting a chance to win in Cannes, as well? A bonus for me was meeting, after such a long time, Rene Durian, who is now with Mendoza as his publicist. Rene used to write for the STAR, and he has promised a come-back. Maybe that will further insure that Mendoza’s interest in Negros will continue?*

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