Typhoon Pepeng must have a special affinity for this archipelago.

Unlike what most storms customarily do – come visiting, do their thing, then go – Pepeng, after hitting the northern part of the country, went stationary somewhere near Ilocos, then went for another round, and then another round yet again.

Each of those visits came with end-of-the-world-is-near volumes of rain, causing massive floods and landslides. Damage to crops and livelihood must have reached billions by now.

But worse, more than a hundred of our countrymen perished. No one can measure the pain and agony caused by losing a loved one.

Yes, life goes on. And after mourning our losses, we must start with the harder part – rebuilding our lives. Farmers need to prepare their land again, and start once more the process of coaxing life and harvest from the heavily inundated soil.

Families need to rebuild their homes. For life must go on.

But while we are busy reclaiming our lives, we must never waste this opportunity to look at what happened and what their causes are. We do not wish to blame anybody or anything. We only want to make that things like this never happen again.

Illegal loggers, those people who come and cut all the trees then go away looking for another forest; homeowners who build over “esteros” and other waterways; and ordinary people who throw their garbage with abandon, unmindful of the fact that those plastic bags clog the canals and drainage systems – these are just some of the culprits.

And yet, they cover almost all of us.

We all are at fault. Would we ever learn?

Swimming Computer Boxes

One of my drinking buddies said how much he wished he first bought a jet ski, or a rubber boat, before buying a brand new car. If he only knew that that part of Marikina he calls home can easily get underwater, he would have purchased a watercraft first.

Anyway, he is not alone in this predicament. Car shops all over the metropolis never had it so good as they do now. In average, four to five flood-damaged cars are being repaired everyday in a typical car repair shop.

The repair of automobiles damaged by floods can be quite costly. An ABS-CBN news report said that “having oil changed costs P2,000.”

Repair and cleaning of air-conditioning costs P4,500.

But the worst is repairing a damaged computer box. Today’s automobiles come with computer boxes.
Repairing a computer box, which controls all of the car’s IC-enabled systems, which may include fuel injection, climate controls, entertainment systems, and navigation systems, can cost from between P8,000 to P100,000 the news report added.

So, should we heed my friend’s advice? Should we buy a jet ski instead of that shiny brand new car?
A car cannot save you and your family when typhoons come. And they do certainly come. A jet ski or rubber boat, on the other hand, cannot take you to the office.

Take the MRT.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.