When Ondoy and Pepeng meet Pinoys

By Paul Anthony Eso
(Vol. XXVII No. 15, Editorial Cartoon)

When Ondoy and Pepeng meet Pinoys

Recently, the Filipino nation has two uninvited cruel visitors which we wished have not visited at all – Ondoy (International Name: Ketsana) and Pepeng (International Name: Parma). Both typhoons, in the span of their short visits in the Philippines, did not only make this country suffer, but also exposed how lame the Philippine government is and how superficial the commitments of Filipino leaders and leaders-to-be are.

When Ondoy visited the Philippines on the afternoon of September 26, it brought the worst rainfall to a large part of Luzon – a rainfall which was said to be equivalent to a month of rain. It killed people; it destroyed properties – Ondoy was even dubbed as the most destructive typhoon recorded in the past 40 years in the country. As reported, Ondoy caused billions of damages and killed hundreds of lives. As estimated, it will take about a year before the Filipino nation could recover from its loss.

Moreover, Ondoy did not only give depressing pictures on the span of its visit but also on its aftermath. Days after Ondoy struck, everyone was tormented to see how immensely it has affected the lives of a lot of people – muddy houses; dead people and animals found everywhere; destroyed properties and sources of livelihood; and the most depressing: hunger, homelessness, and hopeless people. Ondoy stole the hope of some Filipinos and tested the faith of others.

Due to Ondoy’s destructive visit, the Philippine government declared a ‘state of calamity’ on the affected areas. It also sought for international humanitarian assistance from the world community. The United Nations also took part by pleading to other nations to help the typhoon victims. Over a hundred relief centers opened into action, with thousands of concerned citizens immediately offering donations or volunteering their services.

Barely a week after Ondoy’s visit, while the Filipino nation is still shocked with Ondoy’s aftermath, Pepeng came in uninvited in the afternoon of October 2 bringing rains that consequently caused floods and landslides. Pepeng is maybe less forbidding than Ondoy but still, the damages it caused, particularly in agriculture, cost billions. Pepeng is maybe less harsh than Ondoy but still, it soaked a lot of Filipino homes and livelihood with flood water and killed hundreds of people.

In the past two weeks since Pepeng and Ondoy visited the Philippines, the death toll reached 699, with 462 injured and 87 missing as stated in the latest reports published in Manila Bulletin. Moreover, infrastucture and agriculture damages amounted to P15 billion with more reports expected to come.

Ondoy and Pepeng’s visits indeed made the lives of many Filipinos miserable. It made this nation submerged in floods that washed away the hopes of almost everybody. Moreover, their visits also tested the kind of government we have – unfortunately, what they revealed is a lame government of a disaster-prone nation. Their visits tested how truly committed our leaders and leaders-to-be are – and sorry to say, what they have revealed are superficial leaders who are only good in words but never in action.

The visits of Ondoy and Pepeng revealed that the Philippine government is never prepared for big calamities. At the height of the two typhoons, it was discovered that the government does not even have sufficient equipment to rescue the almost hopeless victims; to feed the hungry evacuees and to reach out even a little help to the unfortunate ones.

It is so ironic that the Philippine government can spend millions for a dinner of the Philippine president and her party, but incapable in providing the needs of the typhoon victims. It is so ironic that our leaders and our aspiring leaders can spend millions for their political ads, but at this grim point in the lives of a lot of Filipinos, most of them are not visible. It is so ironic that the Philippine government is begging help from other countries when in the past months, it has been spending lavishly on senseless causes.

Ondoy and Pepeng, when they met Pinoys, revealed what Filipinos really have. Uunfortunately, what they revealed is as saddening as their aftermath.

Chronic migraine

By Cheeno Luang
(Vol. XXVII No. 14, Editorial Cartoon)

Chronic migraine

Lack of facilities is probably one of the things that remain constant in Negros Oriental State University (NORSU). Students and teachers alike are clamoring for better facilities to enhance the university’s quality of education. This is no longer new as the demand has been going on for many years now.

As the university expands and accommodates new courses under its wing and as its population continues to increase, the need for better facilities become more apparent. However, instead of focusing on these problems and like a parent who does not know proper family planning, NORSU keeps on opening new courses unmindful of its insufficient resources. And while the parent nurtures and focuses its attention to its latest fledgling, it inadvertently shuts out the cries of its other children.

The Geology Department is just one among the many children of this university clamoring for better facilities for years now. Lack of classrooms, proper equipment, among others are just few of the things that the department has been asking for years to no avail. Fortunately, the department has generous alumni who never forget the needs of their department and willingly share what they have for their classes.

Geology is not the only department suffering from its parents’ inattention. A lot of other departments need facilities similar to those of the Geology Department, but like the latter, their pitiful cries remain unattended.

The saddest part is that, like an uneducated parent, instead of prioritizing the needs of the existing departments, the university went on and opened new courses that need even more expensive facilities than the existing ones. Like an irresponsible parent, the university spawned a new offspring whose needs would add more strain to the family’s already inadequate budget.
Time and again, the administration has been claiming insufficient funds as a reason why the needs of departments such as the Geology Department, remain unfulfilled. If the university cannot manage to provide for its existing departments, how can it possibly provide for new ones?

Classroom discussions are not enough to ensure quality education. While it is alright for some courses to rely on books and the expertise of their instructors, it cannot be denied that some courses need equipment so that its students could familiarize and apply what they learned from their teachers. This is not only to ensure that the students understand their lessons but also to ensure that our graduates don’t get shocked when they are already in the real world and encounter their profession’s tools for the first time.

Book-knowledge is different from actual experience. It would be preferable that a Mass Communication student, for example, actually knows how to handle a TV camera and edit videos than just memorize the use of a TV camera. Likewise, it is preferable that a Geology student knows how to use an actual Brunton compass than just imagine how it looks like. That is why, it is significant that the university provides the equipment needed by its departments. Proper facilities equate to better quality of education. Better quality of education equates to a more successful future.

Though it is understandable that the university aims well in opening new courses, it would have been better if they were able to solve the persistent and continuing problem on school facilities and provided proper equipment first before they opened new ones.

If the existing courses’ problems are causing headaches to the administration, for sure, the new ones will create a severe migraine because these new courses need more expensive facilities than the existing departments. It would have been wiser if the existing problems were solved first before welcoming new ones. For, is it not only prudent for a parent to ensure his financial stability first before bringing another child into this world?

The problem on the university’s facilities is a headache not only for the administration, but for the students and the instructors as well. It is a problem that remains constant despite the so-called improvements and developments in the university. It is a problem that continues to haunt the university like a ghost that refuses to be buried.

Like a headache, this problem will only stop nagging the NORSU community if the proper antidote is given. This is one headache, however, which a dose of pain reliever cannot cure. This is one headache which only the collective efforts of the whole NORSU community could heal.

Ondoy – the destroyer, the reminder

By Christian Edu Villegas
(Vol. XXVII No. 13, Editorial Cartoon)

Ondoy – the destroyer, the reminder

On September 26, Saturday, typhoon “Ondoy” (International Name: Ketsana) brought massive rains resulting to the death of at least 140 people and displacement of nearly half a million individuals in a large part of Luzon, particularly in Metro Manila. Dubbed as the most terrifying storm recorded in over 40 years, Ondoy brought a month’s long rainfall within six hours. As a direct consequence, Ondoy severely affected hundreds of thousands after it filled 80 percent of Metro Manila under water.

Flashed on national televisions and shown in the internet, the whole nation watched in horror at the scenes and pictures of devastation and how Mother Nature could cruelly strike back equalizing everyone – poor or rich, young or old, unknown or popular. The Ondoy tragedy, for the Filipinos who are safely watching in their respective homes, will be remembered in images of helpless men and women, children and aged, desperately balancing and hanging on electric cables to get out from the chest-deep water level; of cars and properties being worthlessly washed like toys by the raging floodwaters; of movie and television actress Christine Reyes being vulnerably stranded on the rooftop of her Marikina house.

The storm is over by now, but the nightmare continues to haunt especially the ones who are brutally affected by it. The grim pictures continue to flash as well. On the lighter side, Filipinos are now working hand in hand to at least aid a little to the damage that the typhoon caused. In fact, just a day after the destructive typhoon, over a hundred relief centers opened into action, with thousands of concerned citizens immediately offering donations and volunteering their services. Also, the Philippine government, 48 hours after the tropical storm, sought for international humanitarian assistance from the world community after it has placed Metro Manila and 25 provinces under a state of calamity.

While Ondoy causes inestimable damage and while Filipinos struggle hard to cope with or recover from it, at the same time, we are given one picture of irony by the tragedy as a disaster-prone nation.

Filipinos are very good at organizing relief programs once a disaster strikes but they are a failure at preventing disaster in the first place. Ondoy may be a natural disaster and no individual or institution has control over it, but its effects were compounded by human behavior – Ondoy, too, was a man-made calamity. Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA is logical in saying that the unusual volume of rain in Ondoy’s wake could be due to climate change and while we cannot blame ourselves for the fact that rains fell, we cannot escape from the reality that we have no one else but ourselves to blame for the fact that the floodwaters did not quickly subside.

Because the Filipino people only knew how to dispose of their trash by word and not by action, because the Filipino people are still slow learners in understanding that “prevention is better than cure”, because the Filipino people have not yet learned how to be safety-conscious and invest in disaster-prevention – there is no one who is responsible for everything but the Filipinos themselves. We bear responsibility, not for the rains, but for the floods.

Filipinos, indeed, have a fine tradition of helping each other in times of disaster, of quickly and efficiently organizing disaster relief work. It is indeed commendable that, these days, the tradition floods to the people who are affected by the grim typhoon. Unluckily, that tradition runs counter to the culture of recklessness and irresponsibility of Filipino people on little things – even in proper garbage disposal – that best explains why the Philippines is a disaster-prone nation in the first place. It is sad to say that it is this type of culture that creates man-made calamities.

May the Ondoy tragedy awaken the Filipino people now. May Ondoy, the destroyer, serve as a reminder to everyone to be more responsible – even on little things like proper garbage disposal. We should not wait for another calamity to victimize us first before we can have the best learned lesson.

A challenge

By Ren Angelo Elevera
(Vol. XXVII No. 12, Editorial Cartoon)

A challenge

Recently, Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) Tigers Basketball Team competed for the Negros Oriental Inter-Collegiate Basketball League. The Tigers landed on the third spot after knocking down the St. Paul University-Dumaguete (SPUD) Saints.

Settling on the third place is not an easy victory for the Tigers. Having only four veteran players, they found it difficult to win over the Saints whose members are mostly veterans. Aside from that, the fact that they also lack proper training due to lack of facilities and equipment needed for their practice also mattered.

With a lot of rookies in the team, it is understandable that the team would not be as strong as it was a few years back. These rookies, who are supposed to be trained well before playing at the court and competing with other players of the different university teams in the city, are not getting enough practice. How can they practice well when they do not have the needed facilities and equipment? In short, they lack proper training.

Looking back, NORSU Tigers was once considered as one of the strongest basketball teams in the city. Tigers used to compete for the championship in Inter-Collegiate basketball tournament which always bring excitement to the NORSU community. It used to be the center of attention of Norsunians, especially in the months of September where the Negros Oriental Intercollegiate Basketball League takes place.

But what has happened to the former spirit brought by the Tigers to the NORSU community? Where has it gone?

The fact is: we no longer feel it. Before, the whole NORSU community was really updated as to when will be the next game of the Tigers, what team will be their next opponent, and the like. But now, it seems that Norsunians no longer care about it. It seems that they have been abandoned—by the students and the administration.

The Tigers, being the basketball team of the university, plays an important role in uplifting the NORSU spirit. In every game they play, they bring with them the name of the university—they bring with them the name of NORSU. If they do well in court, they do not only get the praises for themselves but also for NORSU. The same goes with the criticisms. Whatever criticism they get, NORSU also gets it because in every game they play, they represent our school. It is the name of NORSU which is at stake. Therefore, the university must answer the call for the needed facilities and equipment of the team for them to improve.

Since it is the goal of the Student Government to uplift the NORSU spirit, why not start on this one? After all, the NORSU spirit was once uplifted by the Tigers because of their victories which made Norsunians shout on top of their lungs the name of the university. Their cheers just showed how proud they were of their school because Tigers defeated other university basketball teams. And Tigers even made it to the championship in some tournaments that they participated.

On the other hand, the team should also do its part. The lack of equipment should not be the reason for the team’s losses. They should not also reason out that because most of the members are rookies, it is just okay to lose. Everybody knows that it is not; thus, they should make it a habit to always do their best in court for them to be the victor.

Even with the lack of facilities and equipment, they should show it that they can win over other teams. Because it is not only the equipment and facilities that matter but also the commitment and the hard work of the team members.

Though they made it to the third spot in this year’s Negros Oriental Inter-Collegiate Basketball League, we can still say that it is not enough to gain back the spirit that was once felt by every Norsunian every time the Tigers play. Everyone knows that the Tigers can do better than that. Thus, they should try their best to make it to the championship game next time. Who knows? Perhaps, it would be one way of recovering the spirit that this university is slowly losing.
This is a challenge to the Tigers!