BLOGGEREL: September 2009

I saw a heart rending video on You Tube posted by an American taking footages from atop one of the skyscrapers in Eastwood. One by one the shanties from the cluster of makeshift homes were being unmoored by the rampaging floodwaters and sucked away by the current in a ramshackle flotilla caught in a deadly flow downriver. The families stranded on the rooftops suddenly converted to floating debris waved helplessly for aid to stragglers on top of an elevated overpass which transformed to an arching bridge above the turbulent surf below.

Nobody could help even if they wanted to. About the third run, some bystanders hollered to the family of four careening by to jump into the water and swim for the ropes that they threw down as lifelines into the raging currents. The turn of events became a horror show because the Mom and the Pop were able to hang on and pull themselves up while their two tots got snatched by the merciless waves and drifted away out of reach screaming for help.

Grievous accounts from many fronts became a tidal wave of anguish that totally tore at our souls and made us weep shamelessly even as fully grown adults. Some looked at civil authority to blame while some searched the heavens for an explanation why such a tragedy could have been allowed to blight our peaceful existence. Nobody stood blameless in the face of the sweeping recrimination. Heaping accusations and rushing to give succor went hand in hand. Gritting teeth and playing Good Samaritan produced queer figures with snarling heads connected to hearts of gold.

The bucket stops with the Abba Krishna. He will not shirk responsibility. Will it be a mitigating circumstance if it were pointed out that thousands died in China when the same freak rainfall stormed the mainland more than a year ago? How about millions of people swept away by the misfortune of the tsunami that descended on Phuket, and major shorelines of Thailand, Indonesia, and Bangladesh? We can’t be thankful for a running death count so far of only 240 dead. Zero tolerance is our policy when it comes to Divine intervention.

If you encroach on waterways with squatter hovels, there is a high possibility that your makeshift shelter can get washed away by torrential floods. But of course that is no excuse for creating the river and the rains. If you pollute the air with abusive and unbridled use of fossil fuels, there is a very high likelihood that the ensuing global warming effect can trigger weird climate changes like a super duper deluge. But of course that is no excuse for creating a planet prone to such nuances of habitation.

God made the volcano. The volcano’s role is to erupt. If you settle at the foot of the volcano and don’t prepare to evacuate properly once the volcano becomes restive then you are tempting fate to blow you away in a pyroclastic maelstrom. Fighting with bolos with your neighbor for the few remaining outrigger boats which overall capacity is not enough to accommodate all the fleeing families would be violence for naught or a sorrier state superimposed over what in the beginning is already a hapless tragedy.

The answer to everything is having a veneer of vigilance and an unbending resolve to triumph over malfeasance, iniquity, and complacency while at the same time raging with a love inside your heart to come to the aid of a stricken brother. Then the monster in your face will blend with the kindness in your heart to make our world the better place to be the spring board to beam to the widest expanse out there the loftiest ideals of men, their rightful place as masters of destiny, their divine role as vanguards created in the image of the Creator, and solidly built on the unforgiving adherence through their intelligence to do what is right by God, earth, and fellow men.

The priceless sagas of people in private capacity helping the victims are jewels of the heart. The brimstones of rage and fury coupled with the inclination to be a brother’s keeper will be the very rock hard foundations that will cool to deliver us all from stagnation as a fledgling democracy all of 63 years of age. We are either so young and promising or so old without learning. This time it’s the Abba Krishna’s turn to have faith in you.

Based On An Excerpt From Philippine Daily Inquirer Plus The Young Filipina Beauties On Facebook

INQUIRER HEADLINES / NATION

CHAVIT AND CHE:
At first ’twas a lovers’ dream life

By Nancy C. Carvajal
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:37:00 09/06/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Like living a dream.

This was how Rachel “Che” Tiongson, 37, described her early years with Deputy National Security Adviser Luis “Chavit” Singson, 68.

“[I was] 19, a provincial lass, wooed, pursued and loved by a powerful and rich man who showered [me] with material gifts and promised everlasting love—it’s every girl’s dream,” Tiongson told the Inquirer on Friday evening.

But after 17 years of being together, she said: “If being free and safe means losing this luxurious life, then I will gladly go back to a simple life.”

Tiongson recently filed a criminal complaint accusing Singson, her former live-in partner, of beating her on August 22.

“I am not afraid to lose all these material things ... I came from a simple family, I can always go back to it without regrets in exchange for freedom and peace of mind,” she said during an interview in a restaurant in Quezon City.

Tiongson said she thought the travels abroad, the flowers and candlelit dinners, the attention and expensive gifts would last forever.

“In the beginning, we were happy and so much in love. He was very generous and loving. I thought it would always be that way,” she said.

“I intensely loved him, I was fiercely loyal, faithful and waited on him hand and foot. I prepared his meals, made sure his needs were met and I made him happy. I was a hands-on mother,” she added.

Tiongson has five children with Singson, aged 16, 13, 11, 9 and 8.

Despite all her efforts to make the union work, rumors of his womanizing never ceased.

“I was at his beck and call, I obeyed him, I respected him. I was a good wife and a good mother. I always tried to look my best, to be pleasing to his eyes. But he would verbally abuse me every time I questioned him about other women,” she said.

The verbal abuse became so intense and frequent, Tiongson said she even learned to live with it.

“It came to a point when the demeaning insults and hurtful invectives became normal,” she said. “I resented his relationships with younger women ... He was cold with me and ignored me. He changed and I found myself falling out of love with him.”

Oppressive environment

When Tiongson realized she no longer loved him, she tried to leave what she described as an “oppressive environment.”

“I felt like a prisoner, I wanted to live a life with dignity, free from physical and mental abuse,” she said.

She told Singson that she wanted to separate from him, because “I could no longer bear his womanizing ways.”

He did not try to stop her from leaving but used their five children as leverage.

“He told me he will no longer give me financial support and threatened me that if I proceed with my decision, I will never see my children again,” she said.

‘Nothing in my name’

During the years she lived with Singson, she said she did not own property, except for the pieces of jewelry he had given her.

“[There was] nothing in my name. I was a housewife and he made sure I was dependent on him. He did not allow me to work or learn how to make my own money,” Tiongson said. “But I do not regret it, because I can honestly say I never stole from him, contrary to how he wants to portray me.”

She said they only moved to Corinthian Gardens in 2005, but before that, they were living in a townhouse in Sta. Ana, Manila.

Tiongson said she is determined to fight Singson in court.

“It is my ticket to freedom and peace of mind. I hope the court would give us closure and decide that we are no longer together. If he gives me something, it would be out of the goodness of his heart, without [asking] anything in return,” she said.

At first she was reluctant to file a case against Singson. Out of fear for herself and her family’s safety, she decided to charge him with a violation of Republic Act No. 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act (VAWC).

“I need protection from the court as I fear for my life, the safety of my family and the people close to me, including my boyfriend,” she said.

In her petition to the court, she asked for sole custody of the children and P300,000 monthly financial support for herself and the children.

She also said she wanted Singson to stop treating her like a sex object.

“I just want him to stop using me, like he does his other women. He would show up in my place—although we are already separated—to make love to me and then leave. I abhor it,” she said.

Falling in love

Tiongson said she first met Singson in 1992, when she was a freshman in college and he, a congressman.

They were introduced by socialite Becky Garcia in a party, she said.

After that meeting, Singson wooed her relentlessly. “He was persistent and told me he was separated from his wife Evelyn. After six months, I was in love and decided to live with him.”

She also said no one paid her or coaxed her to file a case against Singson.

“It was my decision. What he did [to me] was like a life sentence. I am scared even if we are separated ... How can I have another relationship after what he did to me and my boyfriend. He tortured him and beat me as a warning to all men not to get involved with me,” Tiongson said.