This near-sighted Ibaloy writer was supposed to pen “Singing” instead of “Crying” in this week’s column title, but the latter seems more apt due to the loss of lives and destruction the heavy monsoon rains have wrought on our beloved nation in the past days. We should be used to this by now, I guess, since unfortunately for us, our beautiful country is one of the most visited by typhoons annually in the world.
Well, the best thing to do is to be prepared for these eventualities not only as a country but as families and individuals since we can’t depend on government alone to keep us safe and secure during times of disasters. We should constantly remind ourselves that we have personal stakes in the safety and security of ourselves and loved ones. Obviously.
It’s great that our City of Pines continues to increase its capacity and capability to meet challenges brought about by calamities like typhoons and earthquakes, according to Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who often espouses the virtue of being proactive in anticipating situations and not being reactive all the time.
During the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s third quarter meeting on July 16, he said the flood mitigation warning and information system acquired from Australia through a $600,000 Asian Development Bank grant is expected to be put in place by September. Flood sensors will be located in the Summer Capital’s flood-prone areas that will form part of Baguio’s Smart City program, the mayor said.
He said the city will purchase a P10-million life detector system that could detect life or a beating heart beneath 10 to 12 meters of rubble caused by erosion due to typhoons or earthquakes making it possible to save more lives. This is in addition to more emergency rescue equipment that will be acquired to bolster the city’s stock, the mayor said. Cheers!
From the National Task Force:
As of July 23, the country has received a total of 30,985,130 doses of Covid-19 vaccines, 18.6 million of which were procured by the government, 10.3 million are donations from the Covaxfacility, and 2.1 million from bilateral donations.
For this year, the Philippines has secured a total of 164 million Covid-19 vaccine doses.
Here’s “I shall imagine life” by E.E. cummings: “I shall imagine life/ is not worth dying if/
(and when)roses complain/ their beauties are in vain/ but though mankind persuades/ itself that every weed’s/ a rose roses(you feel/ certain)will only smile”
Let’s end with a prayer: “May my life be filled with thanksgiving and praise for your countless blessings. Give me assurance that you supply my every need through your generosity. May grace, mercy, and peace be with me, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son, in truth and love. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.” (from the internet)
May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ continue to bless and keep us all safe.
