Typhoon Ruping: My First Super-Typhoon Experience Before Last Year's Odette

As the first anniversary of recovering after Typhoon Odette will be arriving (December 17), I'd also write about Typhoon Ruping which happened in 1990. I was only in Kinder-1 so it wouldn't be easy to remember especially since I'm already in my late 30s. Typhoon Odette was an experience made hard but we soon had a generator, repairs soon started, and there was higher technology. I'd still think about Odette and what it was like living without solar lights, relying on that smelly methane lamp as a source of light, and studying was hard. Reading with insufficient light is very bad for one's eyes. It was also that time that everywhere, just everywhere, it was brownout, and electricity returned before Christmas. In the case of Odette, Christmas and New Year were delayed to January.

I could remember living in an old house in downtown, Cebu. I'd say it was like living in a haunted house. The childhood trauma was there. I could think about all the shaking in that old house which I think was built around the 1950s. If all my grandparents (on both sides) were alive--they'd either be in their late 90s or 100s by now. The typhoon caused great devastation in Cebu. It seemed hopeless. A lot of people lined up to get water from our house. That cramped neighborhood was really something. I really remembered how hot the weather was after the incident.

During Odette, it was a good thing to be invested in solar lights. At least, there was some light in the evening. It was good to have a generator (eventually) which was used to power up the house for certain periods of time. Former Cebu City mayor, Tomas Osmena, said that Ruping taught him that Cebu should stop over-relying on the national government. That's very true regardless of who the next president will be. I believe local governments should work first instead. It was when CEBOOM happened--the rise of Cebu after the storm. We need to stop the #NasaanAngPangulo (Translated: Where is the president) tag because the local governments should be the first to work.

It was hard navigating the house without the solar lights during Ruping. True, Odette did leave some rooms not usable--at least there were lights. At least, there was soon some order done allowing people to slowly buy stuff to repair their houses. We even had good neighbors who allowed us to charge our devices. It was a pain (for the first few days) to charge the vehicle. The car battery would be destroyed sooner or later. Still, I felt that Odette got manageable because of solar lights, having a generator and that there's currently better technology. Soon, repairs in the household were becoming more manageable. Electricity came back around January. Before that, there was limited electricity via a generator.

After Ruping, I sort of developed a trauma every time there was a brownout. Well, brownouts were very frequent during the 1990s. It could come in the way of projects and exams. Sure, there was no Christmas celebration in 2021. However, it was still l manageable to have a not-merry Christmas with the conveniences of a generator and solar lights. Ruping was probably still a traumatic experience. Fortunately, Cebu has pulled through Typhoon Ruping. It's also pulled through Typhoon Odette. Though, we need to have more public utilities (whether Filipino or foreign) to make better disaster preparedness regardless.

Is an Impeachment Just as Effective as a Vote of No Confidence?

Talks about impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio are on. However, I'd like to show the problem with the impeachment trial. Who can remember when former president Joseph Marcelo Ejercito aka Joseph Estrada was under impeachment trial? One can say that when Estrada resigned, that proved that it doesn't matter if the country is presidential or parliamentary (since some economic powerhouses are still under the presidential system, like South Korea and Taiwan). However, we need to look at the political aspect of the parliamentary system. Is impeachment just as effective as a vote of no confidence? Let's find out! What is impeachment? Impeachment is defined by the Britannica as follows: Impeachment, in common law, a proceeding instituted by a legislative body to address serious misconduct by a public official . In Great Britain the House of Commons serves as prosecutor and the House of Lords as judge in an impeachment proceeding. In the federal government of ...

East Asian Culture and Envy Breeding?

I listened to this video and it's not surprising. I thought of the typical problem, "Nobody is competing with you? Why are you always competing with us?" This would have typical competitions like: Comparing the performance of each other's children. Asking someone when one's child will get married. Telling their child so and so has "matured" by getting married (never mind some of the worst quarrels are between married people) and that the other is still "immature". Never mind that the "immature" person may be raising up valid points! Getting angry when somebody prospers, even if it's just a little bit of prosperity. Then again, the person getting jealous may be living a glamorous life fueled by unpaid debt . As I listened to it, I can relate to it because I've been a victim of such practices and also had done such practices. It's a really toxic trait East Asians need to stop. Let's fact it that no culture is perfect . ...

Why Using CTTO Isn't a Valid Source at All

Right now, I'm having an argument with a certain old man (wearing a toga, presumably graduating from a doctorate degree) on Facebook. One thing I noticed in some of his Facebook posts is the use of CTTO more often than not. Maybe, I can start giving a sample of his arguments since there are many. One of his posts would go like this: All nations have protectionist policies, its their inherent rights. It is the role of the business to use strategies to work within these policies.... ctto... Back then, I remembered I erroneously used Yahoo as a source in my high school term paper. Later on, a college professor placed an X mark on Yahoo and Google as a source . It's because Google nad Yahoo are search engines . Now, we have CTTO which means Credit To The Owner. If we're to really credit the owner, why not post a link or acknowledge the site where it was taken from? For example, the meme above is by 8LIST.PH. It's very eays to say CTTO to make myself look smart. However, I ...

Indigenous Dance in Dayuan District, Taiwan

In the quest to know more about Southeast Asia's indigenous people--Taiwan can become a hit destination. This would look like a group of Filipino indigenous dancers but they're from Taiwan. This long dance number may show how the Taiwanese government may have been treating indigenous tribes better than the Philippines. One article I wrote was about how some Filipino natives now have to travel to Taiwan to learn indigenous weaving . Just watching this video makes me think of what the Inquirer cited about Taiwanese indigenous people: TAIPEI—In communities of the indigenous Amis tribe across Taiwan, locals say lima for five, pito for seven and mata for eye, just like Filipinos . In southern Taiwan’s Alishan mountain, the Tsou tribe calls the community’s meeting hut a kuba, strikingly similar in design to the Philippines’ kubo . Whether in language, architecture or way of life, links among indigenous peoples of the Philippines and Taiwan are undeniable, with...

The Late Lee Kuan Yew Called the Philippines' Press RAMBUNCTIOUS

The Straits Times As April Fool's Day draws near, I intend to write on something the late Lee Kuan Yew said in his book From Third World to First . It was once wrongly said that he said the Philippine presses as masters of intrigue . It was made by a certain Jesus Satorre Jr. who wrongly called Lee Kuan Yew, president . That alone deserves to be fact-checked . It was even funny how a certain someone called Mahathir Mohamad a president when he criticized former president Rodrigo R. Duterte. However, there was a quote from the book concerning the Philippines about the Philippine press: Ramos knew well the difficulties of trying to govern with strict American-style separation of powers. The senate had already defeated Mrs. Aquino's proposal to retain the American bases. The Philippines had a rambunctious press but it did not check corruption. Individual press reporters could be bought, as could many judges . I'm afraid that it's very easy to quote what Lee said about the...

Are People Who Say Systems Don't Matter Be Willing to Prove Their Claims for a Million Pesos?

People often argue that it's not the system but the people who run it. Some people have their examples like the late former Philippine president Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino III and former Philippine vice president Atty. Maria Leonor "Leni" S. Gerona-Robredo. They would say that both Noynoy and Leni are "prime examples" why charter change isn't needed, just a change of people in power. Some people even say that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is "inviolate". If that's so then what happened to Article XVII that makes it open to amendments? Why wasn't that even used? That means even making a new constitution isn't illegal per se--unless one did what Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. did during the martial law era! However, if we understand simple psychological science, we need to look at basic psychology. Please, I don't need a doctorate in certain degrees, in the Greenbelt Universities, to understand that there are mist...

Scarier Than Any Horror Movie: Two Trials of the 20th Century in the Philippines, Still Case Unsolved

iStock Happy Halloween, right? I would like to write something scary. I've written some blog entries under the label "crime". My two favorite topics are the Vizconde Massacre Case, which was followed by the Chiong Sisters Case. It's amazing that one of the siblings of Marijoy Jimenea Chiong and Jacqueline Jimenea Chiong, was actually my schoolmate at the University of San Carlos. Some people knew this Chiong sibling as Debbie Jane Chiong-Sia, who by the way, isn't Jacqueline . Jacqueline would be in her 50s would she have lived. I didn't care anymore about the case until someone told me, "Do you remember Paco Larrañaga? He was innocent!" It scared me straight. The question was given to me after someone also mentioned Hubert Jeffry P. Webb as innocent regarding the Vizconde Massacre case. I believed that both Paco and Jeffry were guilty. The scary truth was that they were innocent of the crimes. I got interested in digging into the crimes. Back in t...

I Tried Listening to This and I'm Even More Convinced Woke Stupidity, NOT Capitalism, Ruined San Francisco

Sometimes some YouTubers may be making more sense than the news. Misha Petrov's commentary on San Francisco is backed up by the news. As I listened to her and her male companion, the two really got into gritty details. I'm already grossed out by animal feces, how much more of it's human feces? The descriptions in this video aren't pleasant to think about. Instead, I had to put away whatever I was eating or drinking when I was watching and listening to this video. Not even the pretty girl's face could ease away my disgust while hearing the disgusting truth that needed to be said! Some people would blame, "Capitalism did it! We need socialism!" I wonder if the people who said it know why Vietnam has better peace and order as a socialist state? Instead, we need to look at what's tolerated and what's not. It's because the "Don't do this and don't do that." ultimately affects how most people will behave. This article from the Washi...

The Vizconde Massacre and Trial by "Trust Me Bro"?

As Christmas approaches, another case worth revisiting for history vs. gossip is the Vizconde Massacre. I watched Crime Investigation Asia uploaded on YouTube. I wrote about the documentary Give Up Tomorrow -- a documentary that explores the irregularities while pursuing justice for the late Chiong sisters, Jacqueline Jimenea Chiong and Marijoy Jimenea Chiong. I feel compelled to write about the Vizconde Massacre. For more than 10 years, I used to believe that Hubert Jeffry Pagaspas Webb, son of Freddie Webb, was guilty. It turns out that according to Crime Investigation Asia --it was really a trial by gossip . In my case, I want to call it a trial of Trust Me Bro. I still read comments about how footage of Hubert in the States could've been "easily tampered". Yet, those who comment haven't presented the evidence. I guess if I asked for their evidence, they'll just say, "Trust me bro!" Granted, photo editing was still in its infancy back then so how cou...

A Certain MARITES Vandalized Wikipedia to "Prove" that the Chiong Sisters Are "Still Alive"

Christmas can bring me some memories. One of them was having a Christmas vacation with the Chiong Sisters Case in mind back in high school. Above is a vandalism I found on Wikipedia (which I take with a grain of salt). Please be reminded Wikipedia is where anyone can edit therefore it's a spurious source. Without her permission, the 2023 photo was most likely taken from Mrs. Thelma Jimenea-Chiong's Facebook. I agree with Marty Syjuco that Mrs. Chiong was the victim of the crime. However, seven innocent people were wrongly tagged as the public demanded answers. There can only be justice for either side once the real culprits are discovered. Some cases happen and the real perpetrators have not yet been found. I'd like to really point out some simple facts. Let me remind people of the following facts: Amelie Arquilliano-Chiong was born as Amelie R. Arquilliano. She is the wife of the late Marijoy Jimenea Chiong's brother Bruce. She's in Canada. The three Chiong siste...

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