Anyway, this was the 2nd flood that caused so much damage and lives (1st was the Ormoc, Leyte flood) here in my country, the Philippines. There were a lot of people affected, even from areas you wouldn't expect would get flooded - Makati, City of Manila, etc.
Watching these videos would show you how lives were devastated by Ondoy:
It's a huge tragedy and a lot of Filipinos weren't ready for it. I'm in Cebu and we didn't feel how strong this typhoon was 'til we saw videos and photos in Facebook. I was so worried about my own family in Malabon, one of the areas in the Philippines that has been hugely affected by floods in the past years. But, to my surprise, they weren't affected at all, except for the power outage. Navotas and Malabon were not affected compared to the rest of Metro Manila, which was a huge relief for me 'coz I couldn't imagine how they'll survive the floods last Sunday. I guess the dam and all the roadworks that were done to these towns resulted to them being "spared" from all the flooding caused by Ondoy.
Self-Righteous, Heartless Pinoys
Everytime we experience flood in Malabon and Navotas, I always blame people for being irresponsible in throwing their trash, and I hate the local government for not doing anything good enough to resolve the flooding. And when I saw this tragedy, I did think that in the back of my head - that we could've saved those many lives if only we were responsible enough to keep our drainage systems clog-free. However, I didn't post anything about it, I didn't even have a minute to blame myself and my countrymen for what happened. Why? 'Cause I saw how much destruction this flood caused my country. I was heavy-hearted to see the videos of the flood and its after-effects.
That's what I don't understand about people like the now-famous (in a really bad way) Jacque Bermejo, Flex Naval, lizard_man, makati_girl and the rest of them heartless morons.
About Jacque Bermejo. If you don't know what started her fame, here's a comment she posted on Facebook:
Translation: "Good thing I'm here in Dubai. Maybe there are so many sinners back there (Philippines) so you just deserve what happened."
She posted that Sunday when the flood caused by Ondoy was devastating most of Manila and putting the lives of her countrymen in peril. Take note, she's also a Filipino!
Her comment generated a LOT and I mean A LOT of negative reactions from Filipino netizens. They flooded her Facebook account with messages, curses, and mockery. There were even people who researched on her identity, her background, her life and they found her Multiply and Friendster accounts. Heck, they even got her contact #. That's how mad the Filipino netizens were because of what she posted.
It was so irresponsible, self-righteous and stupid of her to post something like that on Facebook, especially now that most Filipinos have internet access and news can easily travel to different groups of people nationwide. Ever heard of the UP student who killed cats? He was bombarded with hate messages even from non-pet lovers because of a blog post about how he enjoyed hurting and killing a cat. And, now this?!
(I'll have another post entirely dedicated to her stupidity or my speculations about some people claiming that the real Jacque Bermejo had no idea about what's happening 'coz someone hacked her account and all that blah.)
Update: Jacque Bermejo - Is She the Devil or the Victim?
Gulfnews: Fake web posting on floods triggers tsunami of vitriol - The REAL Jacque Bermejo was already interviewed by one of the news sites in the Gulf. Please read and share with others. Let's help her get her life back.
And then I read this post from Flex Naval:
Translation: "You're all stupid. Your reaction to the rain is just exaggerated."
And there were a couple of replies to that post that I'll also translate:
Cathy Symaco: "Who told you to leave the house when the heavy rains started the night before?"
How stupid can these people get?! OA? Exaggerated? Didn't you see how much damage the rain caused? How many lives it took?! Damn assholes. Idiots. Then that Cathy comment, did she even think that there were people who went to work Saturday because they still have to earn a living because only classes can be cancelled during bad weather?! Again, IDIOT.
Then, I saw this post from makati_girl and lizard_man from Pinoy Exchange:
lizard_man: "Ang Pinoy ay di dapat magreklamo sa BAHA dahil ang kanilang KATONTOHAN ang sanhi nito. Tapon ng tapon ng basura sa kung saan saan... yan ang KULTURA ng PINOY... tapos kapag binabaha, NGANGAWA-NGAWA. Walang dapat sisihin ang mga Pinoy kundi mga sarili nila. Hindi dapat kaawaan ang Pinoy sa kanilang kalagayan. Dapat ay ang maging tingin ng mundo sa kanila ay karapat dapat lang na mangyari sa kanila yan dahil hindi sila nag e-EVOLVE. Sige, huwag kayo magbago ha. Pagpatuloy niyo lang yan Pinoy at ang susunod na baha ay parang sa istorya ni Noah na halos lahat ng tao mamatay. Sabagay magandang population control yan para sa Pilipinas para mabawas-bawasan ang mga TONTO sa mundo. (roflol emoticon)"Translation: "Filipinos should not complain about the flood because their stupidity caused the flood. They throw trash everywhere - that's the culture of Pinoys. Then, when it starts flooding, they whine. There's no one else to blame but Pinoys themselves. They should not be pitied because of their situation now. People in the whole world should realize that Pinoys deserve what they got or experienced because they never evolved. Go ahead and do not change. Continue what you're doing and the next flood will just be like the story of Noah's ark when almost everyone died. Anyway, that's a good way to control population in the Philippines so there'll be less idiots in the world."
makati_girl:Wow. Take note, again, that these comments came from Filipinos. And from their comments alone, I know that they don't have any relatives or friends who were affected by the flood. If they did, OMG, that's way worse!
"It is just natural selection manifesting itself. Nature is just de-selecting Pinoys for existence in this world. Only the fittest deserve to survive. As a society, Pinoy society is proving unfit for this world of civilizations. People throw garbage everywhere, they elect corrupt and incompetent people in the Government, they just don't think enough. This is why these things will keep happening to Pinoys. It is natural selection before our very eyes. Pinoys have not evolved so yeah, Pinoys will be extinct except for those smart enough to leave Pinoy society or stay on top by changing their cultures. I really don't feel sorry for Pinoy society for what is happening to them. I am Japanese and Chinese by heritage by the way so there."
First of all, yeah, they have a point. Like what I mentioned earlier on this post, our drainage systems in most parts of Manila maybe clogged by trash, which was the major factor that resulted to the flood. I get that. I know that. But, damn, did I go out starting threads in forums and Facebook blaming us Pinoys for what happened? I didn't. Because I believe that THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR ANY BLAME GAME. This is the time to help one another, to pray for our countrymen who are in deep troubles after the flood.
What's even funnier about these heartless Pinoys' comments were they didn't even mention that they actually care about what's happening to their countrymen. No, they just went around lashing out at Pinoys. How sadistic of you, people. Not because people throw garbage everywhere, they deserve to die in a flood, lose their loved ones, and their properties. It's just mean to even think that. Sheesh.
I am a strong believer that people can change. Take for example people from Malabon and Navotas. I'm not saying a lot of them did their part but because of the floods that they've been experiencing almost everytime it rains, they learned their lessons not to throw their garbage just everywhere. The local government also tried their best to fix the roads and the dam. We learn from experience. GIVE YOUR COUNTRYMEN A BREAK AND A CHANCE TO CHANGE. Lashing out at them or ridiculing them and wishing they were dead won't help, IDIOTS.
I feel so MAD about all these nasty comments that Pinoys deserve what happened in Manila from other PINOYS. Actually, even if it came from anyone else of different nationality, I would feel the same - mad at their insensitivity. Stop the blame game and for now, let's all work hand-in-hand to help those who suffered and are still suffering because that's the only thing we can do now to HELP our countrymen get a chance to CHANGE.
Thank you, Lord, that my family in Malabon is safe. Please help those who are in need and I pray that they'll be able to start afresh after all the destruction that they've experienced in the past 2 days. Bless those people who are opening their hearts and minds to help those who are in need. And please open the hearts of those people who can't see through their prejudices and self-righteousness so they can, too, help those who are in REAL need.
Related Articles on the Web:
Philippine National Red Cross - Ways to Donate
Hollywood stars tweet for ‘Ondoy’ victims
Regarding Flex,
ReplyDeleteYou don't know the whole back story.
That comment was made as a reply to a specific person complaining about some floating "feces". Flex was merely addressing how there's other things to worry about than just that.
Which is why when some random person made a comment, he commented back, "kayo ba? wow defensive".
Sure he made his mistake and he has apologized and made it clear what that status was for. If you didn't read his note, clearly you don't even make the effort to know the whole story behind it before making your stand.
You're not exactly being the better person by making a post solely to disgrace them like this. They've gotten what they deserve, all we can do now is move on and continue to help. Instead of bashing on people like this, it's better if we just move forward.
You should consider deleting this post.
Delete this post? Hell no. Did you even read the whole post before you left a comment? I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteI based my reaction on what he originally posted and his response when people started reacting to his comment.
I didn't disgrace them. They disgraced themselves. Don't go around pointing fingers. They did that to themselves. This post is merely a reaction to whatever I read and saw.
Just basing it on your comment, it's obvious you didn't read the whole post. I'm mad because of their insensitive posts in a time like this. So, no, I don't think I needed to do some research before I made my stand. It's just plain insensitive. Enough said.
My post won't aggrevate what's already been said and done. If he did apologize, good for him but he shouldn't have said anything that insensitive in a time like this.
I'm actually praying that these people who think so negatively about the whole situation would start to care and reach out to help.
I'd just like to say that this is not a drainage problem. Even here in Marikina City, with it's nearly prestine roads and drainage systems could not cope with this kind of rainfall.
ReplyDeleteI won't even comment on an ignorant opinion of a person who obviously made a comment without first knowing the facts.
It was the recently first 3 typhoons that oversaturated the soil. The record breaking rainfall from this 4th typhoon had nowhere to go.
Another one may be forming. May the Lord have mercy on all of us.
@ Anonymous (earlier)
ReplyDeleteThe blogger was referring to the status posted by flex naval. You can not tell or dictate which piece should be posted, if so, then get out of blog sites. I would also tell the same thing. What if i didn't get my facts straight? Are you sure that your sources are right as well? This is a free world. We can express what we want to say.
Last time I checked, i didn't see anything wrong with this piece... Because I KNOW HOW TO READ!
jonmac
Everyone has a point here. The bottomline here is the squatter people and the development of areas not supposed to be developed. Lamesa Dam area, Marikina areas, areas near rivers. In a 1970s ADB study, it said that these areas should be with lots of trees, but we allowed squatters to live here, and because we concentrate our development here in metro manila, we created suburbs in places that were supposed to be catch basins example, antipolo, valley golf, cogeo, taytay areas. We are all to blame. All of us. I myself am affected. I am also to blame. This typhoon is a blessing in disguise. It will destroy the weak in our society, and hopefully,those who will remain, will do the right thing.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh. You actually BELIEVE that the typhoon and the floods it caused destroyed the WEAK in our society? That's a quite humorous point of view... but SAD in a way, knowing that there are self-righteous people like you who think that the CHILDREN who got killed in the flood were deserving because they're WEAK. God help people like you. And BE THANKFUL that you're still alive.
ReplyDeleteMay comment na po from dubai police to verify yung claim ni Ms. Jacque. please see http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/09/10/01/10353684.html. SO NOW, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE QUICK TO JUDGE AND MAKE HASTY COMMENTS TO DESTROY SOMEBODY’S REPUTATION INCLUDING THOSE WHO TOOK TIME TO WRITE MS. BERMEJO’S BOSS (attention Mr. Domino Cid who claims to be Atenean and circulated the letter allegedly from Concerned Filipino citizens addressed to Jacque’s boss), WILL THEY HAVE THE BALLS AND GUTS TO APOLOGIZE TO THE REAL JACQUELINE BERMEJO OR STILL CLAIM THEIR INNOCENCE AND MAKE EXCUSES NA UNBELIEVABLE PA RIN YUNG STATEMENTS NYA WHEN SHE WAS CLEARING HER NAME? WILL THEY STILL SIDE WITH THE PERSON BEHIND THE MALICIOUS ACTION (ayun yung taong yun masarap ang tulog habang tayo nag-aaway-away at may nasira ang pangalan)? Pwede po ba next time maging maingat na po tayo sa paghambalos ng tao? Ganun din sa naglabas ng mga blog na ikokonsider agad na news and fact ang mga nababasa sa net. Sa bandang huli kay God naman tayo magiging accountable eh. Yung taong gumawa ng kasamaan, yung hacker at posers and habulin natin wag po ang inosente. And makatutulong po na tumingin sa salamn at magmuni-muni kung anong character ang ipinakita natin sa pagkakataong ito. Baka naman we have become worse than the actual person who made the malicious comment, kung sino man sya. What is left for us to do is help the real Jacque Bermejo out of this traumatic experience na di nya kagustuhan and lets exert our efforts na lang to help each other na makabawi sa nawala dahil kay typhoon Ondoy. pati na po magdasal since meron na naman pong bagyo na darating. Yun lang po. God bless us all.
ReplyDeleteThis was absolutely awful. I couldn't bear to watch it on the news. We had flooding here a couple of years ago but nothing on this scale.
ReplyDeleteLOL ang rami naman salita pwede short word lang nakakalito kau ehhh
ReplyDelete