I was heartened by the news saying the alert status of Taal Volcano has been downgraded to Alert Level 3 from Alert Level 4. This means that the possibility of a hazardous explosion has been decreased. The Batangas provincial government has given the residents the option to return home if their place is no longer on lockdown, or remain in their evacuation center.
Townsfolk of the affected areas were glad to go back to their households, if their dwellings have not been ruined by the eruption. One returnee exclaimed: “Nakakainip at nakakapagod maghintay na makauwi…. Pagod na pagod kahit nakaupo lang… kaya noong sinabing makakauwi na, ang sarap ng feeling.” This is not to say, however, that we can now set aside the massive destruction caused by the phreatic eruption, and just sweep the tons and tons of ashfall that changed the landscape of many towns in Batangas. It’s time to rebuild their lives, and repair whatever is left of their properties and livelihood. It’s a great wonder how they can deal with such a horrible loss. Where do they derive their strength and tenacity to handle the crisis? I recall what a widow who lost her only son during the September 11 attack in New York and whose daughter was getting married a couple of days later had said: “When terrible things happen, I try to concentrate on the good parts of life and celebrate them even more than I had before…. At this very moment, I have two things in front of me: dealing with my son’s death—which I have to do and will do—and dealing with my daughter’s wedding. I choose to focus on the wedding… because life is a combination of great tragedy and great beauty. This family will deal with our tragedy. But we will also celebrate the beauty of this wedding with even greater joy. This is what my son would want, and this is what my daughter needs.”
Batangueños are made of sterner stuff. They have their share of good times and bad, catastrophes and blessings. Batangas has fertile land which abundantly grows coffee, cocoa, palay, sugarcane and coconut, and is the major supplier of cattle to Metro Manila. The rich agricultural land encircles a lake which is the main source of fish species—tawilis and maliputo—that are found only in Taal Lake. The world famous Taal Volcano, majestic when calm but violent when erupting, is both a bane and a boon to residents.
What can be more beautiful than the day the Taal Volcano erupted abruptly disrupting the lives of over a million people in the surrounding areas? I believe it’s the genuine outpouring of love and support of every Filipino to help out the unfortunate residents of Batangas and Cavite badly affected by this horrific calamity. The donors come from all walks of life—rich and poor, individuals and corporates, young and old, and men and women. Each one sharing their blessings to the hapless and the needy, giving everything they got. Three youngsters who were students of De la Salle Lipa even gave their life after a fatal accident while doing relief work in Batangas. What a way to die in the service of mankind. We choose to celebrate their glorious life than mourn their tragic death. Taal will continue to rumble and tremble for ages to come and the January 12 eruption this year will just be another of its disruptive explosions but the supreme sacrifice of Rio Abel, Maximino Alcantara and Darwin Lajara shall forever live long after the tons of ashfall Taal has spewed are buried in the sands of time.
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The death of several people shortly before the end of 2019 in some places in Laguna had dampened the merry celebration of the Christmas holidays. Their deaths were caused by drinking the local spirit called lambanog made from coconut sap, which is laced with methanol. In South Africa, local distillers infused their gin with elephant dung to capture the “textures and flavors” of the African bush. Connoisseurs claim that the spirit gets more tasteful particularly when served with tonic water and a dash of lime. The Africanization of the gin has popularized local gin consumption, which has increased by 54 percent over the previous year. Due to higher demands, the number of distillers has significantly multiplied. After the Apartheid was dismantled in 1994, the licensing regulations to open up distilleries were liberalized. Likewise, discrimination policies were reformed so that nonwhites are now allowed to consume the same types of alcohol drinks as the whites. Maybe our Laguna distillers can learn from their South African counterparts and add harmless herbs or botanicals that abound in Makiling and nearby forests to flavor their lambanog, instead of using hazardous chemicals that may have caused fatal deaths to their consumers. Unless somebody tries using carabao dung to further capture the essence of a true Filipino drink. Let’s toast to that!