Beauty, Stupidity, and Tragedy

Tragic week this is becoming and it’s barely even started. What’s the world coming to? Or more specifically, what the hell is happening to this country?

Sunday, August 22. The local beauty pageant world was rocked with the news of the sudden death of Binibining Pilipinas-International 2009 Melody Gersbach due to a road accident in Camarines Sur on August 21. Gersbach and her driver were dead on the spot. Their car was hit head on by a bus. The bus driver will be charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and damage to property.

Monday, August 23. Time seemed to stop as the whole country awaited for the resolution of the hostage taking at the Quirino Grandstand. Ex-cop Rolando Mendoza held passengers (who were Hong Kong nationals) of a tourist bus hostage for about 10 hours, demanding that his case be reviewed as he claims innocence. Mendoza was dismissed due to charges of robbery and extortion. The hostage taking resulted in a bloodbath, leaving nine hostages dead and Mendoza himself.

A lot has been circulating online already about how the hostage taking should have been handled by the PNP and the media, that our police force lacked training and that there should have been a news blackout when things were becoming critical. News reports state that Hong Kong residents lashed out on Filipinos on their turf - one domestic helper was fired because of this incident. Hong Kong government issued a travel ban to the Philippines and urged Hong Kong nationals who are visiting the Philippines to leave immediately.

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October Nightmare – Last Goodbye

Saturday, October 3rd, 4:00 AM. I just got home from the wake of my best friend’s mother. Friday night was the last night of the wake. Saturday was the final mass and cremation. I slept for about two hours. I woke up at around 6:00 AM. The mass was scheduled at 9:00 AM. My mom decided to go with me, as she was not able to go to the wake.

We arrived at the church right on time. Early relatives and friends already occupied the first few rows, so we just sat on the last few rows. Minutes later, one of my friends, Mutya came and joined me and my mom. The mass started. The priest went through the usual and recited special prayers that are for the dead. I was expecting there would be eulogies, but there were none. I guess none of them could even muster a few words without breaking down.

I was pretty composed the whole time, but toward the end, when it was time to take a last look at Len’s mom and bless the coffin with holy water, I started to cry. And not just silent tears, but I mean cry with matching shaking shoulders and sniffling and sobbing. I could just imagine how my best friend was feeling at that moment. After I had a last look and blessed the coffin with holy water, I went over to where Len was and hugged her. We cried together for a moment.

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October Nightmare – Unexpected Death

The morning I got mugged, October 1st, I called up my parents to tell them what happened. If being robbed wasn’t enough to ruin one’s day when it just barely started, I got more bad news - the mother of my best friend had just passed away. My parents didn’t know the details yet. The night before, a common friend called up, hoping to speak to me and tell me the terrible news. But I was in the city, so my mom just sent me a text message — which I didn’t receive.

Had I received the text message the night before, I would’ve jumped right out of bed and gone home. Then I wouldn’t have been mugged the next morning! Ugh. What a terrible feeling it was. Then I silently blamed our crappy telecommunications service provider (a.k.a. Globe). Of all the text messages I would not be able to receive, it had to be this. If the heavens were playing some prank on me, it is fucking not funny at all.

That morning, my mother and brother came to the boarding house to pick me up. During the ride home, as I said in a previous post, I felt mostly numb. I didn’t know what to think, what to feel. Somehow, me getting mugged paled in comparison to the death of my best friend’s mother in terms of the severity of psychological and emotional impact. Naturally, my personal trauma I set aside to focus on an even worse thing.

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Justice for Ivan de Guzman

Farewell, Ivan.

You will be deeply missed.

Cops probe death of a 27-year-old in Pasay condo fire

Man linked to arson-slay case sought

Spared by Dengue

Our friend Florence (or Joy to close friends) died of dengue fever when we were in third year high school. I remember her being a cheerful person. She excels in her favorite sport, soccer, and at age 15, she was already a member of the Philippine women’s soccer team. From what I remember from stories about her untimely death, she became feverish one afternoon. She was having her period at the same time. UPLB Infirmary still sent her home despite her high fever. That night, she already spat out blood and was rushed to Los Baños Doctors Hospital. Doctors immediately sent her to Manila for blood transfusion but she didn’t make it; her veins had already ruptured.

Vigil was held for, I think, a week at St. Therese Chapel. Two days after her death, my friends and I visited. In the afternoon, we headed home and I felt a little feverish. My mom immediately brought me to a clinic along Lopez Avenue and I was confined that night; I had dengue fever, so you can imagine the silent paranoia that was looming over us. Even though my family and friends didn’t say it, I knew they were terribly worried about me; they didn’t want another casualty.

Now, I know you’re wondering why I wasn’t brought to LBDH; that’s because they weren’t accredited with my health insurance so I had to settle for the clinic on Lopez Avenue. The clinic was family-run. Sad to say, it was a far cry from what LBDH is, staff and facility-wise. The nurse who administered my IV was obviously novice because she had only successfully inserted the needle in my vein at the third try. What torture! When I got up to walk to my room, I looked down the floor and there was a small pool of blood, which obviously was mine, because of the nurse’s incompetence. Sheesh. Anyway, I got a private room; but with no TV. Can you believe that?! I had to have friends over so I won’t die of boredom.

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