It will be a bleak and traumatic Christmas for most of the victims of super typhoon “Pablo “(code named Botha) in Eastern Mindanao. As of latest count, there are at least 700 dead and 800 more missing in the aftermath of the most deadly and strongest storm ever to hit Mindanao in decades. The death toll could easily reach thousands.
Hunger, outbreak of diseases and the grim task of searching for the dead bodies of families and loved ones are the tasks awaiting rescuers who have been working round the clock after that trail of devastations in Mindanao in that fateful first week of December 2012.
Hardest hits were the provinces of Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental ,Agusan del Sur and outlying provinces located in the eastern part of Mindanao.
Uncanny, it was also in December 2011 that “Sendong “ caught Cagayan De Oro and Iligan by surprise in the middle of the night with flash floods , strong winds, and landslides
obliterating hundreds of villages, buried entire families and their children in rampaging floodwaters and heavy muds.
In this latest disaster, the mineral rich-and banana growing province of Compostela Valley (formed only last 1998) fell victim to the effects brought by massive illegal logging and mining as evidenced by the thousands of logs that rained down from the mountain during the landslides triggered by strong rains and winds.
The long term ravages on its environment had definitely made matters worse as there were no trees or vegetation to absorb and stop the waters from cascading to the populated areas.
The province is also known as the “Klondike of Asia “ referring to the mining town of Monkayo where the famous Mt.Diwalwal
is said to contain the world’s biggest deposit of gold.
The Klondike, situated in Yukon in northern Canada, was the site of the biggest gold rush of the 1890’s where big and small time miners tried their luck and became rich.
The Mt.Diwalwal “ Gold Rush “ transformed Monkayo town in some sort of wild,wild west where thousands of gold speculators and miners converged and fought against each other for the underground riches.
The International community has responded generously in this latest disaster to hit the Philippines within the year (the last one was the “Habagat” or monsoon rain that paralyzed Metro manila and Luzon, this year in August.
The Philippines is visited by an average of 20 typhoons every year
but the past three years, saw an increase in intensity of these weather disturbances in terms of destructions and number of victims.
In Compostela valley, about 16,000 hectares of the total 42,000 hectares of banana plantations were totally destroyed which represented an estimated $318 million . the town of New Bataan,
the center of the devastation and where most of these plantations are located, is now a flattened area as if hit by an atomic bomb.
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FALLEN HERO: Shock, disbelief and dismay .The Filipino fans and compatriots of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao are in denial. This could not happen. But it did. Yes he lost. But it’s not the end of the world. A 5th Marquez-Pacquiao fight may still be possible.
Undefeated Floyd Mayweather, who used to bash Manny with unkind and harsh words, did a complete turnaround. He offered some kind words of advice to his fellow boxer .
“:Things happen, you live and you learn. The only thing he (Pacquiao) can do is rejuvenate himself and bounce back like a true champion “Mayweather said.
In an interview with Fighthype.com Mayweather acknowledged that such knockouts happen and wished Pacquiao could recover from it. “ Hopefully, he’s okay. My prayers go out to the Pacquiao family.” He said.
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PAL’S INAUGURAL BASH: With the first Philippine Air Lines (PAL) non stop flight service between Manila and Toronto that landed in Pearson International Airport last November 30,the national carrier is already setting its sights of opening new flights to Winnipeg in the coming days, according to sources at PAL. The service will take three times weekly via Toronto.
By the way, during the official launching ceremonies held at the Shangrila hotel in downtown Toronto, the Philippine Departrment of Tourism also opened its first salvo in this city for its “Its more Fun in the Philippines “ campaign to lure more tourist to the country.
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PASKUHAN VILLAGE: In terms of attendance, this yuletide event at Metro Convention Center last Dec. 1 was a whooping success and Tahanan publisher Ronnie De La Gana should be congratulated for his maiden venture along with ABS-CBN TFC.
The only kink was the sudden cancellation of John Lloyd and Bea
Alonzo’s guesting. ABS-CBN announced Lloyd was ill and cannot
make it with Bea on the December 1 show.
However , it was found out that the two stars were in Tokyo last November 30 or one day before the Toronto show.
If Lloyd was indeed sick, what was he doing at the Stellar Ball hosted by ABS-CBN at Shinagawa ward in Tokyo ,Japan alongside with other stars like John Estrada, Joem Bascon, Paulo
Avelino and even the network’s president Charo Santos.
Did he skip Toronto for the Tokyo show ? why did the ABS-CBN and TFC offered this weak alibi or excuse and not told the truth to its many viewers and TFC clients who felt disappointed and bought tickets to Paskuhan thinking their favorite stars were coming.
Surely, ABS-CBN and TFC owe the Filipino community an explanation.
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