By Princess del Castillo
Flooding from Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) 10 years ago. Photo by AusAID.
“Normal lang ‘yan (That’s just normal),” I told my dad as I set off to leave our house that rainy Saturday morning to go to my classmate’s place. He was worried that it might flood but, being the grade-conscious student I was then, I was more concerned about getting a low mark if I failed to do our video shoot for our finals that weekend.
I have lived in Cainta, Rizal my whole life and flooding isn’t too far from the ordinary. Water never reached inside our house so it didn’t really bother me that much. And besides, I won’t be farther than three kilometers from our street when I am in classmate’s residence. Little did I know, I wouldn’t see my home for three days after I stepped out that morning.
That day, I remembered being so engrossed about the scenes we were shooting indoors that I totally forgot about what was happening outside. I only realized what was going on when my younger brother, still little at that time, called for me on the telephone. He should be in the school fair that day with our parents but since the road had zero visibility because of the heavy downpour, they had to return home.
“Water is getting inside our house”, my brother also reported – a scenario that had never happened to us. My father went on the line to ask how we are doing. I assured him that there is nothing to worry about because the part of the town where I was in had never been flooded. To my surprise, we would find ourselves stranded on the second level of my classmate’s house just a few hours later.
We were all seated around the dining table and about to eat lunch when the lights suddenly went out. It felt like a scene from a horror film. A few minutes later, my classmate’s aunt called for us. Apparently, the slippers that we left at the doorstep were getting swept away by the flood. Water rose incredibly quick. From rescuing our footwear to safeguarding the television set, we had tried to salvage everything in the house to higher ground.
It was only a few hours past noon but the deluge had already painted the sky dark. The water was only three stair-steps away from the second story. We were stranded. The signal was down. The last thing I heard from my family was they were in the same predicament.
I tried to reassure my dad that I would be fine. Food and other essentials were available, thanks to the sari-sari store (a mini mart) that my classmate’s family owns. Unfortunately, the water supply and electricity had gone out. We only had a radio that brought us dreadful news about how Typhoon Ondoy (intl name: Ketsana) brought catastrophe all over Metro Manila. We were safe for a time, but I still felt restless as I tried to keep my distraught from overwhelming me.
Flood damage in Manila from 2012. Photo by AusAID.
I looked outside and the raging water was no less than six feet deep. The house across was only a bungalow so the family had to evacuate to a higher elevation. The neighbors tied a rope to their gate and to my classmate’s house to safely cross. An infant was placed on a large basin and the people were passing it to one another. Then a lola (old lady) was carried across with a gallon container used as a salbabida (flotation device). The old woman was very weak and I couldn’t forget the scared look on her face as she bobbed underwater.
I then thought to myself how I only came here to film a project but it felt like a real movie that I badly wanted to be over.
As I stared out the window and witnessed the tragedy, I began to have an epiphany that has since changed my life. The whole experience taught me face to face about the importance of taking care of the environment we share together.
Ultimately, conserving the environment also meant saving human lives. We needed trees to block and absorb excess water from flashfloods. Had proper plans been made for urban planning, solid waste management, and disaster risk reduction, Typhoon Ondoy may have not been that devastating.
As a nation, we have lost a lot of things and people who matter to us on that tragic day ten years back. But we have also gained a valuable lesson.
For me, it was a turning point to becoming eco-conscious. For the past decade, people have known my advocacy for the environment as my trademark.
From climbing mountains to diving seas, from reducing trash to consuming less meat, from planting trees to giving eco talks; I have dedicated myself to conservation since I shifted course to Environmental Planning and Management in college and worked in the development sector.
People think I do this because I love the environment, and I really do. But what people miss out is it’s not just about nature. It’s about you and me. It’s about making this planet a healthy and safe place for us to live in. It’s about conserving the life that gives us life. And this is why I #ChoosetheEarth every waking moment.
Princess del Castillo has been advocating for the environment through stories, lectures and photographs on and off work for over a decade now. She earned her degree in BS Environmental Planning and Management in Miriam College in 2013. She is currently the Project Monitoring Specialist of the Haribon Foundation.
