A desolate city after Milenyo

We flew back to Manila the day after Milenyo devastated a big portion of Luzon, including Metro Manila. We found a desolate city of uprooted trees, of once proud, sturdy and gigantic billboards stripped of their colorful canvasses, some of them precariously wrapped around buildings on the highway. We came home to a dark city (we had our power back six days after the typhoon, no thanks to Meralco), phone lines dead and no water. It was like we were back to the Stone Age. What worried us most was how we could save (for a week) the foodstuff in the freezer. We made a mental accounting of how much we’d lose and really felt sorry not only for us, but for the many households that would have to throw away spoiled meat, fish and even fruits and vegetables.

In case anybody is interested, but with the fervent hope that such calamity does not happen again, here are some tips. Store up on flashlights and batteries; these are the more practical things to have, since all those rechargeable lamps are useless when there’s no power. Have an inventory of what you have in the refrigerator/freezer. Should there be meat, fowl and/or fish, plus processed meat (sausages etc), cook them at once. Fry the fish and make sarsiado or paksiw. Make adobo with the pork and chicken or season them for frying. Cook the vegetables as well, you can never have too much of that. Go to the supermarket, better to your suki so you will be given special attention and provided with what you need fast. Buy mineral water (from P55 a 6-liter bottle at Makati Supermarket to P71 at Shopwise, Alabang.). If you have a cooler, get cube ice so you can keep the cooked food. That would be good for at least a day or two.

Prices were supposed to have been jacked up. But we made some visits and noticed that there was hardly any change in prices of food. Perhaps the rationale of the tinderas was if they kept old prices with minimum profit, they’d sell more, considering the normal budget of a family. However, there were still some who took advantage, such as a popular drug store chain in Biñan, Laguna which sold batteries much higher than in the city, and the water suppliers in BF Parañaque who mercilessly charged P500 per 500-gallon tank instead of the regular P200. Would/could these people be punished?

We went to a little wet market called Celestino (for the owner) Little Market on the Molino Highway off Daang Hari three days after the typhoon. There was the usual group of housewives looking for bargains. Because we were wary of the dimly-lit (by candles) interior, we had to buy from the seafood store by the entrance. That was Weng’s Kabayan, where small bangus was at P120 a kilo and suahe (medium) at P320 a kilo. They were fresh. The vegetables we got were from Malou, a gracious lady. Tomatoes at P60 a kilo, red onions at P80, kangkong at P5 a bunch and a considerably good-sized slice of squash at P10. From another vendor, we got a bigger bangus, at P10 less a kilo. Rambutan was at P80 a kilo. They sell pork at P140.

The following day, we went to the much bigger Muntinlupa (Alabang) wet market to buy some fruits. Lo and behold! It was a lot cheaper, such as rambutan at P38 a kilo, mangosteen at P100 (surely a bargain), big local ponkan at P70.50 a kilo. Practically all stores quoted prices based on one-fourth kilo weight, which means most people buy small amounts. Pork in this market goes for P140 a kilo and beef at P200 any cut. Onions and tomatoes are at P80 and P60 a kilo. Not much difference in seafood prices: bangus at P110, galunggong at P80 and live tilapia also at P80.

We can’t help commenting on the giant billboards. They mean more income for the producers (advertising agencies, etc) and talents, but outside of the distraction (sometimes eyesore) they provide, the danger they pose when toppled can not, should not be ignored. We also hope that while commercial billboards have to toe the line, those giant billboards proclaiming projects by government officials such as "The Tunnel Improvement" on Edsa, could also be dispensed with. After all, they are public servants and they are expected to do their jobs, without having to proclaim their good deeds.

Postscript to Cebu. Lita Urbina’s Cafe Laguna celebrated a dual anniversary recently, 12 years for the original at the Ayala Mall and eight years for the Garden Café across. It was a nostalgic event for us, she having been born in Cabuyao and us in Biñan. Lita and her staff had authentic dishes like Sinigang sa Bayabas (pureed) and caldereta. The sweets included espasol. Great dining.

* * *

Email comments and questions to: [email protected]