THE devastations wrought by Typhoon Reming beggars description. It was as if hell broke loose, especially in Albay province which was hardest hit when the super howler lashed Bicol last Nov. 30 with the strongest rainfall and disastrous wind speed ever recorded in recent years. A day after, hundreds were reported dead who were either swept into the sea or buried by rampaging mudflows, more were missing; almost 85 percent of the homes in that forlorn province, according to reports, were either swept away, severely damaged, or the roofs crumpled or blown away. The cost of damage to crops and agriculture were inestimable, turning back the clock at least one or three more years for the coconut trees and other similar agricultural industries to see them productive again.
It was unfortunate enough that Reming struck Albay when it has barely recovered from the punishing disaster that Typhoon Milenyo in early October 2006 wrought. It was unfortunate enough that Reming struck when the cascading molten rocks threatened Albayanos as early as August this year when Mayon was showing restiveness over an impending eruption.
What has the Albayanos done so bad that they have to suffer like this? Why should Bicol be subjected to a calamitous series of fire and rain when after all it has been suffering enough as the third poorest region in the whole country?
In harrowing succession, Mayon, Milenyo and Reming conspired to cut a deadly swath around the region. It was as if the lights were going out all over Bicol, as in fact they did after thousands of electric posts and power lines laid toppled along the streets and highways in the aftermath of both typhoons Milenyo and Reming.
It was unfortunate enough that the most damage was wrung upon Albay where hundreds of millions of pesos, taxpayers’ money to be sure, were lustily appropriated for multi-million projects by its rabid pro-GMA congressman, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, who incidentally is the Chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, to the exclusion, we suspect of other districts (say, for instance Naga City) which are down listed as opposition bailiwicks.
Did God and nature conspire to send us the message that Albay, after all, is not an ideal, or at least a viable, place for a multi-million peso international airport, or a poorly constructed yet super expensive seaport, and more specifically why not spread out the money on priority projects that are meant to address the people’s more urgent needs, such as food and livelihood, and labor intensive industries that call for sustainable development? Or more succinctly, is it God’s way of putting good sense back into the minds of our so-called political leaders and legislators who have idolized nothing but power and money?
But lest we become prophets of doom, let us be reminded of significant lines in the Book of Job as paraphrased by a Jesuit priest, Fr. Joseph A. Galdon: “It’s true that there isn’t much justice in our world. Life isn’t very fair. The good suffer and the innocent are destroyed. The evil triumph and the wicked succeed. The good guys always seem to lose and the bad guys are always winning. How can we say that God is good when everything seems to be terribly unfair?”
The answer: There can be no Easter without Good Friday. There can be no spring without Winter’s agony and pain. There can be no love without suffering. Yes, Bergonia, there will always be forsythia blooming in the ruins. There will be life again after death. Life must go on, but this time, the wicked must fall.
