
The picture above was taken from the Facebook album of Danny Durante, whom I assume is a Baguio resident. The place looks to be like Cresencia Village, which can give a completely SFW portrait of things I can’t bear to imagine. For those living in the lowlands, this is what a landslide looks like. It carries away homes… and indeed, it carries away lives. It’s like an avalanche without snow, yet as cold and unforgiving as anyone could imagine it.
As I write this, I’m fresh off a drinking session at Cubao X in the effort to forget. I want to forget about things I don’t want to – and I cannot in good conscience – write about stories I heard today, like that of the taxi driver. The taxi I rode in was driven by a driver from Cagayan who lives in Marikina. His words tore at me like I would pieces of paper when I fold paper cranes:
“Pangaasi yo, Apo.”