Kalam before the storm

Filipino scavenging in Manila Bay during Pepeng

Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng left a swath of destruction across the vast landscape of Luzon. Luzon is like a war zone. Roads, bridges, power lines, and fields were damaged by floods. Strong winds caused by Pepeng (Parma) destroyed houses. Thousands of families were affected.

Here in Metro Manila, people left homeless by Ondoy resort to drastic actions. Though a few hundreds remain in evacuation centers, many already went back to their homes, only to find them damaged, some even beyond repair.

People started cleaning up their homes from mud, dirt and flood waters. Some areas have stagnant flood waters. Garbage found on homes were dumped in selected areas, creating “emergency” garbage dumps. You can find it from Muntinlupa up to Montalban in Marikina. Local government units are not collecting them. And you know what happens when these piles of garbage are left uncollected. They attract flies and disease.

Scavengers in Manila Bay

Some people dump their garbage in Manila bay. At the height of Pepeng (Parma), I went to Manila bay and found scores of people scavenging for scraps of metal and other useful items. The entire bay was littered with tons and tons of garbage.

I asked around and found that garbage trucks go to the bay and dump their collections directly unto the sea. What happened to those dumping grounds in Montalban and some parts of Rizal? I researched and found that MMDA and the city government of Montalban are still fighting over dumping of Metro trash in their sites. Other areas, such as Payatas, were destroyed by huge floods.

Bay fronting US embassy turned into garbage dump

Seepage coming from dumping sites are toxic yet we still await for government action on this. We still don’t know how many tons of leachate, that liquid from garbage dumps or landfills, flowed out and spilled over to communities, rivers and streams. These are toxic.

Now, look at Manila Bay. We still don’t know how much toxic materials flowed into it during the height of the storm but we do know is its a lot.

Government should do some studies for us to know the effects of this environmental disaster.

Bolinao, Bora of the North

Bolinao Pangasinan

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to go to Pangasinan with my relatives. Sorry for not posting earlier. Pangasinan is a beautiful place to go to. It’s just 3 to 4 hour trip from Manila (if you’ll use the SCTEX from NLEX and if you go the route of Camiling road).

Anyway, we went first to Bolinao, reputedly North Luzon’s answer to Boracay. Bolinao is about 5 hour drive thru wide expanses of rice fields, mountains and hills. It’s a majestic ride.

beautiful wife and a beautiful kid

When you reach Bolinao, you’ll find many first-class resorts which charge first-class rates. It’s really a place for foreign tourists. When we arrived though, we saw most guests are locals. Tourism secretary Ace Durano is right—there’s really a spike in numbers of local tourists, probably because of the lower price of gasoline. People travel when gas prices are low and dein do the discoveries when its high.

Bolinao, the Boracay of the North

I don’t want to disappoint you, but Bolinao is no Boracay. It may look like the island paradise, save the stone-filled beachfront and the greyish sand full of coral debris. The sand is not fine and powdery talc, like what we find in Boracay. And you can’t really swim as much as you like to, coz, waters are filled with stones, some as sharp as a glass shard.

But, it has a wonderful sunset and it’s so quiet, it’s best for people who just want to rest and unwind, like me.

Bolinao beach

People of Bolinao are wonderful people, except those who run those resorts. Resorts are fully booked and if you just want to settle for a fairly big cottage, you’ll be charged with 500 per pop. Nothing wrong, it’s normal, except that the cottage does not have its own comfort room or even a changing room. You need to use the public one.

But, like I said, Bolinao has a wonderful sunset which you’ll die for. And the breeze, oh, what wonder! I thank God for giving us such a wonderful place in Pangasinan even if you can’t swim in it. Beachfront owners should do something to address this.

Bolinao is lovely

I hate to say it, but commercializing the place will do more harm than good. I guess the right thing to do here is for people of Bolinao to form a cooperative and build their own tourism zone. This tourism zone should undertake eco-tourism, make the place as lovely as possible without harming the environment. The first thing they should do is ensure that people can swim in that lovely beach. Or, reposition the place not as swimming area but rather as either one of the best snorkeling area or a place for meditation.

Bolinao sunset

And Bolinao, I think, has one of the best sunsets there is, lovelier than the world-class Manila bay sunset. I have seen sunsets in Ilocos, in Sulu, in Lanao, in Davao, in Bataan, in Zambales and even in New York, Singapore and all around—but nothing beats seeing that majestic sun honoring the advent of Night. Such a wonderful sight to behold indeed!

World-classThese photos would show you how wonderful and lovely the Philippines is. These Bolinao sunsets really melts all your worries. It just tells you that after a day's travel, God gives you the time to really relax and appreciate the wonder of this world whom He gave us to take care of. The Divine really takes care of everybody. And I thank God that He allowed me and my family to experience this wonderful thing. Even if I was not able to swim.World Class Sunset Only in the Philippines

If you want world-class sighting of a sunset, go to Bolinao Pangasinan.

That alone melts five to six hours of driving.

Otherwise, just settle for either the Manila bay or a Tanay sunset.

Bolinao’s sunset is just one spectacular thing that, in a moment, you’ll think that it’s really like Bora. Except that you can’t swim in it.