MEComposing

Cases in point:

* Our coastline is around 36,000 kilometers long... halos doble po ng coastline ng USA. Ako'y tuo namang nababagabag before when I read novels where kids actually don't see the sea for years... or all their lives. IMHO, sadyang kaawa-awa naman po talaga ang hindi man lang nakakakita ng sunset sa beach. Susmio, kahit never ako natuto lumangoy... kahit kelan hindi ko ipagpapalit ang Pacific Ocean natin. If it's good enough for whales, it should be good enough for everyone!!!! Feel ko nga, bigyan lang ng proper education and training ang Badjaos natin... we'd Olympic Gold Medal ourselves sa swimming eh.

* Gusto mo freshwater? Aba, we have 211 lakes, 18 major rivers, and 22 marshes, swamps, and reservoirs. Kaya kahit super umaakyat ako ng Banahaw via GuisGuis, o kaya naman sa Sto. Tomas sa Cordillera, o dili kaya naman sa Daraitan sa Rizal, or sa Apo pa... siguradong me lawa dyan, o kaya ilog. Kung sa Halcon ka nga aakyat, magsasawa ka sa "water source" eh. Why else would the Ifugaos construct rice terraces kung walang tubig up there, diba nga?

* Ah gusto mo galing sa alulod? Pwes, umaabot lang naman po ng around 63 cm. of rain ever ang dumadaan sa alulod ng mga bahay natin (and with the floods, you'd even wonder bakit 63 cm. lang!). At yang tubig na yan na naglilinis ng bubong ang syang isa sa mga tunay na nakapagpaligaya sakin nung bata ako... where I first practiced the art of taking a shower (as opposed to taking a bath, powtek kayo!). Ultimately nga, naging daan pa yang "playing in the rain" moments ko to realize na I was actually growing breasts na. Go figure.

* Ah gusto mo mas subtle sa ulan? We have dew and fog and humidity. Mornings in the Cordillera can't help but make you believe that if you stick out your tongue, you'd actually get water from the fog enveloping you. Sometimes, you don't even have to water your plants anymore. Talagang wet na lang ang lupa.

At dahil tayo'y hindi tigang, we have more fun!

Cases in point:

seafood - hello... siguro mga 1% lang sa total world population lang ang ayaw sa any kind of seafood. Well ako, am in love with them. Masarap ang maya-maya pag fresh and mataba tas bagong prito. At nagpapasalamat akong naiiwan ang mga batong kinakapitan ng mga liswik sa dalampasigan, para maani at ibenta sa palengke. Ilang klaseng tuna nga ba meron tayo? Sa Calapan nga, people report that they have to bury caught giant tuna (think tuna that are as long as the average Pinoy is tall) because there are not enough vessels with reefer outlets to transport these to Manila. Susmio, itaas ang kamay ng hindi pa nakakatikim ng "ketong" na kinusido... pramis, kulang pa ang langit mo! And do I need to remind anybody pa ba of shrimps and crabs and oysters and clams... Kung mahilig ka sa exotic, we have octopus and turtles even! Aba, ultimong seaweed masarap i-enselada. Kung hindi ito ang paraiso, ewan ko na talaga!

water fun - forget the pools with wave generators... we have so many white-sand beaches (Galera, Boracay, Panglao) where we can lounge in our string bikinis while enjoying a massage. Northern Mindanao offers such adventures as surfing (Siargao) and white-water rafting (Cagayan). Subic offers parasailing... Batangas and Mindoro offer great diving sites. Even Manila Bay offer Dragon Boat rowers a lot of space to exercise. Have you seen kids playing by the beach? Ang gandang tingnan diba, kahit nognog na sila?

but what really is the greater implication?

Simple lang... we are far richer than we really believe for to the extent that Water gives life, the Filipno is being allowed to live. We have water that is clean and relatively safe in abundance.

We can drink the water directly from faucets in most areas in the country, including Manila. Masbate nga lang ang alam kong amoeba-infested talaga ang water. Pero other than that... konting sala lang or wala... POTABLE na sadya ang tubig natin. May problems sa distribution services pero our water is still clean and safe. Kayang-kaya tayo talaga i-sustain. At ultimong Manila Bay na nakakatakot sa pollution nya, hindi pa talagang nakakamatay. Ask the lang the rowers who practice there every morning, who then take a quick dip after a rigorous session. Buhay pa sila!!!

Sabi, we can last up to 14 days without water before dying. In 14 days, kahit sino satin, in the next century or so, makakahanap tiyak ng water kaya guaranteed ang ating survival.

Ang tubig ng Pilipinas. Andyan lang sya, nag-aantay na kailanganin mong i-soothe ang parched throat mo... lagyan ng konting asin bago ipangmumog... ipangtayo ng bahay... pagpalutangan ng bangkang papel (or in my nephew's case, 3 rubber duckies)... pakuluan kasama ng mga bote ng anak mo... gamitin sa jacuzzi mo... gamiting patubig sa palayan mo... ibuhos sa bunbunan ng nagngangangawang bata para gawin syang Tao ng Diyos...

Kaya salamat talaga, ang Filipino ay hindi tigang.

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wrote this in June 2005 for our then Blogkadahan theme: "what we love most about being Filipino/the Philippines"

so much has happened since then, and I guess a lot of Filipinos are actually not appreciating all the rains that are destryong our crops. Even Ondoy took lives and a lot of our fellowmen did not have a very merry holiday season due to floods and destroyed properties. But the sadder thing is, our government has still not harnessed this great potential nor really taken care of this blessing. What have we done after Ondoy? Have we become more concerned for the resources we're enjoying?