Is it just me or it’s too hot in here?
It’s been hotter than usual, Ma’am. Er…how can we make you feel more comfortable? The friendly hotel staff held on to her glowing smile while she eyed me nervously as I stuffed a bunch of Kleenex under each of my steaming armpits.
I’m fine thanks, I sniffed, hope you have Diet Coke…Coke Zero or Coke Light…ice cold…
It’s frustrating how my dependence on diet soda always gets in the way of my otherwise (cough) normal easy breezy self.
This was at the height of tropical summer last May, in Boracay island.
Boracay, the beachfront the never ends, is of course, world-renowned for its fine white sand and crazy night life.
Last summer was the first time I visited Boracay.
Growing up in the South close to Boracay, the prospect of hopping on a small plane to Aklan then on a small motorboat to the island then a tricycle to the beach didn’t appeal to me. Too much fuss.
Plus since my idea of Rave is Geraldo Rivera’s impassioned rambling about minorities who wear hoodies… let’s just say, I’m simply not cool enough for Boracay.
This year though my sister Natasha was adamant to take me to the island. Natasha and her husband Toby and all their friends and probably every other social butterfly in the South, celebutants and aspiring celebutants, designers, models slash music video twerkers, yoga enthusiasts, headbangers, elbowbangers (huh?), bangers in general, tattoo artists and every kind of self-proclaimed artists –have you heard of the I’m-so-eco-I-use-organic-dung-to-sculpt-nude-figures artist?, cool people, really cool people, really really cool people who swagger in dark shades, have been taking yearly Boracay trips for as long as I can remember.
Although not the most pristine of all Philippine beaches, Boracay is the most talked about and has boosted the country’s tourism for many many years. So NOT going to Boracay is pretty much like NOT mastering the Philippine Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, a subversive act punishable by social excommunication (Me, head bowed: Been there).
Except this time, the temperatures were soaring!
While some islanders pretended like there was nothing unusual about this, other locals expressed concern over the new weather patterns in Boracay. They agree, this wasn’t the happy heat that will get you the perfect tan, this was the kind that burrows deep into your skull. Migraine heat.
I chatted once with the Climatology Division Chief of the country’s weather bureau, PAG-ASA, Dr. Rosalina De Guzman.
PAG-ASA’s climate scientists have done an amazing job analyzing the weather patterns, not only of Boracay, but also of the whole country.
According to PAG-ASA’s study, all areas in the Philippines will get warmer, more so in the summer months. The annual mean temperature in the Philippines is expected to be higher by 1 degree Celcius in 2020 and 2 degrees Celcius in 2050.
Well…uhm, ehm, b-but… is, eet, ist, I mean it’s only 1 degree, Dr. De Guzman, is it that bad? (I hate it when I talk to real smart people ‘coz I stutter a lot.)
Dr. De Guzman said that even a 1 degree Celcius mean temperature rise will be disastrous in so many ways. It will intensify weather disturbances and put our lives and livelihoods at risk.
And can our bodies adapt to this kind of warmer climate? Will plants still flourish and animals survive?
There are intelligent humans out there who assure us that yes, we can and will adapt, just like before. Uh, when was before? When Optimus Prime was a headbanging tweener.
Good luck to us.
It must be Climate Change! Wow, I gasped, I never expected to hear that from islanders. They, too, are no longer oblivious to this global crisis.
P.S.
Years ago an avid viewer of ABS-CBN sent me a copy of the Philippine Free Press magazine with the message, Is that you?
What the—
The front cover features the majestic Mayon Volcano (which has the world’s most perfect cone) in Albay province. The devastation that surrounds it was brought by Typhoon Reming.
The typhoon triggered mudslides from the volcano which buried villages and tragically, hundreds of villagers.
In the aftermath of the calamity, the airports were closed so we took a small private jet to Legazpi City.
We went around the area with cloths over our faces because the stench of rotting bodies was unbearable.
All the morgues were full, piled high with mud-crusted corpses.
Our eyes watered from the sting of formalin.
We trekked up to the villages that were ruined by the mudslides which we dubbed (albeit, unoriginal) Ground Zero.
That’s probably where this picture was taken. Fetus me with my perky ponytail and trusty sneakers, jaunting like I was on my way to see a really really good movie.
Today, Albay is arguably the most calamity-ready, climate-resilient of all provinces in the Philippines.
The local government even set up a school and training center here for Climate Change mitigation and adaptation.
Recently, a strong typhoon hit Albay and not a single person was hurt or killed.
Truly, a success story for the climate movement.
They went from Ground Zero to Zero Casualty.
P.P.S.
Our bosses at ABS-CBN are evolved people, they get it. They know the urgency of the environmental crises we are facing today. Environmental issues are given their due airtime and space.
Last year, I did this Earth Day piece which includes the Philippines’ weather bureau’s warning of an ever changing, ever warming climate.
This year though, just when I was about to go LIVE at the Earth Hour Manila switch-off at Eastwood, our transmitter/signal or whatever you call it suddenly failed. I stared in disbelief at the colored bars on the monitor. All our efforts to make the story had been wasted. I sobbed and my cameraman sobbed with me (it wasn’t his fault although I blamed him at first) My other cameraman (less emotional) just grinned and told me to eat chocolate eclair and powder my red tear-soaked face ‘coz, according to him, people are staring funny AND there’s always next year. Next year then!
Cheers!