‘Hot’ events, in hotter days

By CHITO DELA TORRE, delatorrechito@yahoo.com
September 18, 2011

Basey, Samar, once and for long the mother town of Tacloban highly urbanized city when it was then Kankabatok (a sitio of barrio Buscada, today the entry point to the town proper of Basey) is “getting hotter and hotter” as it nears its 420th September 28-29 annual festivities that are supposedly done as its people’s way of elaborately venerating Saint Michael the Archangel, their patron “saint” who, according to old tales, had been performing miracles to save their town from disasters and calamities.  That’s apart from the hot event today in Tacloban when members of PARDSS in Basey will join their Tacloban counterparts this mid-morning to “welcome” Mama Mary and then partake of a banquet in a get-together, says Ricky Bautista (he said he resigned as president of the PARDSS in Catbalogan and is now Basey PARDSS commander).

The hotter days ahead are so magnetic that enthusiasts leave their homes in different places around Region 8 to spend exciting moments in Basey.  Even Basaynons living abroad have started flying back home. Uncle Miguel Espina, for instance, left “Kataghuman” (America) early this month and last Thursday, he personally supervised the hanging of buntings or karay-karay (in some areas in the region, the word equivalent is karaykay).  He bought varicoloured bunting materials, had them sewed onto a nylon twine, and caused the long string of attractive buntings to produce a neat zigzag display from his Espina Bldg. (obviously the most beautiful skyscraper as of date in the town) to the buildings across San Roque street in Baybay (business section of the town that lies close to the seaside on the northeast). A basketball tournament continues to unfurl at the town’s gym.

By September 27, via the Banigan-Kawayan Festival 2011, the town will launch the first PAHINUNGOD – a tribute to Bungansakit, the beautiful (mabaysay, in the dialect) maiden from whose beauty Basey was said to have gotten its name (although this is debatable as some Basaynons had tried to clarify years ago) – in riverine village Magallanes.  There priests (Ely Solis and Andy Pacoli) will officiate the blessing of the so-called legendary and historical Bungansakit Well and Pamintu-ogon Tree, Magallanes punong barangay Lourdes Viojan will give a message, town officials (led by mayor Igmedio Junji E. Ponferrada, vice-mayor Raul Sendic Bajas and the sangguniang bayan members) will offer flowers to Bungansakit, Suguijon and the legendary/historical family. The floral offering will be followed by the unveiling of Bungansakit Well Development Plan, posoting of a copy of the Bungansakit Well Historical Landmark Ordinance 2011 of Basey, inspirational message by mayor Junji, formal presentation of the Guibaysayi and Suguijon pageant candidates, ceremonial coin-throwing to the Bungansakit Wishing Well by the general public, and closing remarks by vice-mayor Sendic.

Of course, Department of Tourism regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes and party will attend the elaborate ceremony.  Part 2 of that event will be the banquet on native delicacies – iraid, sinahog, put nga may kape, tableya (aw, tsokolate) o luy-a.  In the evening of Sept. 29, from 6 to 9, BARANDAHAY HA BASAY will wow audiences coming from all over the world. That‘s when music bands from various parts of Eastern Visayas will compete in the first regional open battle of the bands for Waray-Waray, local autonomy and environmental songs.  The event, to be held at the gym, was originally slated for tomorrow, Sept. 19 but had to be reset to fiesta day, Sept. 29.

Right in Basey last Thursday and Friday, as Baktas Kabub’wason Rural Workers Association officers discussed preparations for its September 27 annual general assembly, Baktas prexy Teodorico D. Porbus and second Tuba-Tuba advocate Domingo Oñate noted the extreme temperatures experienced during the passing week, that kept them and other agrarian farmer beneficiaries like them from toiling in their farms.  They noted the temperature rising between 32 and 39 degrees celsius by daytime, and lowering to an average of 30 by midnight.  Temperature from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. last Friday played between 31 and 32 degrees celsius.  One noted the room temperature sticking up at 37°C then took the temperature in the open road at 3 p.m. – it was 40!!! and at the second floor of a relative’s house, it went much higher to 49!!!! and complained he got a severe headache after his head went awfully hot!

Baktas prexy Dioring remarked some people braving the hot days in the bald mountains would suffer from dehydration, such that they should be advised to take extra precautions by limiting their hard work or trek under the hot sun or by bringing plenty of drinking water.  For part, Doming said he could not imagine how the heat wave could affect Filipinos.

A Yahoo user remarked last Friday as the question was posed whether summers are getting hotter: "That is definitely happening here in Texas! Last winter was one of the snowiest, and this summer has had record breaking temperatures."  Meanwhile, OurAmazingPlanet posted in its blog site: "Sprawling Cities Getting Hotter Faster", saying: “The number of extreme hot summer days is increasing around the world with global warming, but sprawling cities are racking up these sweltering days faster than more compact cities are, a new study finds.

“This finding could be important to city planners, particularly because heat waves are a killer worldwide (heat waves kill more U.S. residents than any other natural disaster) and the number of hot days is expected to increase as climate change ramps up.”

Last Monday, Stephens said in the internet: “It doesn't occur to our team of scientists that the earth is preparing for the final days of history as we know it. It is preparing for millennial conditions – the bottomless pit is the same place as the deep void in the beginning.

“The earth is heating from within. Evidenced by increasing magma flows beneath Yellowstone. Evidenced by the increasing temperature of Kilimanjaro. And of course, evidenced by what is reported here.

“If you want to understand what is happening here, I suggest going to the source of information most true, The Holy Bible, King James preferably.”

Weather in Tacloban was reported at 33 degrees celsius last Friday and forecast on the maximum to be only 31 this morning but going higher to 32 this afternoon and decreasing to 27 tonight (September 18).  Tomorrow and the next day (Sept. 19 and 20), it is placed on the same level.

To a few watchers, the temperature could be much, much higher by mid-October.  That belief may be stronger among those who believed in Harold Camping’s prediction of the world’s end by Oct. 21, 2011.