"Franked!"

The winds have started to subside and the rains are down to a trickle. Typhoon Frank has passed Metro Manila and is now wreaking havoc in Central Luzon. Hopefully, it would decide to leave the Philippines' AOR and go to South China Sea soon.

The strong typhoon brought with it thousands of gallons of rainwater; various areas of Mindanao and the Visayas were severely drenched and it has been raining in Luzon for two days now. Reports indicate that Iloilo was hardest hit with the Governor being quoted in the local radio as saying: "Iloilo is like an ocean.This is the worst disaster we have had in our history."

Dozens of lives were lost due to the storm. A looming disaster by way of a sunken ship has been keeping the radio stations busy. The fate of the passengers of the M/V Princess of the Stars are still undetermined. The ship was seen upturned off the island of Sibuyan in Romblon and a handful of survivors were seen but the whereabouts of the rest of the 700 passengers and 120 crewmembers cannot be ascertained yet.

We spent the day looking out our window and watching roofing materials fly off; the electricity went out early this morning and we have no TV, no DSL.The radio provided information though. Provincial Governors Salceda and Panlilio were both interviewed and seem to be adequately prepared for any calamity that may happen while Vice President Noli appeared to be in control as the President is in the United States. I was hoping to hear our Governor on air too but this was not to be. The Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council of Batangas was on the job though as we heard that it was providing hot meals to the stranded passengers at the Batangas Port.

Oh, the radio also provided entertainment. We heard the President getting irked while talking with the Admiral from the Coast Guard. They were talking in English and apparently the meanings of the simple words used were not faithfully comprehended forcing the President to gradually raise her voice in exasperation. (As I have said so many times before, we Filipinos can be at par with the world's best in speaking the King's language but what hinders communication is our listening comprehension. We talk yes, but we fail to listen.) The news reporters who were watching the video conference were asked to leave the briefing room so that they would not hear the angry words anymore. End of entertainment.

I am now enjoying the luxury of electricity. The TV is on again, the computer and the Internet access are back. I can now blog, my son can finish his Science homework and my daughter could update on the latest Disney Channel program. I will watch the evening news with a fervent prayer and hope that the Philippines would be alright.