Not Today

Grail School Graduation Day, March 1996

I have always thought of worst-case scenarios whenever I travel. A plane gets hijacked. The ship gets caught in a terrible typhoon. The car loses its brakes and falls into a deadly cliff. The motorcycle gets crushed by a huge truck. And in those times that I entertain these morbid thoughts, I think of ways to get myself out of it, if fortunate enough to survive. I have always imagined these but I never really believed that it can become my reality.

When Papa announced that he was driving to Tacloban City on March 7th for their annual physical examination, I asked if I could join them for I had something to do at BPI. He agreed and told me that we will leave at 3 in the morning. Now I am not a morning person. I have to be dragged out of bed every Sunday to hear mass at 6 AM. But on that day, I woke up at 2 and was set to go thirty minutes later. I wore a black shirt we recently dug out of an ukayan and mama's old brown bell-bottoms which I considered pairing with heels but ditched it last minute for my old yet reliable Fitflops.

Papa and I got inside the car at around 3 AM and asked for safe travels in our prayers. We then drove around our small town that was still sound asleep, to pick up our other 3 companions. They are also police officers, like my father, and two of them were off to attend the same physical exam. They sat at the back of the driver's and me at the passenger's side. I fastened my seat belt and quietly listened to the old men's conversations. It was then that I realized I forgot to bring my earphones.

It was drizzling while we were traversing the pitch-black highway. Asphalt concrete has just been laid on days ago (and still on-going today). There were no road marks, signs nor street lights. We only saw as far as our headlights could illuminate.

Everything was going smoothly. I was thinking of how lucky I was that I got another free ride and naturally free everything for this travel, how everything was going according to my 'business' schedule.

Until Papa lost control of the steering wheel and our car slipped. I extended my arm to reach his shoulder. The vehicle swerved to the right, crashed into a hill, and fell.

Photo from the Police Report

I never participated in the MMDA Earthquake Drill when I was in Manila. I watched the news and mentally took note of their survival guide: Drop, Cover, and Hold. But I never took part in it. I believed that I will never be truly ready for any disaster no matter how I wholeheartedly rehearse it. Deep in my scaredy-cat heart I know I will panic.

After the impact, while still buckled in, I asked Papa if he was okay. He was at the bottom of the car now turned down to the left side. He said yes. I then asked the 3 others if they too were okay. They also answered yes. I told them to relax then requested Papa to hand me our home phone which got thrown to his corner. I called my mom and calmly told her that we got into an accident and see if she could call our mayor for assistance. She understandably went frantic and asked a lot of questions. Are we okay? Where are we? What happened? And more. Papa then called the police headquarters for help. (Now that I think about it, I am amazed at how I maintained my composure throughout this ordeal. Maybe I was too shocked to function, to react violently or maybe the earthquake drills have paid off.)

I tried to unfasten my seat belt. I stretched my legs and positioned my body in such a way that I won't get strangled by the safety belt. The first person who got out was sir Marlou who was seated behind me. He got out through the door beside him and kept it open so we could hear him. At this point, the 2 other passengers were already standing. I asked sir Marlou to open the door on my side but he couldn't do it. He was afraid the car might turn upside down. Papa then told him to open the door at the rear. Thankfully, it opened so Mano Joey and Tito Lanlan managed to get out. I was becoming really uncomfortable especially when I saw that Papa could not stand up while I was still attached to my seat. I then took a deep breath, stretched the tight belt as much as I could, and pressed the buckle. It was unhooked and finally, I was free. I walked through the door - alive with one pair of slipper missing. Papa followed next. I was so relieved to see that he was okay. We were all unharmed.

The police mobile arrived several minutes later. They looked around the scene and inspected the damage. Blown out tire, shattered car windows, possibly engine failure, broken bumper, smashed lights, among others. They were surprised we only suffered very minimal injuries. I only had a small bruise on my stomach, a tiny scratch on my right foot, and a stiffed neck.

Photos by Mama (Day After)

Ropes were tied to the car chassis. The police mobile pulled the vehicle and the policemen pushed behind. I stood there under my umbrella, helping out by using my phone as a flashlight. They eventually managed to turn the car and move it to safety. Papa tried to ignite the engine to no avail. The rest of us rode the police mobile while it towed our car. We drove back home.

A store was opening when we reached our neighborhood. We traveled only for a short distance but it felt like forever for me. When we were about to turn to our place, the rope broke and our car had to be manually pushed. I got out of the mobile and walked to our house. Mama was already waiting for us outside.

You know what they say that when you're about to die, your life flashes before your eyes? Memories stored in your brain replay in an unquantifiable speed, making you re-experience your life's precious events. I did not have that moment. I honestly think it would be nice to relive forgotten memories but I was not given that chance. I touched Papa's shoulder and the next thing I saw was my feet up in the air.

There are so many things I could take away from this experience but I only feel extremely grateful to God and to the kind gentlemen of San Policarpo MPS. Indeed it could have been way worse but all we endured were sore muscles. On the morning of that fateful day, I still managed to clean our guesthouse and do my job. Perhaps, it was not yet our time.