Christmas lights…. Bright smiles…

By Susan Romero-Vidal

Every 16^th of December for the past 5 years, the Galing Pilipino Movement (GPM) celebrates the annual first lighting of 20 Christmas trees as part of its Pamaskong Galing Pilipino (PGP) tradition.  These PGP trees represent the spirited way Pilipinos celebrate Christmas --- with much generosity and bayanihan charm. PGP light bulbs and trees serve as the medium of donation for nation-building causes and programs.

This year’s first lighting of PGP 2009 Christmas trees has become a profound inspiration for me and say, the rest of the country and the world. From its traditional event site at the Luneta Park, GPM moved its main event site to the Marikina River Park to make the bold statement that true Christmas joy was not—and cannot be--- washed away by Ondoy or Pepang… that the ‘galing’ spirit of the Pilipino enables him to overcome adversity and make good come out of the bad situation.

And so GPM President Erly de Guzman broached the idea of making PGP 2009 come alive at the Marikina River site of much destruction and misery to bring forth the ‘galing’ story of courage, compassion and patriotism that makes Marikina a shining light in the Philippine Christmas scene this year. The Marikina community led by Mayor Marides Fernando, Administrator Melvin Cruz, Dep Ed Division Supervisor for  Music, Arts and PE Mrs Isabelita Fernandez adopted the PGP lighting project. Marikina Engineer Anaki Maderal and his team used their ‘galing’ ingenuity to mount the PGP Christmas trees, not on solid ground but on a floating platform located at the center of the Marikina river. Wasn’t it only three  months ago, when typhoon Ondoy brought torrential rains causing river waters  to rise to twenty four meters above sea level, submerging the valley city, its barangays and villages?

That night, there was nary a trace of Ondoy’s damaging wrath. Instead, the Marikenyos, young and old, showed that with a lot of smiles on their faces how they rose above the floodwaters that invaded them, how galing a Pilipino they are. Some 200 elementary pupils gladly crafted Christmas tree decors from shiny palara and other scraps found in the floodwaters. Whereas at the onset, program performers were hesitant to commit, the actual PGP program became longer because many wanted to do their share in bringing cheer from onstage. PGP 2009 at Marikina River Park showcased the Pilipino folk dances and a Pilipino rondalla rendered by elementary and HS children whose costumes and instruments were inundated by Ondoy waters.  The Kontra Gapi, an ethnic music and dance ensemble led by UP professor Edru Abraham, engaged the audience to their merriment at discovering how mod and hip indigenous music and dance can be.

The drama of the evening came when, with the  push of a button, the PGP Christmas trees were lighted by GPM President Erly de Guzman, Marikina Mayor Marides Fernando and Galing Pilipino living heroes who graced the occasion. Upon light-up, a matching siren sounded, not as a flood warning but as a signal of a new beginning… for the Marikenyos..for the Pilipinos. Fireworks lit the air as the crowd burst into song, caroling Pasko Na Naman, at 7pm Manila time, joining like-minded Pilipinos doing a version of the same activity in Baliuag, Malabon, Hongkong, Abu Dhabi and USA, etal. That was a hair-raising moment of unity, celebrating the pride and joy of being a Pilipino.

In her inspirational remarks, Mayor Marides Fernando shared that in calamities like Ondoy,  Marikenyos showed unity of vision in bringing back their city to what it was known for - a clean and disciplined city. In a month’s time, the Marikenyos worked hard to bring back their city to its feet. Come to Marikina today and you will wonder if the city was ever been flooded.

The heroic flavor of this year’s PGP2009 was brought to the fore with the special appearance of a 6-year old hero, an Ondoy family victim-turned-rescuer heroes, foreign volunteer aid workers and the world-renowned Mount Everest/ Balanghay team. John Paul Villaflores was only six years old when he rescued his 4 year old sister from the fire that gutted their house in 2005. His parents were out of the house when it happened. John Paul learned how to save lives in a fire from the fire drill that his school conducted months before it happened.

Truly, what oldies do greatly influence the behavior of the young. This was exemplified by 53-year old retiree, Bing Tolentino of Provident Village when he started rescuing people during the flood. As 23-year old nephew, Pau Vidal said, “Tito Bing’s courage was contagious” galvanizing him and his cousins, Alan and Miguel, to join Bing in saving 10 elders in the nearby village chapel from the neck deep flood. One of those rescued was Cely Bumatay, 76-year old President of the Provident Village homeowners association.

Mercy and compassion knows no race as the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation worldwide led by its Philippine head, Alfredo Li generously donated  P40 million pesos worth of assistance to Marikina for its rehabilitation including 360,000 units of Doxycycline, an antibiotic for treating leptospirosis. These volunteers were impressed by the caring and compassion shown by Pilipino victims for others inspite of their personal predicaments.

Another honoree was the Philippine Mt. Everest Team. What makes the Philippine Mt. Everest Team stand out among those who have climbed the summit of this icy mountain? The team led by Art Valdez, Ted Esguerra, Nicole Wenceslao, Carina Dayundon and Janet Belarmino showed  great tenacity, determination and a consuming desire to plant the Philippine Flag in the highest place on earth when they summitted and conquered Mt. Everest. This year, this same team embarked on another adventure to conquer the seas of Southeast Asia through a Balanghay expedition. They sailed off last June 2009 but found themselves also rescuing Ondoy and Pepang victims along their way.

The year 2009 may have been fraught with a lot of crisis for the Pilipinos. Like PGP Christmas trees that are now floating at the center of the Marikina River, the Pilipinos have time again shown forth their ‘galing’, rising above all these crises with bright smiles on their faces like Christmas lights in the darkness of this season’s nights.