EARTHQUAKE OF 1990 - AN EXPERIENCE

Its twenty years ago today that we remember a devastating earthquake visited the country in 1990,
that was july 16 or 18 (if i remember it right... )..
but now, i can already tell the story of what happened to us during those hours.

We were scheduled to go to Bagiuo with some family friends, and i booked ourselves in the
Bagiuo Country Club to stay a few days there. The group has two children on board, and
five adults. We also included a portrait artist to do a formal portrait for one of the ladies with
us. We really enjoyed Bagiuo at that time of the year, although there were already rains.
We just took the Mitsubishi Van, which is fairly new , to that trip. We had a great time going around the tourist spots of Bagiuo, took some biking, hiking and horseback riding. It was fun. We ate the local delicacies, we shopped around and enjoyed the cool weather. Bagiuo Country Club is a very classy place. Its good our host is generous enough to have his card to be shared , you cant check- in unless you are a member at this place. What i noted with the place is that they have very good bread, they said the pastry chef makes it daily. You can smell the bread as you enter the dining hall during breakfast. Hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and muffin. With some Bagiuo fruits particularly strawberries, topped with creme. Love it!!!
On one of the days we were there, i was tasked to get a map of Bagiuo City, to be able to get around and see what we might have missed. I took the van and we went to the Hyatt Hotel.
This hotel was so huge, and faces the Girl Scout Lodge. I went in and asked the front desk for
some information on Bagiuo City, this guy gave me two tourist maps of the City. Im sure you know what happened to that Hotel. This was the day before the huge earthquake. The whole hotel went down!

That fateful day of July, we were scheduled to go down to Ilocos Norte, and visit some sites.
One of our companions said, we should stay a little longer in Bagiuo cause we have not seen much.
And we were enjoying the sceneries. However, her husband insisted we leave because someone was waiting for us in the Fort Ilocandia Hotel, where we are already booked. Summarily, the husband won. So I checked them all out, but during the process, while waiting for the receipts,
i noticed that the yard of hotel was full of white balls, like hail stones. I asked the receptionist what it was, she said it happens every now and then. But i felt differently about it, though it looks nice, its like you are in another country. I now realized that it was already a sign that something bad is going to happen later that day.
We boarded the van, and we all said goodbye to Bagiuo. Thinking , maybe we can all come back for another trip.

We took the Naguillan Road to Ilocos. It wasn't bad at all, because the ride was smooth and everything was great. We saw a lot of things we have never seen before, like those huge clay pots that was a well known product of Ilocos. We were supposed to go direct to the hotel but we ate first in one of the restaurants which serve Ilocano delicacies. It was great to eat their BAGNET, (this is a delicacy made of Pork Belly which is dried and then deep fried in OIL to make it crispy delicious)...well of course, we had such a long trip, we ate at least three orders of it with the local pinakbet (another delicacy in Ilocos) We then went to Fort Ilocandia. The Hotel as they say was owned by the Marcoses (this has never been confirmed), the hotel was new, well -kept lawns, and we were surprised to see that most of the employees were waiting for us and there was even a welcome announcement with all our names on it...wow.
We took to our rooms and went around the hotel to see the amenities. Everything was nice
and cozy. There was even a Karaoke room and we said, we have to check this out because a pianist will report that night. This will be a good way of checking our vocal chords after that trip from Bagiuo , we said.

We rested for a few hours and later we went to the swimming pool with the kids. And during that time i was holding a video camera. I was taking the video of them when suddenly
there was a loud thud and groan, and the earth started shaking, i was dumbfounded and i took some video of the pool shaking, and i ran to the kids who were crying . I left the video running and went to check on the children. We assured them that it was going to be alright. But i was shaking with fear. The first thing I checked was any building around us or trees that might fall on us. Its good that we were in an open area . This lessens the risk of anything falling on you on an earthquake. We stood transfixed for a few more minutes. And then we heard a lot of shouting in the hotel, and the security were already checking on all the rooms. One of our male artist friend came with just a towel, he said he was in the toilet when it struck and he ran as fast as he can out of the room. We were all laughing at him. We then had to check our condition now. We learned from the hotel employees that the earthquake is about intensity 7 plus, and one of the worst hit was Dagupan and Bagiuo. Due to the communication problem, there was no radio, (cel phones were not available that time)and there was media black out. We were worried about our families in Manila. I know that my parents and siblings will be worried because they know that I was in Bagiuo, and Bagiuo was vastly devastated. What to do?

We had to decide now how we are going back . According to sources, the streets going to Manila is not passable, and there are a lot of problems along the way. The van may not be sturdy enough to go thru. So the next best thing is to get a flight to Manila. I immediately went to the Laoag City Airport to check on the flights, and PAL said there was a flight coming but not sure if they can fit seven persons. I said i will get all the seats available, and paid for the fare. (Its good that we had cash ) We all went back to get our things in the hotel, and told the driver of the van to start his trek towards Manila, but to be careful going down. Packed and ready, we left our things in the van, and just brought our necessities for the plane ride. This will lessen our check-in baggage. Whats important now was our body, safe and moving. By this time, no news as a whole. Only trickles of news kept coming in, and we have no idea what has happened and which places were affected. There was no newspaper in the airport. We are now taking our chances here to go home.
We waited at the Laoag airport, praying that the plane can fit us all. The two children werent at all worried, they seemed to love this change of plans. Now we are flying.!!...
And when we saw the plane coming down the runway, we really felt good about this cause we laearned that there was space for five passengers, since we were seven, the two have to go by land. It was good news. When we boarded, the passengers looked at us as if they were seeing ghosts. Maybe we looked pale or something, with blank stares too. The plane was filled to capacity and there we saw one newspaper, with the headlines, DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE HITS THE COUNTRY, MANY DIED. And then i saw the photo of the Hyatt Hotel, it was like an accordion, toppling down. My God, i was just there yesterday, and then it was gone! I was trying to remember the person who gave me the map and thinking if he was alive or not. I prayed for all the people in Bagiuo and the those who died that day. I was emotional in a way because it could have been us who might have been crushed to death. I was slowly thinking of how my parents are reacting to my trip. How my mother could be crying at this moment not knowing where I was. And my Dad calling all the police stations of Bagiuo just to check where we are. I begin to feel the chill inside my body. What if? No one was talking inside the plane. There were hushed tones as if the country is gone and no one survived the earthquake.

When the plane landed in the domestic airport, the first thing i did was to call home. And i was right, they were all looking for us, they have been frantically trying to reach all our companions' houses, their relatives, where to get in touch, who to talk to. Thank God they said, that we were not in Bagiuo when it hit. I told them i will tell you the story when i get home. On the other hand, my friends' call was also not good, their families thought that we were one of the casualties and we are all dead. So I said, maybe we should all visit them and tell them we are the ghosts of Bagiuo. But it was so peaceful to see that our sense of humor was intact, and we still can laugh at this time. We all said good bye, and I took a cab home to my family, waiting to hold me in their arms, and to tell me that the journey i had was one of the most memorable, and sad
but what a story to tell..

RIGHT NOW, I' M SLOWLY MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME...the first time i entered Bagiuo City again after that eartquake of 1990. it's 2010, when I was invited by the GSP for the leadership training last May.
I was going to turn down the invitation because of the trauma of that earthquake. I never want to go back. I feel goose pumps when I remember the moment. I feel sick thinking of the people who died during that time. It was too painful to remember.
But i said to myself, if i don't go back, it will always haunt me. So i said yes to GSP.
If the people of Bagiuo were able to move on, I can too. But that long ride going to Bagiuo ( I rode with a GSP official) was a mixed feeling of eeriness , and foreboding...its a feeling that you don't want to go, but you have to get all the courage into one body and go with the flow. My heart was beating fast. I didn't know this was the feeling of anxiety of a memory you thought was long gone but it remains with you.

I saw Bagiuo City with a new vision. This time I was thinking that this is my first time again to enter this City. A City of beauty, with cool, crisp air. A smell of pine, not death. A city of fruits and fresh vegetables. A city of flowers.

Twenty years is a long time, and again I enter Bagiuo with a smile. A chapter in my life continued
to unfold, and the memories of that fateful day in July is slowly erased from my mind......


(i thank all the people who were with me in July 1990: one of them has already died, a funny guy, too. The two kids, are now working abroad, one in HK and another is an artist-painter, who had a show recently in Europe. And the woman's portrait was finished and still is displayed in their home in Makati.,,,GOD BLESS THEM ALL)

babes