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Saturday, February 25, 2006
Roperos: Of cocks and cats
By Godofredo M. Roperos
Politics Also
The other day, a cock was recovered alive from the site of the buried village of Guinsaugon in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte. The diggers hoped to find villagers beneath the mud, but they found instead a “roundhead” fowl that I believe was a mixed hybrid fighting cock.
Another report said that a cat was recovered from the site still alive. Well, cats have nine lives, don’t they? And should it be a phenomenon if not a miracle if it is still alive after many days?
I think it’s a good thing the teams of rescuers have decided not to give up yet on the people estimated to be more than a thousand who are believed buried under the slime that overwhelmed their village more than a week ago. I think it is possible by some quirk of fate and Divine Hand that some could still be alive, especially those in the school building where enough oxygen could have been trapped.
But going back to the two pet survivors. I recall that in 1963, when a C-47 Philippine Airlines plane on a flight from Zamboangan City to Davao City crashed in the mountains of Malalag town, in Davao del Sur, the lone survivor was a fighting cock.
I was on assignment by the Sunday Times Magazine to Malaybalay, Bukidnon and was returning to Manila by way of Davao City. When I arrived in Davao early in the afternoon, I learned that a PAL plane was lost on the way from Zamboanga.
I cancelled my flight back to Manila and together with staff members of the Manila Times radio, DZMT, in Davao and Bisaya magazine of the Ramon Roces Publications, decided to cover the incident. We followed the Philippine Constabulary jeep up to Malalag and went with the rescue party to the crash site.
All the 27 passengers, including the two American Peace Corps volunteers, and the pilots and attendants, died. Their faces were smashed against the non-collapsible steel backs of the seats in front of them.
Well, don’t begrudge me for having a vivid memory of that incident. Not only did I out-scoop the other national dailies for having been the first newsman at the crash site, I also had photos of the dead and the lone survivor that I took from the tail end of the plane.
To top it all, the front page story of the incident in the Manila Times that I wrote won first prize in the National Press Club-ESSO journalism award for 1963. I learned later that the fighting cock survivor had earlier won in a derby in Zamboanga.
But really, it is wonder how much staying power has our pets compared to us, humans, particularly in the St. Bernard incident. The tragedy reminds us of the unpredictability of nature, and the fragility of human life.
The St. Bernard incident should not have really shaken us, considering that there were other equally tragic incidents in memory, such as the Baguio earthquake, the Mt. Pinatubo explosion, the Ormoc City flood, the typhoon Ruping that almost flattened Cebu province, and a host of other tragic incidents.
However, when it is a case where human lives are at stake, something always prick all of us to the quick, and make us show how deeply human we all are. Our humanity, as in the case of the Guinsaugon tragedy, transcends national boundaries and personal prejudices as people move to help others in need of help.
It is what makes us, humans, the earth’s lone living creature, that place very high value on life, even the life of our pets.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 25, 2006 issue)
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