I was in the shower, having just gotten home from work, when the earthquake struck last Tuesday night, September 30, 2025.
The bathroom was on the second floor of one of those wooden houses from the 1950s that my grandfather had purchased from Architect Alcordo back in the early 1960s. The tremor shook it from side to side, making it hard for me to stand straight, let alone run in a straight line to the door that led to an alternative exit at the side of the house.
I have no idea what sound was coming out of my mouth, but I could hear my uncle’s wife in the house next door tell my cousin to check on me. I found myself on the landing, unsure of what to do next. Luckily, I had enough sense to put on some clothes — if two shorts and nothing else would qualify.
I can’t remember exactly what I was thinking in that moment, but I knew I just had to get out. Once on the ground, the occupants of the other house and I gathered right next to the laundry area, all talking at the same time until the shaking stopped.
When it did, we could hear someone singing his heart out on the microphone. Well, what do you know? It felt like the world was crashing down, but nothing could stop the singing.
For Cebuanos who have been alive since 2013, last Tuesday’s quake was the third “big” one to strike the island. Back in 2013, the epicenter was in Bohol, while the one the year after had its epicenter in Negros. Suffice it to say, Tuesday’s quake hit closer to home. As in, some kilometers off the coast of Bogo City in northern Cebu, prompting the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology to describe it as “the strongest tremor ever recorded in Cebu.”
Over 60 people have been confirmed dead, most of them in Bogo City.
To those not familiar with Cebu geography, Bogo (not to be confused with a word with the same spelling but with a profoundly different meaning) is nearly 100 kilometers away from Cebu City, or a little over a three-hour drive.
Yes, we got jolted here in the metro, but Bogo and its neighboring towns bore the brunt of the quake’s devastation. There is no need for me to detail the carnage that took place; photos and videos have been posted on the internet showing the shock and suffering of people trying to make sense of what just happened to them.
Some lost homes. Some lost loved ones. All in an instant.
I’m just glad to see Cebu mobilize to deliver much-needed assistance to the survivors. Government agencies and local governments rushed water, rescue teams and millions in aid to affected areas. They were joined by the Church, civic organizations, schools and other sectors. The Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Energy immediately imposed price freezes to protect households from price shocks.
Some credited this response to the Filipinos’ “bayanihan” spirit. I, for one, as a Cebuano, prefer the word “tambayayong.” Either way, it is nice to see us working together for a common goal instead of bickering over who will be running in the next presidential election.