I am always fascinated every time I visit a particular historical site as my imaginative being tends to arise and visualize how it looks like back then, theorizing if one of my ancestors had once visited that place, and how many people from generation to generation have seen it, realizing how lucky we are to witness a place that has shaped our culture. But last week, a big part of our culture was ruined by a recalcitrant earthquake that unpredictably hit the center part of our country.
Bohol was totally affected being the epicenter of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Just earlier this year, I had the chance to visit this
beautiful place. And I cannot deny that Bohol exhibits a rich Filipino culture through its century-old churches and picturesque sceneries that cannot be just seen anywhere. I am deeply saddened by this tragedy as these grande structures that played the vital role in our history will now remain alive on photos and postcards and cannot be anymore seen first hand by future generations (unless the government will spend real big bucks restore it).
Baclayon Church (erected 1500s), the Second oldest church in the country, that is made out of coral stones and egg whites as cement.
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| My visit (April 2013) |
The famous Chocolate Hills. I bet every traveller/tourist could not afford to leave Bohol without visiting this place.
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| April 2013 |
The Chocolate Hills View Deck. Every visitor must ring the bell after casting their wishes. Pretty sure nobody wished for this to happen. But it unfortunately did.
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| April 2013 |
And little did everyone know that the largest python in captivity (one of our treasures in ecosystem and biodiversity) that was housed in Bohol died couple of months before the disaster. It was definitely a tragic year for us, especially for Boholanos (and Cebuanos as well). I heard from the news that they still experience thousands of aftershocks week after the earthquake. Let us all pray for their safety and for their strength to stand up and start over again.
After all, it's not just the century-old structures and beautiful sceneries that make up our history and culture. What really matters most is how we respond to the needs of others in times of distress, and how we can be heroes to our fellow Filipinos in our own different and simple ways. And those are the traits that we Filipinos are most known for.
Always,
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