Sangguniang Bayan Palo + Shopping for Dinner + Despedida Dinner

The two of us speaking with the municipal council of

Palo about the project.

Meeting with Sangguniang Bayan Palo
Marie and I returned to Palo on Tuesday, our last morning in Leyte, to make up a canceled meeting from last week. We were able to meet with most of the Municipal Council, the Sangguinian Bayan. The meeting turned out to be different than most. We were prepared now, after all of our previous meetings, to succinctly deliver our message about the project and our work for Kusog Tacloban, and to then ask questions of the group in regards to the municipality's response to Yolanda, disaster risk management, the comprehensive land use plan
(CLUP), and so forth.

We had a little post-meeting photo shoot with Dennis
out on the broad verandah of the Spanish colonial style
municipal hall.

Marie snapping a photo of rice drying on the street near

the municipal hall in Palo. Land owners' tenants deliver

rice to the city; the landlords then dry the rice for their

household use. Sometimes the rice is on a tarp for

easy scooping or pouring into buckets. Sometimes, it's

simply laid on the street and swept up. Guinian Hill, the

site of fierce fighting during MacArthur's campaign to

take back Leyte, and a topographic high in Palo, lies in

the background. 

The Council, however, had a lot of questions for us. Thankfully Marie had brought the regional hazard maps that she had created from the government-issued maps, because we needed to demonstrate for several members just how broad in scale the available mapping and data is. Of course, we could not answer a lot of the specific concerns they had (e.g., "Why is this barangay shown as flood susceptible--can't be true!"), only that we shared those concerns and that we understood that better data is on the way, at least for flood and rain-induced landslide susceptibility (those 1:10,000 scale maps that Mines and Geosciences is producing this year). We stressed the importance of reaching out to the barangays and using the municipal planning and development office to guide work on neighborhood-level participatory mapping exercise.

Traffic on the way into Tacloban, near the Kusog office.

We did receive some excellent insights into some of the challenges in working with communities, residents and officials, on environmental and hazard risk education--and some great suggestions to boot! Councilor Imelda Parado, a formal employee at the regional level education ministry office, said that time--getting people to carve out the time to consume such information--is always a challenge, so how to best to interest people given competing interests, and how to make use of their existing daily schedule are key questions. She suggested that it is crucial to begin with educating kids at school, and then working on getting parents involved with their childrens' education, by having kids talk to their parents about what they are learning and having parents ask questions. This way, information is transferred via family and intergenerational conversation. She also said that keeping a barangay level group of officials informed is pretty hard when terms are three years long and there is
often a revolving cast of elected individuals
and civil society representatives appointed to various committees. She recommended the creation of a permanent Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office or Officer at the barangay level to increase the level of mitigation and preparedness, and maintain a solid working knowledge alive and well in a community, even as politicians move on or step down.

Presiding councilor Jonathan Cinquillio informed us that the Palo CLUP is currently under review, that the location of evacuation center sites are being revisited post-Yolanda, and that the city is working on an ordinance for climate change adaptation. There is, however, no Barugo-style grand plan for disaster contingency plans.

The meeting was productive in getting word out of the project and Kusog's potential role in monitoring projects for environmental sustainability and delivering educational material and training to local residents that it serves through aid distribution and other projects. Palo's councilors expressed a great deal of gratitude for the project and for our addressing Council. 

We ran by the Delgado house Friday afternoon to drop off groceries, and I noticed that the jeepney/multicab stop across the street was dead quiet. This is a busy, busy place every morning. The city slogan on the banner board reads "For God. For Family. For Country." 

Trevor passing the meat section at the city market.

Some Shopping About Town
After our morning meeting, we headed into Tacloban. We checked out the supermarket at Robinson's Mall for some chips and cookies for our farewell supper and because we were determined to track down the best banana chips we have ever had, which we were told could be found there. The mall was looted and damaged after Yolanda, and is currently under renovation. The department store spills out into the main lobby; the supermarket is insanely busy on Friday at midday. We then visited the city market in downtown Tacloban, to peruse the offerings and see if there might be some fruit to buy. Dennis spotted a coconut vendor and encouraged us to have him crack open a coconut for the three of us to share.

The coconut vendor across the street from the city market. You buy a whole coconut (20 PHP/less than 50 cents), which he cuts open and drains into cups for the water. You then get to scrape out the meat to eat! 

The vendor pouring out the fresh coconut water. I
think that it tastes kind of caramel-like--go figure!

The vendor used his awesome knife (seen above)
to carve a scraping utensil for removing the meat,
Yum!

Angie begins to unwrap the lechón, right after arrival
Traditionally, the piggie is laid out on a spread of
banana leaves, but, having none handy, we splayed
open a cardboard box across the conference table. 

Despedida Dinner
Magina requested that Kusog Tacloban treat us to lechón on our last night, so lechón it was. A small pig spit-roasted overseveral hours, until its skin turns super crispy and its fat and meat super juicy. Magina ordered it from Tanauan, which we had visited the week prior, and which is famous locally for its lechón. The pig takes up the better part of a long table, so everyone sits around and takes part in carving up the body. Lechón is a meal for special occasions, so we felt like special guests to have the chance to try it during our brief time in Leyte.

A bounty of treats! Dennis made a delicious salad with
jicama, Angie brought a glutinous rice/cornstarch cake
served with shredded coconut, Marie had snagged some
of our favorite bananas from the market, and the lechón
came with dinuguon--it's the dark stuff to the right.

The lechón came with dinuguon, which is the offal of the pig served in a blood broth flavored with ginger, garlic, vinegar, and other ingredients. I loved the flavor, but would have to get to used to the texture of intestines and the like.

Angie's friend Bernadette brought tuba for the occasion, the regional local coconut wine, colored with the bark of mangrove trees. Potent stuff, but not quite as stiff as some made it out to be! You pass the bottle around and take shots, or sip on a small glass.

We had a terrific evening discussing the food and debriefing the assembled group of Kusog volunteers on our meetings of the past week and our thoughts for the project going forward (we'll share more on that in our last post). A fine evening to end on!

Trevor

Our lechón in all its glory, prior to the devouring. The whole little pig serves a crowd and provides leftover ingredients for a dozen more dishes. Dennis, our host and a talented chef, carted off the remains, making promises of a catered lunch for Kusog volunteers later in the week. 

A trip to Barugo

Morning Treats

Santol fruit photo from
www.daleysfruit.com.au/newsletter/May2006.htm

Trevor took a stroll down the street and returned with a bounty of fresh fruit and baked goods. Most mornings we’ve eaten bananas and mangoes, but he decided to pick up a few other fruits for us to try. He cut open a guava and we snacked on half of it for breakfast. The fruit that neither of us recognized was a santol. The outer rind is slightly bitter but inside the seeds are encased in a sweet, white, fibrous membrane. Dennis walked in the kitchen just as Trevor and I were undoubtedly looking a bit perplexed about how to eat the fruit. He chuckled and gestured to just pop the seeds in our mouth and suck the casing off. So tasty! We packed up the left over guava and karan-un (Waray for bread) and we snacked on them throughout the day.

Barugo supports bottom-up planning

We set off on a northwestwardly drive towards Barugo which is located on the northern part of Leyte island, nestled in the cove of the Carigara Bay. There we met with Ms. Judith Borrel, the Municipal Planning and Development Officer (MPDO), Mr. Polcamar Canonce, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer (MDRRMO), Ms. Shiena Acebo, the Administrative Assistant, and Mr. Elised Periaranda, an engineer working in solid waste removal.

left to right: Ms. Acebo, Mr. Canonce, Mr. Periaranda,
Dennis, and Marie

Barugo is dominated by relatively flat terrain, with mountains rising to the east and to the
southwest. Coconut and rice farms occupy the majority of the inland agriculture while the eleven coastal communities rely more on fishing. Because of its location and landform structure, flooding, liquefaction, tsunami, and storm surges are the hazards that pose the greatest risk to residents. The planning department gave us some additional socioeconomic information for Barugo; as a fourth-class municipality they are financially dependent on the national government. Mr. Canonce reported that 86% of Barugo’s revenue is generated from national government – very little is generated internally. Though they are financially reliant on the national government, they are interested in implementing systems that reduce their reliance on the national government to receive information.

One theme that emerged from this meeting was the importance of information dissemination. They believe that the residents need to receive information quickly, clearly and concisely. Mr. Canonce explained that in the week preceding Yolanda, they drove through each community and using a bandillo (megaphone) to tell everyone that a storm was coming and residents needed to prepare. He stressed that Yolanda was unprecedented, and the damages sustained by the region were inconceivable. He mention, as we have heard so many times on this trip, that residents didn’t understand the term "storm surge." So, when national forecasting agencies issued warnings, residents didn't understand the severity of its impact. Dennis suggested that perhaps “lulop” would have been more effective term to use during the Yolanda warnings. He described lulop as a local term understood more broadly as a violent flood that is generated from the ocean. At our Sunday meeting in Candahug, members of the barangay council verified that this would have been a more accessible term for residents.

Marie and Trevor explain the project to members of the
Barugo Planning department

Ms. Acebo illustrated the department’s stance on providing education to barangay. She stated that all 37 barangay have been given localized hazard maps on liquefaction, landslide, flooding. The barangay chairmen were asked to post the hazard maps in a conspicuous place in barangay hall. However, because residents' literacy skills vary, the Ms. Acebo stressed the importance in translating this information into simple, accessible language. She also explained that educational programs are already in progress to protect mangroves and other critical habitats of Barugo. Regarding disaster risk reduction, in February 2014 the planning department started educating residents about typhoons and preparation and evacuation procedures. So, it's clear that Barugo is working hard to provide accessible information to its residents.

Ms. Borrel proudly explained that the municipality values a “bottom-up” approach to planning. This means they not only regard the residents’ input, but they believe it is critical to the planning process. Ms. Acebo chimed in that they take a localized approach – they require 80% of approval from the barangay before projects can be implemented. Barugo started the community-based thematic mapping process with GIZ three years ago. Members of GIZ trained the planning department staff on how to facilitate the mapping process. Then the members of the planning department worked directly with each barangay, each of which have completed eleven thematic maps. Ms. Borrel stressed that they believe every barangay should implement thematic mapping so that the community can participate and be proactive, instead of just reacting to disasters. She said, "we want the barangay to help the [national] government help themselves."

Above is a sample of community-based map completed in one of the barangays in Barugo. The planning department provided base maps and overlay materials to the barangay council. Then the barangay council members generated the information, including creating a legend for each overlay. Then the maps were presented to the entire community at a barangay assembly where the residents had the opportunity to validate the accuracy of the information.

We shared our experience in Candahug, when we weren't entirely successful in communicating why thematic mapping could be helpful. Trevor asked the planning department how they navigated the social landscape if and when a barangay captain didn’t buy-in to the process. Ms. Borrel mentioned a best practice out of Cebu, where the barangay is divided into zones so the group members all know each other and each group is easier to manage and facilitate. She said it's important to ask, "What can participants get out of the exercise?" However, they indicated that there was little resistance in Barugo and they had the full support of the Barangay Development Council to do the thematic mapping. The barangay chairmen were told that they wouldn’t be able to identify what the needs of the community are without it. Therefore, all of the barangay chairmen supported the process.

Mr. Canonce said that in addition to reviewing the location of their evacuation centers, they are also working on a contingency plan for disaster risk reduction of the entire LGU. This plan will consider the worst case scenarios for landslides, liquefaction, storm surge and flooding which will then be disseminated to every barangay. The plan was drafted by a group of 45 participants with diverse backgrounds including: school leaders, civil society leaders and department heads. This plan has four key components:

1. Identify disaster scenarios in advance.
2. Determine key policies in advance.
3. Define objectives, identify activities, and assign responsibility in advance.
4. Prepare a plan in advance, which will ultimately save lives and properties

They believe this plan is critical to the future of an efficient and proactive LGU. As we discussed the role of partner organizations working with the LGUs, Ms. Acebo said that NGOs could step in to help disseminate information to the barangays. The others agreed that this would be a place where NGOs would be immensely helpful.

Around Barugo and Carigara

We drove us across town to get a good view of the mangroves. Fortunately it was low tide, so we had a really good view of the root system of these trees. They grow in a clay-like soil and require regular inundation of tidal saltwater. The mangroves in Barugo are right at edge of downtown area, which buffer the community from the bay’s waters. This means during storm events, the town's infrastructure has some protection as the mangroves diffuse the wave intensity.

Mangroves at low tide.

Dennis and his family are from Barugo, so he gave us a quick tour and then drove to the next town over, Carigara. On the drive, he asked us if we’ve had a chance to eat dried fish during our visit, and he gestured out the window towards several long lines of tables covered with small fish drying in the sun. When we arrived at the Carigara market, he led us to the dried fish stand. He spoke to the vendor for a few minutes before he decided on a variety. It was butterflied and dried with the skin and bones still intact. He said this is the traditional way of preserving fish in the region. As we walked through the market we passed produce stands showcasing the regional fruits and vegetables. Beyond the produce was the meat section of the market where slabs of pork, carabao, whole chickens were displayed in the shade.  I can’t deny it – Trevor and I were a little concerned at the amount of raw meat sitting, unrefrigerated, in the 85 degree afternoon. But who are we do judge? – this is the local food system.

Filomena, on the left, explains that carabao milk and sugar
are boiled for 5 hours over a wood fire in the first step in
the process to make pastilla de leche. 

Earlier in the day, as we were driving to Barugo, Dennis told us about pastillas de leche, a delicacy that is made in Carigara. As he tried to explain it, Trevor and I fired so many curious questions at him that he finally said, “you’ll just have to try it.” So just before we packed up and left Carigara, we drove down a residential street and stopped at a sizable two-story house. Dennis cut the engine and said, “this is it.” We walked up the wooden steps, worn by the wind where we were greeted by Filomena.

The resulting mixture cools and is rolled, sliced, and
packaged before it's sold.

Filomena welcomed us into her home and business where several people were hard at work. First she pointed to the front room of the house where at least a hundred swallows were nesting on the ceiling. She said she was happy to have these birds claim this room as their home and mentioned that the nests are used in some Chinese cuisines. We walked back to the main entry and she pulled a bag our from the display cabinet. She gave us a sample of the pastilles de leche and cinnamon cookies - just a taste of the delicious treats made in the kitchen. The texture of the pastillas de leche is like a crumbly cheese. It has a strong smokey flavor, and though it's made with sugar, it's not overwhelmingly sweet.

As we walked back into the production area, Filomena explained to us the cooking process. First, they have to get carabao milk, which is the domestic water buffalo of the Philippines. She said they have a distributor who delivers the milk to them on a regular basis. The carabao milk is the boiled over a wood fire for five hours. Once the mixture starts to cool, it is rolled out into mold. It's then cut and individually wrapped in paper.  So, of course we had to buy some before we left! We thanked Filomena for the tour and headed back to Tacloban.

A cat, relaxing in Filomena's window, demonstrates the best way to cope with a hot afternoon in the Philippines.

Walk from Candahug to the Office

We walked the orange route (two wheel traffic) out to
the circle on this map drawn at the Sunday meeting.

After our meeting with the Council on Sunday afternoon, we decided to walk back to the office in Pawing, by way of footpaths through Candahug. Through the community mapping, we learned that there is a meandering way out of the neighborhood, heading west. Motor bikes can make it through, if they want, but anything larger can't make it.

The narrow walkway leading from the core of the village
to a small residential area across a field, and then on
to the Government Center. Only foot traffic and two-
wheeled vehicles and take this route.

Turning to the right after the church, just a block from the barangay hall, we began winding our way through a residential street that dead ends at a fork where two paths begin. One heads out through a field and then by some houses before emptying out on the coastal road. We took the one that would lead us to the government center, where we would then take the road to the office at Leyte Information, Community, and Technology Park. The first section of this path is a long straight-away concrete walkway headed out through a field. This would roughly parallel the evacuation route through the rice paddies that Candahug has suggested, (which would lead all the way out to the highway into Tacloban).

A row of new homes in Candahug.

Marie with new construction off to the left.

What was striking about the walk was the view of Candahug, looking back towards the densely settled core. Though we were in the midst of a lot of construction activity in Candahug, it was surprising to note, from this vantage point, just how many new homes there were on all sides of the community, clustered around the buildings that the storm surge did not wipe out: the church, school, and barangay hall. Don Bosco, an engineering and technical school in Cebu, has been providing relief and recovery in Leyte, and students and staff from the institution have been building many of the replacement homes in Candahug. They are the simple, square but solidly reinforced structures with the metal roofs that you can see in the photos.

As Marie noted in a previous post, the neighborhood is nestled between the sea and coastal roads and several fields, through which several creeks flow. Some of these saline and brackish tributaries into the sea are lined with nipa palms, the drifts of which crop up above the surrounding fields. At the edge of the west side of the village, the low mountains of Tacloban span the horizon. Looking back on the main residential area generates this feeling that Candahug is isolated--though not that far from the national highway and the built up areas of

New homes surrounding the barangay hall (peachy
building).

Tacloban and Palo, it's set apart from
everything nearby.


After several hundred yards, the concrete walkway took a sharp ninety degree turn to the southwest passing through a small neighborhood comprising Zone Camia. Nearly everyone said "Good afternoon!" and a gaggle of children ran after us, grabbing my hand and touching it to their foreheads. I wasn't sure what that meant, but the kids got a kick out of it! By this point in the walk, the path took another two ninety degrees turn, forming a zig-zag, before emptying out onto one of the spurs coming out of the government center complex. We followed this into Pawing, noting vegetation along the way. 

The axial and circular road of the Government Center can be seen
in the center of the photo. The residential area of Candahug,
current-day, is off to the left by the coast.

During all of our presentations this term, our classmates and faculty were mystified by the strong geometric pattern, formed by a series of roads, that is imprinted on the Candahug landscape, as seen in aerial photographs look the one to the right. "What is that?" people asked. Seeing the white bunkers (temporary shelters) lining one of the roads, some asked"Does that have something with the disaster response?". This strange-appearing circular road and avenue leading from the Pan-Philippine National Highway to the seaside MacArthur monument are actually the roadway framework for what is dubbed the "Government Center" a complex conceived during the Marcos era that consists of several Leyte provincial government buildings and district offices of various national agencies. This complex plays an important role in Candahug's history, that we not have mentioned yet. The neighborhood was actually completely relocated in 1976, forced to move within a kilometer or so to the northeast, to make room for the new government structures and park (including a monument to the Boy Scouts and MacArthur's landing). Though we did not discuss this history with residents at length, it seems to be important context to the redevelopment of the neighborhood and it fuels long-time residents' attitude towards and uncertainty about the government's role in eventually forcing them to, post-Yolanda, relocate once again at its bequest, to what it

Looking back on the same area pictured above, from
the opposite direction, and before Yolanda. Notice the
vegetation along the coast.

may deem "safer ground."

The trees of a once dense wooded area near the
MacArthur Landing monument, post-Yolanda.

In actuality, the Government Center never quite filled out around the rotary and larger concentric circle that stand out so prominently in the maps and aerial photos. Today, most of the development is either closer to the national highway (foreground in the photo at right) or not far from the MacArthur statue by the coast. In an earlier aerial photo (taken from exactly the opposite direction, looking inland), one can see just how forested the area was prior to Yolanda. In fact, some of the Kusog Volunteers said that you could not see the government center or Candahug from the water before Yolanda, so thick was the vegetation. That changed dramatically with Yolanda. Many trees were felled in the storm's 150-plus mile-per-hour winds that battered the coast, and those that remain are missing major limbs. The empty lots around the circle road have given way to temporary housing, a Korean military unit's relief operation center, and other relief and response projects. Walking from the office to the coast, the view across the expanse is rather bleak (photo at right).

Looking across the central part of the Government
Center.

Candahug is literally so close to national and provincial government resources. In fact, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Mines and Geosciences Bureau regional offices are just a stone's throw away from the neighborhood. But in terms of the residents' access to up-to-date data and maps and education on hazard risks, Candahug seemingly sits a world apart from these institutions at the Government Center. Can the outcome of this project and the ideas that it sets forth work to bridge this divide--to connect communities with government resources--as well as empower communities to weather the changes that are out of their control--the life-altering edicts that a government might hand down to leave one's home, or the calamitous disasters to which government is not equipped to handle?

A day when few things go as planned

Moving slowly

We had a slow Sunday morning at the house, even though I awoke at dawn. Trevor was feeling a little under the weather, so I made us some oatmeal and we spent the morning reviewing research and catching up on our blogs posts from under the canopy of our mosquito net.

Legends prepared for the mapping exercise.

In preparation for today’s thematic mapping exercise, I drew a simple basemap of the residential area of Candahug. Candahug has several components located within its boundaries: the residential neighborhood where most of the houses are located, the government center which is home to several governmental agencies including the Korean Military’s aid post, and MacArthur’s Landing – a park and monument marking the day in 1944 when the US troops returned which led to the liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese military occupation. During our first round of mapping last week the maps included the entire barangay and these components, but we learned from the residents that zooming into the residential area and its immediate surroundings would be most productive since that’s the area that of greatest importance to them. In addition to the basemaps, I prepared the beginning of four legends for thematic maps: land use, infrastructure, social/cultural, and hazards. Based on the feedback we received from the barangay council yesterday, our goal with this exercise was to have the community, specifically the kids, generate the information on each of these thematic maps. This exercise would test part of the process of community-based mapping that we may outline in our final report.

A few bumps in the road

We set off for Candahug. But first – a stop at the grocery store where, with Dennis’s guidance, we purchased some snacks that could be enjoyed during the mapping activities. We also made a quick stop at the Kusog office to use the Internet, but the connection was slow, so we didn’t complete as much as we had hoped. We gathered ourselves and got to the Candahug barangay hall to find that we had mixed up the time. Our meeting was apparently scheduled for 3:00pm, not 1:00pm. So….we dropped off the snacks and supplies at barangay hall and went back to the office! 

A resident draws a large summary map of Candahug.

A tire problem caused us to be late for our 3:00pm meeting. When we arrived at 3:45, most of the kids were gone, but we noticed they had already pulled out the legends and basemaps and created one summary of Candahug. Both feeling a little flustered, we collected ourselves and started talking with Kapitana about yesterday’s meeting with the council members, and our ideas around the thematic maps. She told us that she didn’t think it was possible to map out the land use (rice fields, coconut trees) without first mapping out the entire barangay—and everything in it. She insisted that they needed each component to reference the other (i.e. the rice field is behind the school). She suggested that we just make one big map with all the information in it, and as she spoke, one the residents was already working on a large map on the table to prepare for this. Trevor and I reiterated that creating thematic maps could serve a larger purpose; if each barangay created their own land use map the municipality could stitch all of them together to create a municipal map created by residents. However, it seemed like a composite map would be the easiest next step for them. So we didn’t press the issue. This exercise did raise some questions for us including, how should consultants or an NGO approach a community-mapping exercise to generate the most success?

We spent some time talking with Kapitana about the status of their Barangay Development Plan and their relationship with the Municipality. The conversation returned to the idea of thematic mapping and we tried to explain how this process, as well as a composite map, might be used to identify different solutions to community problems or needs. We tried to link this idea of community mapping to an interest that was specifically discussed during yesterday's meeting with the barangay council — a community fish pond. Trevor asked, if the cooperative decided they wanted to establish a community fish pond, how would they determine where is should be located? The answers given were varied, but each indicated that the community would need to reach out to other groups, land owners, the fishery agency, and a local technical school to assist in the installation and training. This led us to believe that they still don't have a solid understanding of how being rooted in the maps can be a useful tool for the community to generate the own solutions, instead of looking to outside resources to provide those solutions. It's clear that Trevor and I still have some work to do on how to best communicate this information.

The summary map of Candahug

During our first meeting with Candahug, Kapitana told us the map of their neighborhood that used to hang in the barangay hall was destroyed in the storm. As they finished up this hand-drawn summary map, Kapitana thanked us for our help because they now have their own version of the map that was destroyed. Even though our mapping exercise didn’t go exactly as planned, it seemed like we were able to generate some conversation about land use and local hazards, and how these relate to the needs of the community.

This day gave us further insight into the larger issues that the residents face on a daily basis. They are afraid of the uncertainty of what's to come. Where will they find jobs? Will the community be relocated? If so, where will they go, and how will they connect to their current/or new livelihood? We have some ideas for how this project might give the community a tool to address their challenges, and it's evident that many of their challenges are beyond our scope and ability at this time. Furthermore, we are sensitive to the fact that ultimately, this is a community still reeling from Yolanda.

Tacloban on foot

Jeepney and pedicab

After packing up and saying goodbye to the folks in Candahug, Trevor and I decided to walk around downtown Tacloban for a while. Though we’ve driven through the city, this was the first time we really had a chance to experience it on foot. We walked up and down the main drag, weaving in and out of pedicabs and motorbikes. The flow of traffic is much different here than in the states. Jeepneys and moticabs are the two forms of public transportation that have the capacity to transport a 10-15 people (perhaps more if riders dare to climb on top of the jeepney, which we’ve seen). Pedicabs and trikes are another form of transportation people use and but the road isn’t dominated by one vehicle; there is a pretty even mix of 4-wheel, 3-wheel and 2-wheel vehicles on the road. There main intersections have traffic lights, but most intersections are left to the drivers to negotiate the right of way. The dotted center line is used more as a guideline rather than a strict lane boundary; slower traffic stays to the right (for both lanes) and traffic passes in the middle by straddling the center line. Horns are used often to communicate intentions to pass, to warn others to stay where they are, or to ask others to move. It was a little nerve-wracking at first, but I have to say, I think the system works pretty well.

We spent the evening reflecting on our week, today’s activities, and our experience as white Americans visiting a developing country stricken with poverty and disaster. Trevor spent some time in Vietnam and Cambodia during his undergrad work. He noted that people in the Philippines seem much more laid back and with a pace that is more relaxed in comparison. As thunder rumbled in the distance we sat quietly after dinner, tired from our discombobulated day, and mindful of this relaxed, and somewhat unfamiliar, pace.