The Ashes of June

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If you were not in the Philippines on June 15, 1991, your memory of the gigantic eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in Central Luzon -- the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century -- is probably hazy. It was before the Internet became a thing; power was off and the airports were closed for almost a week. Thus news reports of the full extent of the catastrophe came in trickles. 

But for those who were there, memories of that day are forever etched in their consciousness. Like writer/historian Robby Tantingco of the Holy Angel University of Pampanga who wrote the award-winning book, Pinatubo: The Volcano in our Backyard. His riveting and heartbreaking story of what happened that fateful day when, for the first time ever, a powerful typhoon and a once-in-a-lifetime volcanic eruption together overpowered the sun is a must-read here. His words:  "It [the eruption] switched off the sun like a light bulb and plunged the province in total darkness. It was so dark you couldn't see your own hand stretched out in front of you, and the ash fall was so thick even sound waves couldn't pass through. Thus, everything was muffled, you had to strain your ear to hear conversation, like a movie with the volume turned low." 

The main explosion of Pinatubo lasted just over 24 hours but the devastation was absolute. 

The ashes of Pinatubo did not stay in the Philippines. It circled the world and enabled spectacular sunsets in the western hemisphere. But for the people of Pampanga and nearby provinces, the mudflow of lahar, which wiped out complete towns, was a four-year nightmare, according to Tantingco. 

Would that such wrath of nature never happen again anywhere.

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With the devastating fire that demolished Lahaina, HI in 2023, the Filipino community expected help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It wasn't sufficient so they organized themselves into the Lahaina Filipino Fire Survivors Association to increase their negotiating power for housing solutions. We're reposting AsAm News' report on how they're faring.

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An interesting report by PF contributing writer Julienne Loreto unearths some historical record of the Visayans in early colonial Philippines, from the chronicles of Spanish missionary and historian Francisco Ignacio Alcina. And yes, it included mentions of lesbian love among them, an item that is rarely mentioned in history. Interesting reading this Pride Month.

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A group of journalism students from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines sent in this story on an aspiring singer-songwriter who busks for a living and to pay for his college education. His name is Aris Ashe and he wants to be a psychologist someday. 

Read It Again:

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Jose Rizal, the Oracle by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Why My Success Is Philippine Society’s Failure by Leo Jaminola

[Video of the Week] Amiel Noble of Noble Creations

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Staff