the ambulance chaser chronicles

ambination:

My bestfriends at makati rescue!

ambination:

I miss these guys! #worklove

ambination:

Makati rescue will always be my family. #worklove

my turn in front of the spotlight. yikes.

off-cam camwhoring with edward, jai, maha and david.

as you may have seen, last year we had a special year-end episode wherein the staff and crew, including yours truly were the ones interviewed on-cam.

for me, the experience is quite unnerving. i guess i’m used to asking the questions, not answering them. i stammered a few times in the beginning and then i rambled on towards the end.

all in all it was a fun experience but it’s still surreal to see your face on tv. although my voice sounds so pitchy. anyway, will post some pics to let you know how it was off cam.

ehem. ehem. 

yes. i call upon thee to follow my personal tumblr account: http://ambination.tumblr.com/

yihee! thanks! follow and spread the word. i’ll still keep this account for ambulance chasing stuff so don’t unfollow. 

thanks guys.

hello readers! (if i indeed have readers) it’s a new year and a fresh start for most people.

the same can also be said for this tumblr account. if you noticed, i have deleted posts that are personal in nature, meaning they are more about me and not about what i do as the ambulance chaser. 

you see, i made this account for a reason and in the past i have not been faithful to that cause. i feel ashamed to think that i may have forgotten what this account is for and what it stands for.

so this year, i vow to be more devoted to this account and keep you guys posted in all the people, things and events i’m chasing. so if you’re more interested in me than in what i do, i’ll be posting my personal tumblr account soon and you may follow me there.

much love guys. stay safe. and thanks for following me.

in the last few weeks another calamity has befallen our country. the massive downpour of rain and the merciless gusts of wind have caused wide-spread flooding and landslides. lives were lost. houses reduced to the ground and families out on the streets. indeed these are trying times. a period of suffering and mourning, no doubt.

not so much the case here. as depressing and harrowing as it would seem (and in fact, it really is), our people have had the strength to endure it. for the times of adversity are the times when heroes prevail. i have witnessed this first-hand on my many close encounters with disaster. when worse comes to worst, the good becomes the best.

it is in these hard times that people unite—regardless of any other issue or aspect they would normally be divided about. no one cares about gender or political views, religion or social class. individuals rise up together to become a collective.

it is in these hard times that heroes emerge from their otherwise normal and boring persona. when ordinary people are given the extra-ordinary opportunity to save lives.

it is in these hard times that we, as a nation, drop all pretense to care for each other. it is in these times when you can see and feel the filipino spirit at its best. because noting else matters but to endure, to survive.

truly, this is such a beautiful thing. especially if you could experience it first hand. then again its glory passes, as the tragedy passes and we are once again thrown into divisiveness and indifference to each other.

it pains me to realize that the only way we can be united is by going through calamities and disasters. the only way to witness the filipino spirit is to undergo a tragedy. it is appalling and equally regrettable that it has to be this way.

but then again, maybe that’s just me. maybe i’m the only one who sees it this way. maybe most of us have grown accustomed to the culture of indifference in fair-weather that we prefer it that way. but one day, hopefully before i die, i want us to be united, even without a tragedy or calamity crashing in on us. until then i’m holding out for a hero or heroes for that matter to make it happen.

behind the scenes of the  youscoop special episode shot in matabungkay, lian, batangas

last week we did a youscoop special episode on rescue. it was probably one of the most challenging episodes i did, if not the most challenging. and really, someone with good enough sense should have abandoned the project given the state it had been, but somehow i felt compelled to pursue it and actually finish it—not by the mere concept of professionalism but by a sense of pride and respect for the people behind it.

youscoop is a project launched by the gma-7 news and public affairs department that urges viewers to share photos and videos of events they are able to witness and become active partners in sharing news and information. upon browsing through gigabytes of photos and videos, we were able to come across some very interesting ones and included them in our episode.

one was about a group of friends on an outing on the beach of Matabungkay, Lian, Batangas who witnessed a small boat accident and helped saved the drowning passengers of the sinking boat.

the other one was about neighbors who helped put out the huge fire razing through their homes. 

finally, one concerned citizen reported the dangers of using a damage footbridge to call the attention of the authorities to repair the footbridge to prevent accidents for pedestrians.

you might think it’s nothing really. who cares about some stupid photos and videos. but it’s what they contain that really speaks to me. quoting my interviewee, “sa panahon ngayon lahat naman na siguro may camera o kahit cellphone, pwede makuhanan yung nangyayari. kasi hindi naman laging nandyan yung media para makunan yung nangyayari sa paligid. kahit sino, pwedeng magbalita.” (In this day and age, almost everyone has a camera or a cellphone, we can easily document what is happening because the media cannot cover everything that is happening around us. anyone can deliver the news.)

and not just that. not only can anyone deliver news, anyone can be a hero. our program’s tagline could not be any more correct. “Kahit sino pwedeng tumulong.” (Anyone can help.) you don’t need to be a rescuer or a fireman to help and save lives. we can all be heroes in our own ways. heroism lives in all of us.

superheroes are cool and awesome because they have super powers. but ordinary people who help their fellow men are more awesome because they do it without powers. that’s what makes them anything but ordinary.

Kung naghahanap ka ng pwedeng negosyo, tatlong bagay daw ang hindi nawawala sa uso. Ang tatlong p—pagkain, pozo negro at patay. Bakit? Dahil lahat ng tao kumakain. Lahat ng tao tumatae. At lahat ng tao namamatay. Nakakatawa ano? Pero totoo. Ang hindi ko lang maintindihan… kung magandang kabuhayan ang mga patay, bakit hindi ang pagligtas ng buhay?

Sa isang bansang pangkaraniwan ang mga sakuna at aksidente, nakapagtatakang hindi sikat na trabaho ang pagiging rescuer. Mas nakakahiyang walang maayos na sistema ng pagsasagip-buhay sa bansa.

Siguro po nagtataka kayo. Sino ba ako at anong alam ko rito? Hindi po ako isang politikal na tao. Ayaw ko sa maruming mundo ng pulitika, higit lalo ang mapabilang dito. Isa lamang po akong ordinaryong tao. Isang ordinaryong taong nabigyan ng pambihirang pagkakataon na makapasok sa mundo sa pagitan ng pagkabuhay at pagkamatay—isa po akong segment producer ng isang reality-documentary program.

Nung nagsimula ako sa trabahong ito, mangmang tungkol sa mga trabahong sinusundan ko—bumbero, emt, medic, technical rescuer. Tulad ng maraming pilipino, di ko alam na walang paramedic sa pilipinas. Opo mga kababayan. Walang paramedic dito. Mero akong mga kilala pero us-certified sila. Walang paramedic dito sa pilipinas dahil walang sistema at batas na kumikila sa mga ganitong propesyon sa bansa.

Nung nagsimula ako, mangmang rin ako sa halaga at importansya ng trabahong sinusundan ko. Pero habang tumatagal ako sa ginagawa ko, lalu lang akong humahanga sa ginagawa nila.
Hindi po biro ang maging rescuer. Isipin nyo na lang po, sila ang tumatakbo patunggo sa mga bagay na tinatakbuhan palayo ng ordinaryong tao. Sa araw-araw po na pagsama-sama ko sa mga responde ng mga taong ito, nakita ko po ang hirap, pagod at panganib na kinakaharap nila. Kung tutuusin hindi po hanapbuhay ito, kundi kawang-gawa. Hindi naman po malaki ang sahod para sa ganitong trabaho. Yung iba ni walang hazard pay kahit na napakadelikado ng ginagawa nila. At syempre yung iba naman, volunteer pa. Hindi na nga sila binabayaran, madalas sila pa ang gumagastos.

Lugi na nga sila, minsan yung mga taong tinutulungan nila wala pang utang na loob. Minsan sila pa ang galit. Para sabihin ko po sa inyo pwede naman pong hindi na lang kayo respondehan eh. Di hamak naman pong mas masarap matulog na lang o manood ng tv. Mas ligtas kung sa base na lang diba? Pero hindi. Tumawag lang kayo darating sila. Itataya nila ang buhay nila para sa mga taong di naman nila kilala. Kaya maano ba naman po yung magpasalamat kayo? Wala naman pong bayad ang magpasalamat. Kabayaran na po yun para sa kanila. Pero ang totoo, hindi naman nakakabuhay ang salamat diba?

Marami po akong kilalang mga rescuer na mahal ang trabaho nila. Kaya lang marami rin sa kanila ang nag-aabroad na lang. Kasi kahit gusto nilang magligtas ng buhay, kung di sila mag-aabroad, pamilya naman nila ang mamamatay.

Kaya sana, sa mga may kakayahan at may kapangyarihan, intindihin nyo naman po ang isyung ito. Alam ko pong mahalaga ang edukasyon at ang kalusugan pero mahalaga din po ang emergency service. Kung aayusin po natin ito, mas marami pong buhay ang maililigtas. Alam ko pong marami tayong ambulansya at marami tayong fire trucks at rescue trucks. Pero higit po sa mga gamit at sasakyan ay mga taong may galing at kakayahan na gamitin ang mga ito.

Kaya sana po ipriority natin ang maayos na sistema ng pagsasagip-buhay sa bansa. Tulungan po natin ang mga rescuers. Sila naman po ang sagipin natin para maipagpatuloy nila ang pagsagip sa atin. Gawin po nating magandang hanapbuhay ang paglilitas ng buhay sa Pilipinas.

in a divided country like mine, war is a word that you learn in the earliest time possible. it’s a three letter word, rhymes with car and gets thrown around a lot. but really, what’s a war?

i understand the meaning of the word. it’s the entire concept i don’t get.