The first time I encountered Odette Alcantara was when I hosted and helped organize Island Cove’s press con on their zero-waste program. She was sitting in the middle of the panelists, throwing her hands up in the air, and cursing government officials for neglecting the Solid Waste Management Act. “Holy shit,” I thought. “This woman is scary and CRAZY.”
We would meet several times more because I tagged along my dad’s environmental events. Whenever she’d see me, she’d envelope me into a big hug, kiss me on both cheeks, and say, “Nice to see you here, my Anna Banana!” She’d say it like she were my own lola. She smelled of powder and flowers.
When we were planning for the ICC, I knew there was no better person to ask for help that Tita Odette. One afternoon, Ernest, James, Kester and I went to her house for a Solid Waste Management (SWM) workshop. “Tell me why you’re here,” she said.
“Oh, well you know we were gonna lecture in Puerto Galera and—”
“Lecture? Nandito kayo para matuto mag-lecture?”
“Well yes but—“
“If you just want to learn to lecture then you’re just wasting my time. Sayang lang ang passion ko sa inyo and my passion is sacred for me! Ang bababaw niyo mag-isip! Taga-UP pa man din kayo! Nakakahiya!”
This went on for another twenty-five minutes. James and I were already looking at each other na parang shet uwi na tayo huhuhuhu. “LYN!” she barked, calling for their helper. “Mag-order ka ng pizza. Tapos ko na silang takutin.” Then she smiled at us and said, “Ano, okay ba?”
For the next two hours or so, we talked about SWM, and our hopes and plans for this country. It didn’t feel like a workshop; it was more like soul food. She gave us pizza, coffee, pancit, and books. “These are not gifts,” she said. “These are investments!” We left her house feeling like better agents of change, like we could do anything as long as we put our hearts into it. Several days after, she was in our house for dinner. She said she needed to scare us to make sure we were committed, and that we were the most “brilliant” batch she ever handled. “I want you all to be my summa cum laudes, my Anna Banana,” she said while holding my hands.
Last week, my dad called me. I had just been caught by the MMDA for color-coding (OO, NA NAMAN. NAKALIMUTAN KO KASI LECHE.) so I was a bit frazzled. “Ta,” he said, half-laughing. “Namatay si Tita Odette.”
“Ano?”
“Namatay si Tita Odette. Akala ko joke lang.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Hindi, kanina lang. She was brought to the hospital last night and she died this morning.”
“Oh shit.”
“O nga eh. Putang ina. I’m still in shock.”
“Ako rin.”
We put the phone down and I drove back to UP and started to cry. I never understood why the good ones die earlier. James told me not to be sad. “Ang swerte natin that she shared and passed her passion to us before she died. She lived a good life.” Well-said, buddy. At dahil kay Tita Odette, napa-Ingles ka pa ng bonggang-bongga.
Now this Ondoy disaster. This proves that 1) Facebook is the source of all news and 2) the Philippines can be the capital for disaster relief. My dad says this a lot, and it sounds funny, but what he means is that the other countries can learn from how resilient we are in times of natural calamities. Dito lumalabas yung “greatness of a Filipino.” It’s amazing how much help people are giving. Nuns donated 100k worth of napkins. “Ano yun, pang punas ng basa (Borja, 2009)?” Kris Aquino mobilized Champion to donate truckloads of detergent. “World’s biggest bubble bath? Chos (Jacinto, 2009)!” Yesterday when my friends and I were in line in Puregold buying relief goods, we saw this cart full of coffee sachets, instant noodles, Tang, and… EMPERADOR, GILBEY’S GIN, THE BAR, AND GRAN MATADOR. Kahit sa krisis, pumaparty parin si Ate! Diyoskolord!!!
More seriously though, we see the true bayanihan spirit of the Filipino people. We also see how our love for laughter and enjoyment trumps all disasters. See this video of the kids diving. ‘Wag na nating pansinin si Ate Echosera aka Jacques Bermejo. She knows how much the Filipino people hate her by now. Nakakatawa yung “PWET KA NG CAMEL” comment sa Multiply niya! And while we’re at it, we should stop bitching at Mother Nature and the government. This kind of flood happened in the 60s, so it’s not climate change/Mother Earth telling us it’s the end of the world. And we can’t blame the government for the floods either. Kester texted me: “The reason the flood levels were so high was because of trash clogging our rivers and tributaries. I think Tita Odette is telling us something.”
I think so too.
I have always believed that there was something more that could unite us besides a boxing match and a death of an icon. It’s just sad that it took a calamity such as this to do it. Metro Manila is on its knees. But hopefully we learn and work towards solving the cause of the problem, not just the problem.
My friends and I are heading to DLSZ, our alma mater, to help out in a bit. Viva la nation-building. Stay safe and dry, wherever you are.
Annalysis 
