Shortly before 12 noon on June 15, 1991, a cauliflower-like column skyrocketed into the azure skies and left unsuspecting Central Luzon residents looking up the Zambales ranges wondering what will happen next. For a while, the billowing volcanic plumes seemed immobile but in the coming few minutes, Mt. Pinatubo or ‘Apo Namalyari’ to the ethnic Aeta, awakened from a 600-year slumber raining fire and brimstones in the whole region.
Day turned into night. Intermittent shuddering of the Earth gave way to the wrath of the erupting volcano. Each eruption was punctuated by lightning as a tropical storm add up to the ongoing calamity. Each lightning struck into the ‘caldera’ or opening of the volcano as if each thunderstruck came out of the seething bowel of the volcano.
On rooftops, residents have tried to save their houses from collapsing from the heavy weight of volcanic sediment now mixed with rainwater. The dreaded mudflows ensued that evening akin to thousands of horses galloping ahead but these were boulders the size of cars rolling down tributaries such as Sapang Balen and Abacan destroying the railings of the Bagongbayan Bridge and totally destroyed Abacan Bridge, Friendship Bridge and the Hensonville Spillway.
Thousands left Angeles City unsure where to go while those with bravehearts stayed and witnessed it all. When the rumbling stopped the next morning, residents ventured out to check the destruction – grey volcanic sediment blanketed the area as far as the eyes can see.
Days before the ‘Big Bang’, the US forces at the former Clark Air Base left in a convoy that took them to the US Naval Base in Subic, Olongapo City on their way out of the country. What happened next was beyond imaginable – the American base was ransacked. Toilet bowls, doors, knobs, furnitures, cars, motorcycles, etcetera were spirited out of Clark Air Base and most of these items found their way in Dau, Mabalacat. The late journalist Hector Soto described it as “The Rape of Clark.”
Contractors with shiny Pajeros had a field day during the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts cornering fat contracts here and there. The poignant legacy is the Megadike that connects Porac to the City of San Fernando, Bacolor etc.
Several years after the Pinatubo eruptions, mudflows continue to wreck havoc in the lowlands such as Bacolor and Mabalacat towns, where lahar engulfed whole villages and killed some more residents. In all, more than 800 have died.
The once vibrant business district of Balibago was a picturesque of desolation with nary a business in sight until one Alex Cauguiran infused renewed dynamism at the expanse of Barangay Balibago igniting a cultural upheaval called ‘Tigtigan Terakan king Dalan.’
29 years ago today, a volcano erupted and changed our lives forever. On November 26, 1991, the US flag was lowered for the last time at the once mighty US military facility ending nearly a century of American presence. In their place, Korean nationals and Chinese nationals are now gaining prominence in the area most notably with the death of two Chinese nationals recently who figured in a shootout with policemen.
Pinatubo is now but a mountain to new generation of Kapampangans who only know ‘Tigtigan Terakan king Dalan’ and the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival at Clark Freeport Zone. In another 600 years, Pinatubo may erupt anew but we will no longer be there to witness it. Mother Earth is constantly evolving.