Pulling together

Aftershocks will continue in the next few days, according to experts, but they will be “manageable” tremors, if there’s such a thing in the anxiety following Tuesday’s earthquake that did heavy damage to churches, roads and bridges in Bohol province and to a lesser extent, Cebu.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said it would be two to three days to a week before the aftershocks completely subside.

Even with President Benigno Aquino III’s assurance of government help to repair infrastructure damage, Cebuanos and Boholanos will have to sit tight and bear the tremors a little longer.

The swift response of medical and engineering teams has been invaluable. Assurances of Cebu officials are needed now more than ever.

Hours after the quake, many Cebuanos chose to spend the night sleeping outdoors for fear of collapsing buildings and homes.

“Dili ka pugngan ang kahadlok (We can’t hold back feeling fearful),” said dyAB broadcaster Leo Lastimosa.

It’s good to acknowledge a sense of anxiety after the shared experience of having the ground shake under your feet, watching glass windows shatter and buildings crumble.

At the same time, we deplore the mischief of parties who spread text messages warning of an even bigger quake ahead.

There’s a difference between being vigilant, and getting paranoid.

Frayed nerves should give way now to a collective sense of restoring normalcy to our lives and reaching out to those who need help.

Here are some suggestions:

* Donate canned goods and cooked food that don’t spoil easily for Bohol quake victims through the ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya. (They sent lugaw and boiled eggs through a Navy boat. Lite Shipping will transport donations to Bohol)

*Food and water donations are being collected by nursing faculty of Velez College until 5 p.m. today

*Donations can be dropped off at Camp Lapu-Lapu’s Public Information Office for the military to transport to Bohol;

* The University of Cebu is collecting goods an donations at their Banilad campus;

* A Facebook campaign “Oplan Bangon Bohol” for relief efforts was mounted by Boholana beauty queen Anna Maris Igpit. Contact her using the hastag #rescuebohol or call the Tariser unit of the Province of Bohol through the numbers 0917-510-1490 or 0949-795-5530.

If we pull together and focus on rebuilding, instead of staying fearful, there will be fewer victims all around.