Baha Ka Lang, Pinoy Kami: Super Typhoon Carina Edition
Iiyak o tatawa? We say why not both. Hindi naman halata.
(SPOT.ph) Everyone's feeds were a little thematically erratic during the peak of Typhoon Carina and the monsoon. Between news headlines spelling disaster after disaster, updates on rescue efforts, number of people missing or dead, and the usual weather bulletin, were clips of people waiting out the floods by treating it like a pool party. Out came the usual groups on the sidewalk submerged in high floodwaters, people dancing, memes or funny edits—because that's how fast the Internet is. So the doom scrolling went a bit like this: Marikina river on third alarm, EDSA Balintawak impassable due to floods, whoa, is that Gerald Anderson helping rescue efforts? Then a clip of the neighborhood kuyas doing their usual rounds out in the rain. Oh, hey, there's catfish at the Court of Appeals! And so on. "Baha ka lang, Pinoy kami," as the Internet saying goes.
And, really, we can't be mad. Filipinos are experts in absurdity. Living in our country requires it—otherwise, we might break.
Also read: How to Avail SSS Calamity Loan for Typhoon Carina Victims
The Baha Ka Lang, Pinoy Kami trend: What's behind it?
The "Baha ka lang, Pinoy kami" trend has been around for a few years, enjoying a resurgence everytime the Philippines goes through a typhoon. Which is to say, at least once a year, really. The trend can take all sorts of versions, but at its core it's about Filipinos defying disasters by using humor and indulging on the absurd. When your house is entirely flooded out, what's stopping you from just sitting outside with half your body under dirty water, enjoying a round or two with the neighbors?
Accompanying the trend are usually all sorts of clips capturing absurd moments. For Super Typhoon Carina, the ones that went viral included koi fish swimming around De La Salle University grounds, cat fish trying to enter the Court of Appeals in Maria Orosa, and lots of videos of people enjoying the floods. Yes, enjoying. While the nation was rocked by the combined typhoon and monsoon, people online found some form of comfort in laughing together online.
This ability to find humor, or at least a positive attitude, in even the most dismal of situations is something we Pinoys are known for. It's the world-famous Filipino resilience—that phrase attached to every viral picture of typhoon victims smiling while stranded on rooftops and under the pouring rain. It's a value we carry proudly, through every disaster we face again and again and again. Resilience is a tenet of the sikolohiyang Pilipino, after all, but shouldn't there be a limit to the challenges human beings can withstand? Shouldn't we be seeking solutions at one point?
There's no harm in finding something to laugh about in hard times. But we can't just laugh everything off all the time. Everytime "Baha ka lang, Pinoy ako" trends, it's a reminder of our special ability to keep smiling, yes, but also a reminder of the problems that never seem to go away.
It's almost as if we're used to this mess, and because it feels like there's nothing we can do about it, we just turn tragedy on its head and laugh. Sure, we can also cry and get mad, but in the interim, laughing feels like a good release. So in the spirit of the war cry that is "Baha ka lang, Pinoy ako," we round up below the most absurd clips we saw come out of Typhoon Carina. BRB, we're laughing, crying, screaming.
Also read: LIST: Donation Drives for Typhoon Carina Victims
Baha ka lang, Pinoy kami: Absurd memes and clips from Typhoon Carina
Hotline Kween
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Internet memery lord Kabulastugan started things off with an excellent PSA using an old clip of someone dancing in floodwaters. The creator tells SPOT.ph that he got the numbers from Jessica Soho's page and added it to an old post, thus the birth of everyone's favorite hotline kween. It's definitely one way to get important and useful bits of info across.
Koi fish in DLSU
Meanwhile, floods in the De La Salle University Manila campus gave their garden's koi fish way more space to roam around than usual. This clip from X (formerly Twitter) user @bdlumot has been viewed 1.6 million times as of writing. We hope the koi found its way home before the waters receded!
When netizens saw the clip of the koi making the most out of the situation, some dug out pics from a 2012 flood that let catfish do the same over at the University of Santo Tomas. Unfortunately, it seems those catfish weren't able to make it back in time. Here's hoping university pets are given a fighting chance the next time a storm approaches.
Catfish at the Court of Appeals
There was no news of catfish swimming around in UST this time around, and that might just be because they were making their way to the Court of Appeals. Bad jokes aside, these fish were really seen making their way to court.
Snake in Marikina
On a genuinely more concerning note, a giant snake was seen floating around in Marikina. Thankfully, reports say it was identified as a non-venomous python and was immediately caught by residents.
Olympic Swimming pre-game
Over in Quiapo, the underpass was turned into a giant swimming pool. Folks were seen swimming, floating, and even diving into the flooded underpass. We guess the River Seine really could be used in the upcoming Olympics then.
Baha ka lang, Pinoy ako
Over on TikTok, lots of clips riding on the trend came up. Check out the most popular ones below:
@xenxia00 “bagyo kalang , lasinggero kami ”
♬ original sound - shainaholiver
@edison_fayfi Baha ka lang #fyp #2ne1 ♬ original sound - Yon #Alwaniraihan - Yon
@mjdc_26 Wala kayo sa kapitbahay namin#fyp ♬ original sound - . - Mary Joy