bad news

I was in this strange netherworld between sleep and wakefulness when I half-heard Cheryl Cosim on TV talking about three dead mediamen. "What?" my subconscious yelped, making me jump out of bed, thinking, Whoever is going around killing all these mediamen must've done some overtime work during the weekend. But it wasn't what I thought it was.

ABC-5 reporter Hazel Rencheta-Caliwag, together with her cameramen, Ismael Cabugayan and Arnel Guiao, died Sunday afternoon in a road accident. They were on their way to Manila from Albay when their service vehicle collided with a Raymond bus somewhere in Camarines Sur. They'd just finished covering the activities of Mayon Volcano and the mass evacuation in the area and were probably looking forward for some quality time with their families when it happened. It was sad.

I'm not really close with the victims, but I don't need to to feel the loss. After all, I was once in the media where everybody knows everybody. I faced the same damn risks with the rest of them, from dangerous assignments to dangerous persons, to boring presscons and equally boring Congressional hearings, which are life-threatening in their own way. Some mediamen make it, some don't. And for those who don't we are deeply affected, and can only offer sincere condolences. In a way, we are like soldiers. So long, fella. 'Til we meet again. And oh, please don't get yourself killed, so we can have a cool drink or two when the day's over . . .