Exploring Marikina City: A Guide to the LRT Line 2

Thanks to the Metro Manila Light Rail Transit, commuters benefit from the LRT Line 2 going to and from Marikina City.

This public transportation system connects Recto in Manila to Antipolo in Rizal. Antpolo, Marikina, and Santolan Stations are the three stations that pass through Marikina City. They provide access to the city and main commercial malls for commuters from the city's eastern and northern portions.

The LRT Line 2 system is made up of 13 stations, all of which are within a few blocks of one another. All of the stations have modern amenities like escalators, elevators, and air conditioning. Passengers can buy tickets at the stations and pay using contactless cards.

The LRT Line 2 provides a quick and effective route to Marikina City. It is intended to minimize traffic congestion and pollution's impact on the environment. A single train can carry 232 passengers. It can also carry an additional 1,396 standing passengers on its roomy coaches. During traffic and peak hours, taking the LRT 2 is substantially faster than other modes of transit. As a result, the trip from Manila to Marikina will take around 30 minutes.

Additionally, the line is connected to shopping malls such as SM City Marikina, Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall in Cainta, Robinsons Metro East in Pasig, and SM Masinag in Antipolo.

For a complete list of stations and fares, visit https://www.lrta.gov.ph/tickets-and-fares/

Follow the Official LRT for updates. A Twitter account can be found at https://twitter.com/OfficialLRTA.

Reflections This 13th Anniversary of Typhoon Ondoy

As Typhoon Karding made landfall in the Philippines on September 25, 2022, it brought strong winds and torrential rain to the country, including Marikina City and nearby areas. Typhoon signal #3 was also raised in Marikina City.

Just past midnight, Marikina River's water level rose above 18 meters raising the alert level to 3rd alarm.

It reached its peak around 2:00am at 18.4 meters and slowly decreased in the next 9 hours to 15.9 meters, lowering the alert level to 1st alarm.

The typhoon somehow reminded me of Typhoon Ondoy, when waters drastically rose in the evening and all through the night. 

Coincidentally, September 26, 2022, marks the 13th anniversary of when Typhoon Ondoy hit the Philippines. During Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009, Marikina River's water level reached an all-time high of 21.5 meters.

Even if I now live in a safe area, I still worry when there are non-stop rains and typhoons because my parent's home in SSS Village has experienced floods in the past. I know very well the feeling of anxiety while non-stop rains pour down, the sense of checking the street for floods every few minutes, the adrenalin of lifting furniture and other moving belongings to a higher place while flood water enters your house, the sense of despair when electricity goes out when you most need it, and safe guarding your house the whole night even if you're very tired and sleepy. Experiencing all this is something you'll perfect in time but hoping you won't need to experience it.

Katipunan St, SSS Village in 2009 during Typhoon Ondoy. Since the construction of major drainage systems improvements, Katipunan rarely floods now.

The good thing is that there were many lessons learned from Ondoy, not just from each Marikeño but also by local government. Thanks to the many protocols set into play plus the use of technology to assist us, it has been easier to cope with typhoon and floods.

Thanks to these online resources and public services that can greatly assist us with information and assistance we need to better prepare for not just any typhoon but also any calamity that comes our way:

• Zoom Earth - provides update on typhoon movements and forecasts
• Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH) - mapping tool that shows areas that are  possibly affected by floods, landslides, and storm surges
• Marikina City Rescue 161 Facebook page - providing live stream and real-time status of the Marikina River water levels
• Marikina PIO (Public Information Office) - shares city updates including flood alert levels, typhoon info, and city initiatives
• Inside Marikina - huge Facebook community sharing public service advisories and current events
• Nearby malls such as Ayala Malls Feliz, Ayala Malls Marikina, SM City Marikina, SM City Masinag (Official), and Robinsons Metro East who provide free overnight parking for motorists affected by typhoon and floods and wish to seek temporary shelter.

map of Marikina's flood-prone areas by Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH) 

Other initiatives like declogging of waterways, canals, and sewers before a typhoon hits greatly help the quick and steady flow of rainwater. 

Indeed, Marikina City has come a long way in ensuring the safety and well-being of its residents. It's reassuring that something as devastating as Typhoon Ondoy in 2009 can be prevented and not have a maximum impact as typhoons used to in the city.

Revisit Typhoon Ondoy's effect on Marikina City

• Remembering Typhoon Ondoy 7 Years Ago (Sep 27, 2016)
• Google Responds To Typhoon Ondoy Calamity (Sep 29, 2009)
• Bluewave Marquinton and Robinsons Flooded During Typhoon
• Sumulong Highway Serves As Temporary Garbage Site (Oct 3, 2009)
• Marikina Sports Center Temporarily Closed (Oct 3, 2009)
• Raging Marikina River During Typhoon Ondoy (Oct 5, 2009)
• Garbage Disposal Problem Brought About By Typhoon (Oct 6, 2009)
• Excess Mud (Nov 25, 2009)

Marikina River Reached Alert Level 3 On Ondoy's 13th Anniversary (September 26, 2022)

As Typhoon Karding made landfall in the Philippines on September 25, 2022, it brought strong winds and torrential rain to the country, including Marikina City and nearby areas. Typhoon signal #3 was raised in Marikina City along with the northern portion of Metro Manila (Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Manila, Navotas, Malabon, Caloocan, Valenzuela.)

Just around midnight on September 26, Marikina River's water level reached 18 meters raising the alert level to the 3rd alarm. 

From September 26, 4:00am onwards, Marikina River's water level slowly decreased.

• 18.4 meters - 2:00am (3rd alarm)
• 18.2 meters - 4:00am (3rd alarm)
• 17.6 meters - 6:00am (2nd alarm)
• 17.0 meters - 7:30am (2nd alarm)
• 16.9 meters - 8:00am (2nd alarm)
• 16.7 meters - 8:32am (2nd alarm)
• 16.3 meters - 9:30am (2nd alarm)
• 15.9 meters - 10.44am (1st alarm)
• 15.7 meters - 11:14am  (1st alarm)

(*Source: Marikina City Rescue 161 Facebook page)

Coincidentally, September 26, 2022, marks the 13th anniversary of when Typhoon Ondoy hit the Philippines. During Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009, Marikina River's water level reached an all-time high of 21.5 meters.

Related posts:

• Remembering Typhoon Ondoy 7 Years Ago (Sep 27, 2016)

NOAH Helps You Find Areas Affected by Floods, Storm Surges in Marikina

During typhoon season, Marikina City is known to be affected by flooding due to torrential rains from both within Marikina and higher nearby areas. 

If you live in Marikina, you'll probably know which streets and barangays experience flooding. If you're unfamiliar, there is an online tool showing areas where flooding is experienced.

Thanks to the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH), they offer an online service that shows areas that are affected not only by floods but also landslides and storm surges. The website shows a map based on your location or a location you enter and will retrieve a visual representation of areas affected. The map can be zoomed in to street level or zoomed out to barangay and city level. The map is based on archived data and not a real-time source for monitoring floods. It does become a handy reference for motorists to determine what areas are prone to flooding without having to experience a real flood.

Visit https://noah.up.edu.ph to access the tool and you will be asked to input your location or any other location. You can type in an address from the street level and it will retrieve results of possible locations.

Project NOAH is still in beta release. There are ongoing developments to stabilize the platform and to complete the hazard maps

S&R Marikina Officially Opens On July 29, 2021

Located in Brangay Sto. Nino, near the boundary of Marikina City, Cainta, and Antipolo City, the newest branch of S&R Membership shopping opens in Marikina City on July 29, 2021.

 

Occupying a 15,000 sq. meter lot along Sumulong Highway, this two-story warehouse across Tropicana Garden City and beside Nissan Sumulong Highway Cainta dealership, will be a convenient location to members from Marikina and nearby cities east of Manila for a whole new destination of great finds, big savings, and world-class shopping.  

Expect S&R Marikina patrons to experience a variety of imported and local grocery items in value-packed sizes to cater to both personal and business needs. 

S&R is a membership-shopping club modeled after the warehouse membership shopping chains introduced in the United States. The core concept is to deliver significant value to member-customers through an effective and efficient system anchored on aggressive buying, low-cost distribution, and streamlined operations.

S&R Marikina officially opens to the public on July 29 at 9:00 a.m.

Come to the opening of S&R Marikina and get big discounts on various appliances, including buy 1 take 1 deals and 50% discounts on selected items.

You can also join S&R's official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/snrmembershipshopping/.

Medical Director For Jesus Immaculate Concepcion Hospital, Doctor Editha Cruz Zulueta Passed Away (April 2, 2021)

It is with a heavy heart to share the sad news that Doctor Editha Cruz Zulueta passed away last April 2, 2021. She was 79 years old.

**Doctor Editha Cruz Zulueta (1942-2021)

Doctor Zulueta served as the *medical director for Jesus Immaculate Concepcion Hospital located along Katipunan Avenue, Concepcion Uno, since 1972. 

Aside from being a pediatrician, Doctor Zulueta was also a founding member and former treasurer of the Private Hospital Association of the Philippines and a lifetime member of the Philippine Medical Association, Marikina Valley Medical Society.

 

Personally speaking, Doctor Zulueta has been my pediatrician and our family doctor for as long as I could remember. As a child, whenever I needed medical attention, we would see Dr. Zulueta as it was just nearby our house in SSS Village. In 1997, when I was diagnosed with dengue, I was admitted to the Jesus Immaculate Concepcion Hospital, to which Dr. Zulueta also facilitated my recovery.  

Because many of my relatives living in Marikina have also been regularly seeing Dr. Zulueta, they have also considered her to be their family doctor of choice.

As we offer our condolences to the Cruz-Zulueta family, join us in thanking Dr. Editha Cruz Zulueta for her dedicated years of service as a doctor, healer, and friend. We will miss her deeply. 

* Hospital Ship Project - Global Hand

**Photo courtesy of Joysie Daigo Guarde-Reynoso

Seven Catholic Churches in Marikina You Can Visit Online For Your Virtual Visita Iglesia

In the Philippines, Visita Iglesia is observed every Maundy Thursday or Good Friday where Catholics visit at least seven churches and recite the Stations of the Cross.

Unfortunately, with quarantine, curfews, and social distancing measures in effect due to the rise in COVID-19 cases, both parishes and devotees are faced with the challenge of observing this tradition.

Luckily, parishes have embraced technology as a means to reach out to the community. 

*(virtual mass at Our Lady of The Abandoned Church via Facebook)

Thanks to social media platforms, churches have adapted to what is part of the new norm and provide parish updates, scripture readings, and inspirational messages on their official Facebook pages. Some parishes also offer masses virtually via livestream. For those who wish to continue the tradition, a virtual Visita Iglesia is possible regardless of location.

For those who live outside Marikina City, including Overseas Filipino Workers and residents outside the Philippines, this is a perfect chance to hear mass online and revisit their previous parishes when they used to live in Marikina City.

Here are seven Catholic churches in Marikina City that you can visit for your virtual Visita Iglesia.

1. St Paul of the Cross (SSS Village)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spcpmarikina/

2. Immaculate Concepcion Church (Bayan-bayanan Ave.Concepcion Uno)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/icp.marikina

3. Our Lady of The Abandoned Church (J. P. Rizal St. corner V. Gomez St., Sta. Elena)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OLAMarikinaOfficial

4. Jesus dela Pena (Bonifacio Avenue, Jesus Dela Peña)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jcpp.jdlp

5. San Jose Manggagawa Parish (2 A. Bonifacio Ave, Marikina City)

https://www.facebook.com/SJMPBarangka/

6. Nativity of Our Lady Parish (Major Dizon Street, Industrial Valley Complex)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nolp.marikina

7. St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish (East Dr, Marikina City)
https://www.facebook.com/SGOLSPMarikina/

Check each official Facebook page for schedules, livestreams, and reflection during this Holy Week.

Share this with friends and family who may find this list useful. 

Have a blessed and meaningful Holy Week.

(*screenshots from respective Facebook pages)

OLOPSC Offers Remote Learning Through Online Classes

In 2020, the pandemic hit at the time where the majority of academic institutions in the Philippines were already on the last couple of weeks of classes for the school year. Unfortunately, classes were cut short because of strict lockdown and quarantine measures within Marikina City and extending throughout the country.

To adapt to the situation, Our Lady of Perpetual Succor College (OLOPSC) set up and implemented a remote learning program called OLOPSC Home-Based School or HoBS, a new program that allows students to continue their education through a modified hybrid teaching and learning system.

Initially, HoBS was thought of simply as a solution to the "New Normal" in order for OLOPSC to continue providing service to its students and their parents. As the pandemic prolonged though, the Philippine education scene remained unpredictable.

OLOPSC realized that HoBS was not just a temporary solution but also an essential part of the new normal. Through the home-based based learning program, OLOPSC is proud to see success in the experience of its students including those from different parts of the country and abroad.

For school year 2020-2021, OLOPSC had enrollees who are situated in Mandaluyong City, Eastern Samar, Albay, Catanduanes, Cagayan Valley, Middle East, and in the U.S.

Rona Ashley Olavario, BSE-English (currently based in Albay) - photo courtesy of OLOPSC. 

For the new school year 2021-2022, OLOPSC opens its doors virtually to more students from different parts of the Philippines and the world.

Thanks to educational institutions like OLOPSC that adapt to change and continue to provide quality education to students empowering learners.

For more information on HoBS, visit www.olopsc.edu.ph
or visit their official Facebook pages at https://www.facebook.com/olopsc.official and https://www.facebook.com/olopscregistrar.

Photos courtesy of OLOPSC. 

Thanks to Angelica Grey Flores, OLOPSC School Promotions Officer