A River Runs Thru It

In one of its rare moments, old weather-beaten Cagayan River for once is showing this Sunday morning passably pristine waters as it lazily winds through from the ever-moist mountains to the warm welcoming arms of Macajalar Bay. This in spite of a hard but short burst of December rain yesterday afternoon.

For once gone is the now-expected dirty brown water with liberal dose of garbage and debris, which gloomy condition has currently characterized this once navigable waterway.

It is also heartening to see the parched riverbanks ceding to the rush of ample clear water on its journey to the sea. For now gone also is the picture of an angry river bursting with floodwaters gulping down any obstructing objects along its dreaded paths. For now one can conjure anew idyllic thoughts of a river where we in our youth used to spend hot summer afternoons immersed in its cool clear waters, in fun and frolic without a care of the world.

This river truly runs through the city, cutting it into east and west sections. A river richly fed by the waters originating from the generous bosoms of stately Kitanglad ranges in Bukidnon Province.

Like the rich and abundant island of Mindanao, it once held great promises of beauty and prosperity.

From all indications, both have veered far from the promises of their anointed futures, people choosing instead to heap undesirable developments on them pushing them both to the path of loss and disaster.

Can they recover and focus anew on edging toward their anointed futures?