WITH one more storm about to make landfall Thursday night, October 29 as this column is being written Baguio residents are once in a state of wariness as when the last typhoon "Ramil" was about to bear down in north Luzon the other week.

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Fortunately, Ramil changed course at the last moment avoiding any more damage to an already battered part of the country at a time when recovery efforts were in full swing in the rehabilitation of damages to property caused by the previous strong weather disturbance, "Pepeng" with its series of landslides in Baguio and Cordilleras resulting to loss of many lives and billions with in property within property and agricultural destructions.

Benguet particularly, the barangay Little Kibungan in the capital town of Trinidad suffered the most fatalities when at the height of typhoon Pepeng at nighttime, a big landslide cascades down on Little Kibungan while residents where in their sleep resulting to some 74 people killed.

In addition scores of village residential houses were totally destroyed in the nighttime incident.

This is reason enough why at the thought of yet another typhoon hitting the city and Benguet, residents are ever anxious that they may befell the same heavy losses in lives and property.

The upcoming typhoon, codename "Santi" is forecast by the weather bureau to cross mid-north Luzon on Saturday, October 31 and hopefully will exit somewhere in Zambales and on to the South China Sea in late afternoon of the same day, Saturday, October 31.

Of course, one can never really be sure on the course of typhoons. People simply have to take the forecasts of the weather bureau at face value and at the same time prepare for any unwelcome possibilities.

Even as Santi is about to hit through central Luzon, the CenteCom in its bi-weekly meeting last Wednesday, October 28 were briefed by Commissioner Joseph M. Alabanza on efforts being made by the city leaders in looking at ways to somehow mitigate destructions leading to loss of lives and properties by a post Pepeng assessment committee chaired by Mayor Peter Rey Bautista Jr. Alabanza, designated co-chair of the assessment committee, told the CenteCom of the typhoon damage assessment committee program on ways to blunt the effects of typhoon occurrences including rescue and relief components.

Alabanza said the assessment committee is not in any way engaged in faultfinding. Rather, the committee will look at ways and means to institute efforts at minimizing typhoon damages particularly on preventive and safety measures and after-typhoon rescue, relief and rehabilitation work.

The community should find comfort and reassurance in this program being mapped out by the assessment committee.

Alabanza has been emphatic, however, that membership in the committee should largely be from the private sector such that they will not hesitate or be timid in advices and suggestions on programs and plans on mitigation of typhoon effects.

Looking forward to the Christmas season, CenteCom members turned their attention to the setting up of "Centennial" Christmas tree in downtown Baguio. The CenteCom designs committee said the Norfolk pine at the foot of Session Road will be redecorated to focus on the city's centenary.

Aside from the colorful Christmas lights, which have adorned the Christmas tree all these years, it will also be festooned all over with the butterfly logo of the centennial celebration. The decorated Christmas tree is set to be launched on November 4.

Dr. Paraan, chair of the CenteCom's historical landmarks committee, and Arch. Alabanza, chair of the designs committee, are jointly in charge of a spruced up city Christmas tree projecting the slogan of the Baguio's centennial slogan of "Fostering a culture of caring".