Azucarera de Madre Mia!!!

OMG!!! This is why I hate driving beside a truck filled with sugar cane. Whenever I overtake these dinosaurs on the road, I cringe and whisper a desperate mantra, “Please don’t let it fall on us, please, please, please!!!”, until I’m able to safely pass them by.  Most of the sugarcane trucks that ply the streets of Bacolod are ridiculously overloaded. They are filled to the heavens, usually without any harness to keep the sticks from falling off. Travelling hundreds of kilometres from the sugarcane farms to the milling sites is like Russian roulette for these monsters. Some luckily make it, while others find similar fate as above. And don’t get me started with the havoc that the trucks leave behind their trails—dilapidated roads and huge piles of sugarcane--to the detriment of the motorists.

Negros Occidental is satired as the land of the hacienderos de azucarera. It's a fact that the province is known as the “Sugarbowl of the Philippines” because it produces more than half of the nation’s sugar yield. In the 19^th century, the province was the seat of all things indulgent and luxurious overspending. The sugar barons ruled the sacadas like feudal lords. However, in the 1980’s, the world price of sugar hit rock bottom, and the province was left in a struggle. Negros economy was in a quandary because it was underpinned by a single crop. Today, the province has diversified into alternative industries, but sugar is still its main bread and butter. Consequently, the old extravagant lifestyle of the people, both rich and the poor, has fallen into a more moderate state.

Now back to the pictures. I heard from an amazed usisera (who also took pictures like me) that the car’s driver parked there last night to have a drink in a joint across the street. At 11 p.m., this truck was turning the curve rather fast that it overturned on its side, spilling all its guts on the car. Good thing that the driver wasn’t in it! I can't imagine the feeling of anyone finding himself suddenly buried under heaps of sugarcane (shudder!!). Lately, these accidents have been turning up on the roads more frequently, especially during the milling season. Isn’t there any cargo limit on these trucks? Aren’t the hacienderos and the sakadas and the government alarmed? The Negros sugar industry is old and dying. With accidents like these and everybody turning a blind eye, I won’t be surprised if the industry could still dig its way out of its grave.