Just in case

Right beside the kitchen and adjacent to the dining area of Ate and Carlos’ flat is a small room that they have converted into a mini bodega/pantry/stockroom. Hidden behind a sliding curtain, this small confined space is different from the rest of the rooms at the apartment. It has a thick iron door and massive lever-type door knobs that remind me of bank vaults, although it is less thick than those found in those tightly guarded institutions. On top of the doorway is a circular vent with steel covers. Also, the walls of the room seem thick and formidable.

“That’s a bomb shelter,” Ate explained.

Singapore’s Civil Defence Shelter Act of 1997 (yes, “Defence” is spelled with a C, British nga diba) required developers to incorporate shelters in all new residential housing developments. They probably learned their lesson when the Japanese invaded the island state during World War 2. Even their underground MRT stations can be converted into huge bomb shelters.

Leave it up to the government of Singapore to plan ahead. I looked at the bomb shelter and thought, in this day and age of international cooperation and diplomacy, is this structure really necessary? I didn’t know if I would admire their foresight and preparations or scoff at their obsessive-compulsive anal nature. As I shook my head and closed the iron door behind me, I suddenly realized this is one of the reasons why they’re Singaporeans and I’m Filipino.