The month of July should be declared National Lugaw Month.

The National Capital Region, including Manila, Quezon City, and the outlying metro, along with a significant part of the rest of the country, is currently drenched. This is due to a combination of seasonal rains, Tropical depression ‘Crising’ from the Pacific, and the lingering ‘habagat.’ Waters have risen, some billboard structures are down, triggering car-maggedon levels of traffic. Everywhere, simply everything is just wet.

It’s depressing, not to mention cold.

Days like these, we want to be cooped up at home and stay dry. You can’t get out anyway, as the surrounding areas are flooded. So, what to do? Fire up Netflix, curl up with a good book, or visit your record collection and take out an album or three and give it a spin and some much-needed dusting. Tons to do and totally up to you!

But what goes well with all this activity? Why food of course! But not just any food, no we’re not talking about fast food deliveries (kawawa naman kasi sila Kuya aGrab driver). We’re talking about the underrated lugaw.

Lugaw or ‘arroz caldo’ (which means ‘rice soup’) is the perfect soul food to nourish the spirit on wet, forlorn days. Whatever your emotional disposition, a bowl of piping hot lugaw– generously garnished with fried garlic, scallions, and a touch of chili oil–can instantly uplift and satisfy those hunger pangs. Add a crispy lumpiang togue, destined to be drenched in vinegar, with diced onions alongside some fried Tokwa’t baboy (fried tofu and pork cubes), and you have quintessential rainy-day fare to keep your belly full and your heart warm.

So maybe ask nanay or aunty to teach you their recipe on how to cook lugaw. Then get your culinary game on and don’t skimp on the chicken, ginger, egg, and other ingredients. Or, if possible, get out of the house, just make that trip to the local lugaw joint because they’re all over the place! Indeed, when this kind of weather persists, you can look forward to having a wholesome time with this perennial Pinoy favorite dish that deserves proper recognition.

On a related note, the residents of Meycauyan and Marilao in Bulacan have grappled with floods for as long as I can remember. I understand that flooding can be naturally occurring, with causes including rising seawater, ground subsidence, and of course, climate change. But is there truly no solution for this persistent issue? As my high school buddy Kiko who lives in Saluysoy, put it: “Walang ginagawa, kanya kanya lang (and pakikipagsapalaran sa baha). Puro tiis.”

Really? I see floods primarily as an engineering challenge. The courses of mighty rivers have been diverted with dams; why can’t we fix this flood problem? Perhaps we need more engineers than politicians. My heart goes out to everyone affected by floods year after year. Especially my buddy Kiko Pineda, who loves lugaw and his ever-growing collection of ’80s movies and new wave records, which he has to move to his upstairs space every time the waters rise in Meycauayan.

Listen to new music by the reunited IV of Spades with “Aura.” Unannounced, the band reunited and just released a new song, their first together since their nasty break-up. Here’s hoping that the band’s songwriting credits are in order this time around. Also check out new songs by rhodessa (“ano na?”), Lola Amour x KOKORO (“The Moment”), Ron David (“Di Mo Sigurado”), and “Tahan Na, Tahanan” by Matt Wilson. All this and more on the Pinoy Pop Playlist 2025 on Spotify.