SOLANA MUNICIPALITY, Philippines — The villagers in the northern Philippines have lived with typhoons their whole lives, but many of them told me they weren't prepared for a storm the size of Typhoon Parma.

A farmer crosses a flooded rice paddy on the outskirts of Manila.

I am in a village in Solana, a municipality of Cagayan Province, where Parma made landfall.

We have been driving through some of the low-lying areas. On our way here, we passed downed power lines and tree branches strewn on the roads. Military personnel and local volunteers are working overtime to clear the debris. While we were filming some of the damage, a farmer walked over to tell me that the flooding got so severe that the waters rose as high as his head.

The village I am in now is a community of farmers.  Some of the rooftops on the homes here were blown off by the winds. The power was knocked out. One man told me he was terrified when the storm set in because he could hear his house rattling and the rains pelting his metal roof. The waters on some of the roads come up to our knees.

The villagers told me flooding is normal during typhoon season so many of them build a second floor on their homes. One family of rice farmers was kind enough to show me around their house. All their belongings were elevated, piled on tables, cabinets and shelves. The water was about a foot deep. This is the first time, the family told me, that the water flowed into the house. The ceiling is stained with water marks, Parma's permanent imprint on their home.

The family's home has a second floor but it failed to provide the usual shelter to the storm. The sound of Parma was so frightening, they said, that the six family members chose to huddle on small beds on the ground floor despite the rising waters. They feared the severe winds would blow off their roof, leaving them exposed to Parma's fury. They didn't have time to evacuate.

The winds and rains are gone now as Parma heads away from here. The farmers say the waters will likely take about a week to recede, and they worry about the damage to their crops. The rice plants are likely destroyed, Pinky Rhose Jesalva, a university student told me. Her family owns a tract of land nearby.

Other farmer families have laid out corn kernels alongside the road in hopes that the fermenting seeds will dry out. The Agricultural Department estimates the cost of damage from the two typhoons, Parma and Ketsana, will amount to about 120 million U.S. dollars, mainly because of devastated rice crops.

But the farmers have not given up hope. They are walking on the corn, turning the kernels over with their bare feet, in the hopes of salvaging more of their harvests.

MANILA, Philippines — It was the speed of the flooding that left so many shocked in Manila. Many knew that a tropical storm was on its way, but few were prepared for the sudden swirling water that rose up from drains, sewers and rivers choking the streets with brown, filthy water.

A boy wades through the waters in Marietta Romeo, a middle-class neighborhood in eastern Manila.

People say it came up so quickly before they realized what was happening - their cars were underwater, then the ground floor of their houses.

Many panicked and ran upstairs, but the water followed until they had no option but to climb onto the roof.

Some stayed there for days getting hungrier and thirstier.

A man sits among the debris left after floods rushed through Marietta Romeo.

This perhaps explains some of the anger that is gradually being directed at the government.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been the focus for much of the criticism, but she has so far not held a news conference or given an interview.

Instead, she has issued statements and sound-bites, perhaps mindful of the awkward questions that would be asked about the apparent lack of government planning or preparedness.

Her anointed successor, Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro, has been the face of the government during this disaster, and the government is now scrambling to show it is on top of the aftermath.

The Presidential Palace was partially opened to allow volunteers to pack supplies for affected areas and some food was handed out to those lucky enough to hear about the aid distribution.

But by the time we arrived, hundreds were waiting outside with a growing sense of disappointment, as they realized they had gotten there too late. In reality, the use of a couple of rooms in the museum of the Presidential Palace was nothing more than an attempt to give local TV stations something to film.

With some 2 million people affected by the flooding, it will take more than biscuits and potato chips to get a grip on the storm and flood aftermath.

International Aid agencies are now here in force, concentrating on water and health issues. Power is still out in many neighborhoods, adding to the misery. Throw into this chaotic mix another stack of tropical storms lurking menacingly out in the Pacific – and this might not be over just yet.

MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao for Philippines president? Definitely not now, says the man himself, but he doesn't rule it out in the future. What looks increasingly likely though is that he will run for Congress, perhaps as early as next year.

Manny Pacquiao is ready to launch a political career.

It's a question that is raising passionate debate in the Philippines. Should the fighter known the world over since last Saturday's demolition of Briton Ricky Hatton go into politics? Would this "people's champion" be a good politician?

Pacquiao himself appears serious. He has already formed his People's Champ Movement, a nascent political party which was this week endorsed by the Commission for Elections.

And he obviously has huge popular appeal; that goes a long way in Philippines politics. Look at former president Joseph Estrada – a local movie star who always played the hero parlayed that into a presidency. It ended with him being found guilty of economic "plunder" and given a life sentence.

Take a non-scientific straw poll on the streets of Manila and the answers are surprising. Most Filipinos want Pacquiao to keep the gloves on. They prefer him as world champion boxer.

"I don't think he would be very good. Politics is ugly and he could end up being used by the wrong elements," said one person we spoke to. It was a typical response. Manny is above the political murk; he should stick to what he knows best.

It is by no means universal. Some say he can do both. Why can't you be a politician and an athlete, asked one who described himself as Manny's No.1 fan in the Philippines. (I met at least 20 "No.1 fans").

Incumbent politicians also seem to be lining up with their advice. Perhaps not surprisingly it's negative. And some of the Manila-based newspapers also have their doubts.

But you have to applaud the man at least for thinking of the longer term. Too many champion boxers end up with nothing.

But here's a thought, expressed in the opinion page of the Philippine Enquirer. Why, it asks, did Pacquiao go against the advice of the World Health Organisation, a plea from his own Government and potentially put his young family and countless fans at risk of infection of swine flu by returning to the Philippines?

He would have lost nothing, the paper says, but a few days by staying in quarantine away from his country until he was medically cleared of any infection.

His actions would also have done a huge amount to promote public awareness of the virus.

Did he, as the paper suggests, "demonstrate an appalling incapacity to sacrifice for the common good." That's a damning suggestion for any aspiring politician.

MANILA, Philippines - Think of it as a rehearsal.

Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao arrives in Manila on Friday.

Manny Pacquiao, the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet, returned home to the Philippines at dawn Friday clutching yet another world championship belt … to an extremely low-key welcome.

No bands, no dignitaries and surprisingly few fans but a lot of press to welcome home the man who's now better known than his president around the world.

The low-key arrival came courtesy of the swine flu.

A debate has raged in government circles since the World Health Organization recommended Manny and his entourage be quarantined for a few days on their return to make sure they hadn't picked up the virus in the United States.

The environment secretary and a man close to his camp fumed that Manny was probably the fittest person in the Philippines, and if the normal temperature scan didn't pick anything up, why deprive the nation of their hero.

The education department chief replied that the country could not be too careful with swine flu. Take no chances.

What unfolded was a sort of compromise: No official razzle-dazzle, but a lot of fans swamping Manny later in the day, as he arrived at his church in Manila for Friday service.

About 5000 people were in church to listen and, more important perhaps, to get a glimpse of their boxing idol.

And Manny didn't disappoint. He said a few words to the congregation basically along the lines of, “I knew it would be OK to have the parade today. Even the sun has come out for us.”

By the end of the service, so many people were packing into the church he was whisked out a back entrance and off to meet some local media.

The rest of the day was to be taken up with family and friends.

But this is just the beginning. Some officials are expecting hundreds of thousands if not millions to line the route of greater Manila when the official parade gets underway Monday.