Inquirer Visayas
Life goes on in Guinsaugon
By Ven S. Labro
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:35:00 02/16/2008
ST. BERNARD, Southern Leyte – Anastacio “Ikong” Contrante, 54, goes to Barangay Guinsaugon early in the morning to attend to his half-hectare rice field in the village, and comes back home to Barangay New Guinsaugon, about five kilometers away from his farm, late in afternoon.
Ikong is one of the few Guinsaugon farmers who continue to till their lands near the bank of the Lawigan River, two years after a devastating landslide buried their village.
Looking from the other side of the river, one could see white cranes flitting over verdant rice fields being tilled by some farmers, while in the background, clouds loom over the peak of a mountain covered with coconut and other trees.
The big gape on Mt. Kan-abag and the deserted Barangay Guinsaugon, now covered with earth, serve as a grim reminder of the killer landslide that occurred on the morning of Feb. 17, 2006.
Landslide
At about 10:30 a.m. that day, a big part of Mt. Kan-abag slid into the village below, catching by surprise more than a thousand residents, including the children and teachers who were in school and a group of mothers attending a meeting on women’s health.
Many were buried alive in their houses and on the streets when mud and rocks rumbled down the village. Only about 150 villagers were rescued – many of them residing near the periphery of the village or swept by the raging mud to the edge of the village.
Ikong recalls that he and his wife Maria were at their farm that day, and that together with other farmers they ran as fast as they could to the other side of the river.
The mudslide did not reach the couple’s farm, but they lost that day four of their grandchildren, aged 6 to 10 years old, who were all in school and a daughter-in-law who was attending the women’s health meeting.
Speaking in the vernacular, Ikong says all their eight children were then in Manila where they work when the incident happened and that they are still working in the big city.
“We have to earn a living, so we continued to till our small farm,” Ikong tells the Inquirer in an interview shortly after he left his farm and crossed the Lawigan River to take a rest in a hut near the riverbank last Feb. 9.
New Guinsaugon
He adds that he and his wife are now staying at their new house in New Guinsaugon, which is actually part of Barangay Magbagacay in St. Bernard that was made into a relocation site for the survivors and kin of those killed in the landslide.
On the other side of the river just across Barangay Guinsaugon, a big wooden cross with a platform serves as a memorial for the Guinsaugon victims.
On Feb. 17, a Mass will again be celebrated here to commemorate the second anniversary of the tragic incident.
The landslide survivors and relatives of those who perished will also offer their individual prayers in their respective homes in New Guinsaugon, where 330 housing units and other facilities were constructed for them out of donations from their countrymen and the international community.
Life goes on normally in New Guinsaugon and most of the people have recovered from their traumatic experiences, says Irenea Velasco, a businesswoman and a survivor.
Velasco lost a son, two daughters-in-law and seven grandchildren in that landslide. She, herself, almost died that day. She was swallowed by the mud and survived by clinging to a billiard table. She was among the few who were rescued.
Recovery
“We are okay already. I have recovered, even emotionally,” Velasco, who is a widow for about 30 years, says in Filipino. She is now a village councilwoman, having won in the recent barangay elections.
Several babies have been born in their new village, with the latest childbirth occurring just a week or so ago, she added. Last year, four couples from the village got married but Velasco says she’s not sure if the new baby belongs to any of the newlyweds.
Her concern is with some of their fellow residents from Guinsaugon who continue to look for jobs to survive, Velasco says.
While it is true there is an aquaculture project, only about 70 of the New Guinsaugon residents were able to join the livelihood project that involves growing milkfish, she adds.
As for herself, Velasco says she was able to revive her bakery business through the help of their Christian religious group. But only a few were able to work in the bakery, she adds.
Another survivor, Modesto Libatan, a barangay councilor of New Guinsaugon, says he hopes the jobless people, mostly former farmers, will work in farms.
But Libatan quickly adds that it would be better if the site of their livelihood would be near New Guinsaugon where they now live.
Both Velasco and Libatan, however, could not give the exact number of people in their village who are in need of livelihood projects.
Sen. Richard Gordon, chair and chief executive officer of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), says that after providing them with houses, livelihood projects for these people would follow.
Gordon, who visited St. Bernard last Feb. 9, says he also knew that some people are complaining that they were relocated far from their place of work.
“What is important is that they have a house. That’s a big step. You can create new livelihood,” he tells reporters. “There are people in Manila who live in Bulacan and they work in Laguna every day.”
He admitted though that it is still better to work near one’s place.
Microfinance
Gordon says he wants the people to submit proposals and that he would provide the fund if the project is approved. He says he will get an expert in microfinance to oversee this project.
Except for the need for more livelihood projects, everything seems normal in New Guinsaugon. The village is already provided with water supply and electricity.
Some enterprising residents have put up retail stores selling a variety of goods including the native wine. Music blares from a few houses as children play on their yard and the narrow street.
At the new basketball court located across a wide field from the village, a basketball match between two groups of New Guinsaugon residents was going on late that afternoon.
In the old Guinsaugon, meanwhile, Ikong and his fellow farmers were preparing for their trip back home to the relocation site, a routine for the past many months.
|
