Inquirer Visayas
Aklan still in shambles after ‘Frank’
By Nestor P. Burgos Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:01:00 07/05/2008
KALIBO, Aklan – The sight of Rep. Florencio Miraflores, Aklan’s highest official, being fanned by aides and staff while being treated for a mild stroke at the generator-powered emergency clinic of the provincial hospital in Kalibo summed up the situation of the province after the onslaught of Typhoon “Frank.”
Stressed out by days of supervising relief work, Miraflores, who also served as governor of the province, was rushed to the hospital after complaining of chest pains and difficulty in breathing last Sunday. He was airlifted at midnight on a chartered plane to Manila and confined at the Philippine Health Center.
But for the rest of the Aklanon folk, the healing and getting back to their feet would take much longer.
While the news are mostly focused on the death and destruction brought by the typhoon to Iloilo and the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars near Sibuyan Island in Romblon, Kalibo, the provincial center of business, education and government remains covered in mud with no electricity, water and phone lines two weeks after “Frank” struck on June 21.
People are lining up along Pastrana Park, the town’s public plaza, begging for food and water and waiting to mob the next vehicle that comes along carrying relief goods.
“I haven’t sold anything since [June 21] and even if we can find rice at P18.25 a kilo, I don’t have money to buy it,” said Ariel Pioquid, 31, a rice cake vendor and one of those sitting near the plaza waiting for relief goods to arrive.
Pioquid said rice is overpriced: it is being sold at P150 per ganta (P66 per kilo) despite pronouncements of authorities that they are monitoring the prices of prime commodities.
Abnormal times
Life in this town of 71,000 residents has not returned to normal.
While the water supply has been partially restored by the Metro Kalibo Water District, the water coming out from faucets is murky, forcing residents to buy bottled water.
Most residents are still in their homes trying to remove the mud from each piece of furniture, kitchenware and other household items that survived the mudflow.
Classes at all levels remained suspended as most schools were destroyed or damaged and residents could hardly walk through the slippery mud, debris, fallen trees and toppled electric posts.
The operations of the provincial and municipal government are focused on disaster relief operations, cleaning up of the muddied streets and structures and the restoration of basic services. All other functions remained suspended because the provincial capitol was among the hardest hit by the mudflow.
The flood destroyed or damaged the records of offices including the accounting and assessor departments. Muddied and still wet computers, chairs and tables have been piled along with drenched file folders on hallways and in front of offices.
Office and court hearings have also been indefinitely suspended at the two-story Godofredo P. Ramos Hall of Justice after strong winds, heavy rains and mud flow drenched court documents and equipment and blew off the roof and ceiling of court rooms.
Economic activities have almost grounded to a halt.
Most stores including fast food chains were closed as employees continued the clean up and repair of structures and equipment, washing mud and debris with limited water.
Residents are short of cash as the automated teller machines (ATMs) of the town’s 14 banks remained nonfunctional because of damaged computers and buildings. Bank customers line up for hours to withdraw cash over the counter from the few banks that have reopened.
Long lines of people can also be seen in pawnshops and money transfer offices. But the lines are longer in rice and food distribution centers, with residents coming in droves, several barefoot with mud-caked feet.
“Many do not have a house to return to and cannot work because they have lost everything, even the hammers and saws of carpenters and food baskets of vendors,” said George Calaor, spokesperson of the provincial chapter of the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan.
The flow of information to the public is almost non-existent because the radio stations have not resumed broadcast. Residents have to rely on reports aired by radio stations in Roxas City in Capiz.
“Everything is at a standstill ... We are in disbelief,” former Aklan Rep. Allen Quimpo said.
The storm destroyed about P2 billion worth of property, infrastructure and agriculture with more than half of the province’s population of 473,772 affected, said Gov. Carlito Marquez.
At least 53 Aklanons died and 390 others were injured. Seven others remained missing.
“We never braced ourselves for a calamity like this,” said former congressman Quimpo who served from 1992 to 2001.
Tales
Glenn Jereza, corporate communications manager of the Aklan Sampaguita Garden Resorts, said he and his friends rushed to the upper story of their house when water suddenly rose. “The rushing sound of the floodwater was so scary and it shook the walls of our house.”
He cannot forget the sight of the dead being placed in sacks at the public plaza and carried by residents to funeral parlors because funeral cars and other equipment were destroyed or damaged by the massive mudflow.
Nenita Tugna, spokesperson of the militant urban poor group Kadamay said she was among about 1,000 evacuees who flocked to the plaza and later sought shelter at the Church-owned Aklan College.
She took care of an old vendor on June 23 but the latter was found dead the next day after staying at the grandstand, cold and without food and water.
Some residents have complained of the failure of government agencies to quickly respond to the calamity and to provide assistance as thousands confronted the lack of food, potable water and shelter.
“It’s very slow and by the time we got help, some were already dead,” said Roberto Villanueva, 47, and a father of three.
Villanueva said they only ate bread and drank rainwater for three days after the mudflow.
Kalibo Mayor Raymar Rebaldo has drawn criticisms from some residents for the slow response.
But Rebaldo, who was often seen in fatigue pants and sporting a hunting knife, brushed aside the criticisms.
“I’m only one mayor. I can’t be seen in all places at the same time,” he told the Inquirer.
He said he assigned or delegated to councilors and other officials the distribution of goods and other relief materials.
Aside from supervising the relief operations, he said he also facilitated the bringing in of 26 heavy equipment from the Metro Manila Development Authority to help clear the streets.
The residents also decried the lack of price control after the calamity, with prices rising at least two-fold.
A small bottle of distilled water was sold at P60 while rice was sold at P150 per ganta (P66 per kilo), which made it more unaffordable for victims who have already lost all their properties.
There is a story going around about a rice vendor who was stabbed dead for refusing to sell a ganta of rice to a man who was taking care of a sick child. The man, who had only P100, allegedly pleaded with the vendor but the vendor insisted on selling it at P120. But police have no records of this alleged incident.
President Macapagal-Arroyo has visited the province twice, first at the Kalibo airport and second in Barangay Mobo to distribute relief and food packs.
But residents said the aid was not enough and that the President should go directly to the affected areas and hand out the food and other relief assistance.
“She should go to our houses and barangay and see and smell the mud. How can she understand our plight if she just stays at the airport or at (Barangay Mobo)?” said Lilia Matias.
A week after the storm, Aklanon folk are slowly scraping the mud from their homes and cleaning the streets.
But they know that getting back on their feet would be difficult and would take a long time.
“We are back not to square one but to zero,” said Rebaldo. “We have to start all over again.”
Major concern
A major concern is ensuring the food supply of the province as the floods destroyed 106 hectares of vegetable plantation on Mobo Island and six other barangays along the Aklan River.
Councilor Emmanuel Soviet Russia de la Cruz, chair of committee on agriculture of the Kalibo municipal council, said they need at least P824,865 worth of seeds and fertilizers for the vegetable plantations alone.
“It would take at least two months for the poblacion (town proper) to restore a semblance of normalcy,” said Quimpo.
He said the tragedy would also push people to make important decisions including where and how to build their homes and where to put up businesses and equipment.
Governor Marquez said they would soon start the rehabilitation programs but this would need a lot of money. Damage to the provincial capitol alone reached P140 million.
Msgr. Jose Dollete, vicar general of the Kalibo Diocese, noted that the tragedy struck two days before the feast of St. John the Baptist, the town’s patron saint.
The customary procession festivities did not push through as Kalibo was a ghost town during that day. Yet people came to the church, many of them in tears.
“The tragedy is also a reminder that with all our intelligence and high technology, we are in God’s hands,” said Dollete.
But he said life must go on and called on the people not to allow disasters to weaken them.
“This is a challenge to our faith and a chance for us to grow spiritually. It also a time to reflect on the meaning of life that could be taken from us any day and any time,” he said.
Dollete said the death and destruction should serve as a “reminder to those in position to be more conscious and faithful about their responsibilities as public officials.”
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