Kidapawan residents shun cemeteries, prefer to be at home

KIDAPAWAN CITY — Residents in this city, one of the hardest hit in the series of major quakes since Oct. 16, has shunned the cemeteries and preferred to stay home or in makeshift shelters as aftershocks continued to rattle Mindanao Friday.

Those whose houses suffered cracks pitched tents outside their homes.

For those who have damaged homes, or whose houses were threatened by landslides and ground fissures, residents are staying in the different evacuation centers.

Because of this, flower vendors are experiencing low sales.

Supplies are enough and prices are low but flowers are hardly sold in this city days before the All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

As of noontime on Friday, very few people were seen inside the city’s Catholic cemetery.

Vendor Isabel Mahinay, who sells flowers in front of the ill-fated Eva’s Hotel, said they could hardly sell five bouquets of flowers in one day.

She said they used to sell 50 to 80 bouquets of flowers two days before the said occasions.

The prices of flowers are as much as 30 percent lower than their original rates but still the sales remain low.

Chrysanthemum are sold at P20 per piece from its original price of P25, anthurium at P80 from P100, and roses at P110 per dozen from P120.

A bouquet of assorted flowers now only costs P50 from the original price of P150.

Mary Jane de Arca of Kisante, Makilala, who owns a flower garden and shop, said their sales are also low.

She said five bouquets of flowers were sold yesterday, very low compared to 50 bouquets sold in the same period last year.

While prices of flowers remain low, prices of bottled water continues to rise.

A 350 ml bottled water used to cost P10 but after the earthquake, it now costs P15./lzb