HAPPY PLACE The Quezon provincial capitol complex in Lucena City has turned into a happy place this holiday season as Christmas lights and displays cheer residents and visitors. —DELFIN MALLARI JR.
LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines — Mario de los Santos, 37, wiped the lens of his mobile phone with his handkerchief before he took photos of his wife Carmela and 4-year-old daughter Charise with the fully lighted faade of the Quezon provincial capitol building, called by locals as “Kapitolyo,” as backdrop.
The family was in the capital city of Quezon as “bakwit” or evacuees from the destruction caused by the recent onslaught of Typhoon “Tisoy,”international name: Kammuri).
Their house in San Francisco town in the Bondoc Peninsula district was destroyed by the typhoon, according to Mario.
“We’re temporarily residing in my sister’s house here. I will bring my family to Manila to try our luck there,” Mario told the Inquirer, during a chat in a corner of Perez Park on Friday night.
He took his wife and daughter to the park, which features holiday décor and multicolored lights, to momentarily forget the tragedy of losing their home and a prospect of a sad Christmas.
“At least, seeing my daughter smile again lightens the grief,”he said.
Calamity state
The provincial board last week declared Quezon under a state of calamity following the onslaught of the typhoon that left three persons dead and thousands of houses destroyed or damaged.
Some 15,000 families were evacuated as heavy rain triggered floods that submerged roads and farmlands as Tisoy crossed the province last week.
Roberto Gajo, provincial administrator and head of the Quezon agriculture office, said initial reports received by his office showed that crop losses was at P363.8 million as of Dec. 5.
To Lucena residents, the holiday mood at Kapitolyo and Perez Park symbolizes their collective desire to forget the devastation wrought by Tisoy.
“At least here, I can feel the holiday spirit of Christmas, unlike in our bare home,” housewife Teresa Cabay said.
Cabay lives in a riverside community here and her family was among those who evacuated at the height of the typhoon’s onslaught.
Lighting ceremony
On Thursday night, provincial government officials, employees and park visitors witnessed the switch-on of the Christmas lights that turned the century-old provincial capitol into a massive holiday centerpiece.
The ceremonial lighting for the province’s “Paskuhan sa Kapitolyo 2019” was delayed by three days due to the typhoon.
The concrete light posts around the park were turned into artificial coconut trees with lighted leaves while a 19.8-meter-tall (65 feet) Christmas tree, its design also inspired by the coconut tree, was picture-perfect for visitors.
Perez Park is one of the surviving public recreation areas in the country built during the early years of the American colonization.
“Despite the destruction wrought by Typhoon Tisoy, let us still celebrate the spirit of giving, teamwork and love,” Gov. Danilo Suarez said in his message during the event.
Quezon Rep. Aleta Suarez, the governor’s wife, has lent her personal collection of porcelain and ceramic holiday figurines to the province for a “Christmas village” at the ground floor of the capitol. The lighted miniature holiday figurines are scattered all over a snow-covered landscape.
Residents have been drawn to take photos with the life-size Nativity scene and a Santa Claus statue set up in different sections of the park. INQ