STUDY IN GRIEF Survivor Angel Bontilao is consoled by a classmate. RICHEL UMEL / INQUIRER MINDANAO
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—It would not have mattered to Rodel Gabato if they had rung the school bell all day Tuesday. He would not have shown up, anyway.
Only 13, Gabato drowned when floodwaters swept away his family’s house—and him along with it—on Isla de Oro, a sandbar in the middle of a river in Cagayan de Oro City.
More than 80 other schoolmates of Gabato at the City Central School here were also feared to have died in the wake of the floods on December 17 triggered by Tropical Storm “Sendong” that swept away parts of the city.
Hours before he disappeared, Gabato was partying with his Grade 6 section Cassiopeia classmates, friends said.
“We had our Christmas party and it was his happiest day. He was laughing so much and was taking photos with his cell phone,” said a classmate, Marvin Carl Traje.
“It was like he was saying goodbye to us,” another classmate, Lynel Aciarto, said. “We were so happy it was impossible to forget that day. We were dancing and eating in our classroom. It is sad to know Rodel died that night.”
First in school
In a class of 50, only Rodel didn’t make it, said the section adviser of Cassiopeia, Rebecca Nietas.
Classmate Jessica Lanozo said that with Rodel gone, “it won’t be the same again.”
Of the whole Cassiopeia class, Angelica Cago was the first to show up at the opening of classes. She had no reason to be late—she has been staying in their classroom since their house was carried away by the floodwaters.
Angelica’s mother was rescued by fishermen on Camiguin Island, but her younger brother is still missing.
Not coming back
Angelica’s classmates, Traje and Learefaye Yamit, came with relief goods for her.
“We asked our parents to gather relief goods for Angelica and we brought these ourselves to our classroom, where her family temporarily stays,” Learefaye said.
Porferio Padinit, the City Central School principal, said he was still verifying an initial list of more than 80 students killed in the floods.
“Some have been confirmed to be dead by their teachers. We are going on home visitation today to account for the others,” Padinit said.
Of the City Central School’s more than 5,000 students, less than a thousand showed up Tuesday.
The attendance seemed worse at Macasandig Elementary and High School. Only 249 of its 1,668 students appeared.
No bells were ringing
There was none of the usual ringing of bells at both City Central and Macasandig schools. Although the evacuees had left Macasandig school, the students were gathered at the gym as there was only a few of them who came.
Padinit said it was possible there was a low turnout of students because others were still in evacuation centers, or had moved to somewhere far.
There were no formal classes yesterday. Instead, the students at City Central School were asked to walk to the nearby Pelaez Sports Complex, where two-hour “informal classes” would be held for the next few days, or until the evacuees occupying the school shall have moved to resettlement areas.
“We will not be having formal lessons,” Padinit said. “The students will be debriefed by their teachers on what they went through. We will also have an accounting of our students, who are present, absent and missing.”
Importance of sharing
Education Secretary Armin Luistro visited the schools Tuesday and spoke of how important it was for the students to share their experiences with their teachers and with one another.
“Today and in the next few weeks, we want to hear your stories, your fears, your anxieties,” Luistro said in a speech. “Our teachers are here because they want to take care of the most vulnerable sectors of society, the children.”
At Macasandig school, the Grade 5 teacher, Rosa Maria Magno, said only four of her 48 students were present. She said she was instructed by their principal to talk to her students about what they had gone through and what they were now going through.
Also a survivor
Magno is herself a flood survivor.
“I was also affected. Although my family is safe, I went through a horrible experience. I think I will be crying with my students when I get to talk to them,” she said.
After two hours, most of the teachers went around different evacuation centers—to look for their other students.
At an evacuation camp, Merlyn Sambaan said her two children, both first graders, refused to go to school because they were embarrassed to wear the tattered clothes they got from the relief goods they had received.
“What can I do? The used clothes are the only ones that we have?” Sambaan said in Cebuano.
Bittersweet reunions
In Iligan City, the resumption of classes also turned into bittersweet reunions for those who survived. Students cried and hugged each other on learning that some classmates would never be back. The floods had taken them away, too.
Luistro, who also visited Iligan, has ordered the teachers to hold stress debriefing sessions in “learning tents” because their schools were still crammed with evacuees.
“We do not hold regular textbook classes. Instead, we are using the actual experiences of the children,” he told the Inquirer in Iligan. He said the evacuees would remain in the schools until shelters were ready for them.
Randolph Tortola, the school division superintendent, said she was still checking student attendances in schools to “determine whether they survived or if others are still missing.”