Above the din of disaster response, families seek help to find loved ones

SAMPLES Here are two samples of the letters posted on the Facebook account of Gov. Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao.

Mary Jane Dorigfat, or Yaya Jane, went home to her parents on Dinagat Islands last Dec. 4 to spend the Christmas season with them.

But after Typhoon “Odette” devastated provinces in Visayas and Mindanao, her employer Gem Cabangon-Fernando lost contact with Dorigfat, whom her sons consider as their second mom and a part of their family.

The last time they heard from her was on Dec. 16 around 11 a.m.

“We have information that there are no casualties in their area (so far) and we are praying that we can somehow tap Facebook to find her and send help,” the family said in their post.

Cabangon-Fernando said they reached out to a Dinagat coast guard who is currently in Butuan. But there was not enough news and updates from Dorigfat’s hometown in Diegas, Basilisa, she said.

#FindYayaJane

“We pray every day that she is safe and that her family [is] intact,” they said in their post on Monday morning.

Cabangon-Fernando appealed to those who can obtain information on Dorigfat and her family to reach out using the hashtag #FindYayaJane. She can be contacted at 0917-5762126 or 0917-8081939.

According to Jeff Crisostomo, Dinagat Islands provincial information officer, the province has recorded a total of 14 fatalities and an estimated 14,000 houses that were totally destroyed.

“Even if that would be, in the eyes of some, a small number, for us, one death in any disaster is one death too many,” he said in an interview with ANC.

Several others took to social media to post pictures of their relatives who had been incommunicado since Odette toppled power lines and cell sites in Visayas and Mindanao late last week.

Letters

Since the island still has no electricity or signal, Gov. Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao thought of asking the residents to write letters so that the families and loved ones who are looking for updates could directly hear from them.

In a Facebook post, Bag-ao uploaded the images of some handwritten letters, one of which was from Reymond Gonzales who wrote to Anele Gonzales: “Ga ok pa ko diri na lang ta mag-Xmas (I’m OK. I’ll just spend Christmas here.)”

Another letter from Aimee Antonio-Jimeno to Janet Caroline Antonio-Viesca read: “My dearest sister, please know that our families, Dela Merced, Antonio, Jimeno and Galinato are all fine and we are happy to be alive after Odette! Our houses are roofless but we are not hopeless! Please let all our families know.”

“I will try to post everything that I will receive from every opportunity that I can go out for meetings,” Bag-ao said.

Prayers from Pope

Earlier on Sunday evening, Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of the typhoon that have killed more than 100 people in the Visayas.

“I express my closeness to the population of the Philippines, struck by a strong typhoon that has caused many deaths and destroyed so many homes,” he said in a tweet.

“May the ‘Santo Niño’ bring consolation and hope to the families of those most affected,” he added.

The Catholic Church has set Dec. 25 and Dec. 26 as the national days of prayer for families and communities affected by the fierce typhoon.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), in a Dec. 19 letter, encouraged the dioceses to conduct a second collection during the Masses on Christmas Day and Dec. 26.

The collection will go to the Alay Kapwa Solidarity Fund, the Catholic Church’s collective emergency response.

“We encourage everyone to remit all collections to Caritas Philippines who will then plan and implement our overall response, and on a regular basis, will provide us reports and updates,” said Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, CBCP president.

Donations can be sent to Metrobank account No. 632-7-632-02788-1 under the account name CBCP Caritas Filipinas Foundation Inc., and swift code MBTCPHMM.