Samar folk who lost homes persist in helping

PUDDLES of water form at the Balangiga Church after rain followed the devastation of Supertyphoon Yolanda. RICHARD BALONGLONG/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

BALANGIGA, Eastern Samar—The parish rectory in this town, its damaged ceiling dripping with rainwater, serves as a shelter for relief goods and volunteers who, for the past two weeks, have been busy bagging food items for distribution to typhoon survivors in 13 villages here.

Danny Virgil Ablay, chair of the parish’s services and youth commission, said the massive devastation caused by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” on Nov. 8 in this coastal town did not stop parishioners from lending a hand.

“[Our volunteers’] houses were severely damaged, too, but we cannot allow calamities such as this to stop us from helping our fellowmen. We know they need us most in these times,” Ablay said.

The relief goods are mostly donations from Balangiga parishioners and aid coursed through the diocese of Borongan.

Records at the local disaster risk reduction and management council showed that as of Nov. 27, more than 40,000 families had been displaced by the storm. At least 3,500 are in Balangiga.

Worst-hit were the town’s six central villages, with houses and other structures mangled by a combination of seven-foot storm surge from the Leyte Gulf and the storm’s 320 kph winds.

Fe Campanero, parish secretary, said the focus of the local church’s relief operations has been the interior villages, which are seldom reached by aid.

Since the storm struck, Fr. Joaquin Bertos Jr. has been visiting Borongan City’s nearby dioceses, soliciting help for people here, she said.

Ablay said the church is concerned about the imminent shortage of provisions that the people face even as government help has been coming in.

“It’s quite difficult for the people to buy these basic commodities these days, especially since prices have dramatically gone up,” he said.

The situation is similar in the Immaculate Conception Church in Guiuan, which bore the brunt of Yolanda when it first hit land on the morning of Nov. 8.

The façade and the belfry of the historic church, a cultural heritage, crumbled as Yolanda pummeled Eastern Samar.

Church officials said they are more concerned about feeding residents of Guiuan. Clearing the debris, they said, could come later.

The rectory is also the storage area for sacks of goods for delivery to survivors in Guiuan and the four parishes of Sulangan, Homonhon and Manicani

islands.

“We will think about rebuilding the church some other time. Our priority right now is providing the basic needs of the people,” Msgr. Lope Robredillo, Guiuan parish priest, told the Inquirer.