Navy troops pull out of Leyte, Samar for Christmas

Members of the Philippine Navy were pulled out of the storm-hit provinces of Leyte and Samar after more than a month of rescue and relief operations in the Visayas region.

The troops, composed of 278 officers and enlisted personnel of the Philippine Fleet and members of the Philippine Marine Corps, arrived early Sunday on board BRP Dagupan City at Sangley Point in Cavite City.

They were welcomed by newly appointed Navy Vice Commander Rear Admiral Jaime Bernardino at the naval station.

“They were recalled, of course, for them to spend [Christmas] vacation with their families. But this also means Leyte is showing signs of recovery and making headway,” said Lieutenant (j.g.) Rommel Rodriguez, Fleet information officer.

Leyte and parts of Eastern Samar were hit hard by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international codename: Haiyan) on November 8. The storm, considered the strongest in Philippine history, left more than 6,000 people dead and many more homeless.

Among the victims were Navy personnel themselves, Rodriguez said.

He said one Navy ship captain lost his three children—ages 16, 12, and 9—to the typhoon. “When he arrived in Tacloban City after Yolanda, he found his children in a mass grave. His wife survived,” Rodriguez said in a phone interview. Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon