‘Yolanda’ leaves Pangasinan relief team ‘changed’ people

Pangasinan Board Member Clemente Arboleda Jr. distributes relief to Supertyphoon “Yolanda” survivors in Dulag, Leyte, during the provincial government’s 10-day humanitarian mission to the town. (Photo courtesy of Pangasinan Provincial Information Office)

Board Member Clemente Arboleda Jr. returned home to Pangasinan province on Sunday a “changed man,” after spending 10 days helping rehabilitate typhoon-stricken Visayas.

“[Because of] what I saw there, I learned to pray. And I continue to pray that Pangasinan will not experience a disaster of that magnitude,” he said on Monday.

Arboleda headed a 113-member contingent that Governor Amado Espino Jr. sent to Dulag, Leyte province, on December 13 to help the town recover after Supertyphoon “Yolanda” flattened it in November.

Dulag (population 41,757) is a third-class coastal town with 45 barangays in eastern Leyte, 36 kilometers south of Tacloban City.

Arboleda said he could not find the right words to describe the devastation that Leyte had suffered. “Because of my experience there, I began to appreciate the small things that we enjoy in life,” he said.

Christina Alcantara, a registered nurse, said she took part in Pangasinan’s relief and rehabilitation mission to Dulag even if it meant she would celebrate her 41st birthday away from her family.

“When I was told we would leave on December 13 and we were going to stay there for 10 days, I told myself, ‘Oh, I’ll turn 41 there,’” she said.

“But I did not think of backing out. I knew God has a plan for me. Maybe, it was His way of telling me to share my blessings,” she said.

But she said she had a memorable birthday when children who survived Yolanda’s wrath sang to her. “It was fulfilling because I now know how it feels to be a blessing to others,” she said.

The Pangasinan contingent was composed of construction workers, doctors and nurses, who traveled to Dulag in a nine-vehicle convoy consisting of five dump trucks, two buses, an ambulance and a van.

Vice Governor Jose Ferdinand Calimlim Jr. followed the team to Dulag on December 19. He turned over nine classrooms in Dulag Central School, Dulag SPED Center and Dulag National High School, which the provincial team repaired, to Dulag Mayor Manuel Que.

Arboleda said the team also conducted relief operations and gift-giving activities in the town’s 10 villages, serving 1,400 families.

They also held medical and dental services and health information campaigns conducted at the rural health unit and several barangays. They also lit the plaza and the Catholic church, drawing cheers from residents.

To cap the humanitarian mission, the provincial government sponsored the “Misa de Gallo” (dawn Mass) there.

What touched Arboleda most was when a young girl approached the vice governor to ask him if it was possible for the Pangasinan team to stay.

Arboleda said the team left their tents, medicines and other supplies that they had brought along with them.

“We also left our hearts and love to the people of Dulag,” he said. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon