Uplift Yolanda survivors’ spirit, bishop urges

BUSIEST PORTS Fleeing survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” from the devastated areas in the Visayas and incoming relief workers and truckloads of relief items to those who are remaining in the ruins have made Matnog Port (left) in Sorsogon province and the Port of Allen in Northern Samar province the busiest piers in the country nowadays. The opening of Bulan port, also in Sorsogon, has eased the traffic congestion in the two destinations across the San Bernardino Strait. PHOTOS BY RICHARD BALONGLONG

The people’s experiences in coping with tragedy when a killer flood suddenly swamped northern Quezon in 2004 flashed back to Archbishop Rolando J. Tria Tirona after Supertyphoon “Yolanda” wiped out many cities and towns in the Visayas on Nov. 8.

“It is important to raise the spirit of the victims through a relevant symbol as a rallying point to give them strength, hope and discipline,” said Tirona, the former bishop of the prelature of Infanta who now heads the archdiocese of Caceres in Bicol.

“We need to raise the drooping spirit, feed the weakened spirits of the victims, together with providing them with food for their hunger,” he said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

He urged Church and government leaders in the typhoon-devastated areas to unite and adopt a common symbol of hope, strength and discipline to overcome the challenge of rising from destruction.

Temporary setback

“Babangon tayo muli (We will rise again),” Tirona told the survivors as he reminded them that the setback would be only temporary. In this moment of trials, he said, they should have faith that God, through kind people, would see them through.

The prelate recalled that after the devastation from flood in the towns of Real, General Nakar and Infanta on Nov. 29, 2004, he put up a 7-foot high Christmas lantern at the Infanta Cathedral. “I told the people that the lantern was our rallying point to unite and help one another,” he said.

Close to 1,000 people died, hundreds remained missing and unaccounted to this day, while hundreds of millions of pesos worth of property was destroyed when the Agos River between Infanta and General Nakar overflowed after days of four successive typhoons.

The towns were inundated with mud and water as huge logs and other forest debris tumbled down the Sierra Madre.

Mud avalanche

In Real, more than 100 people who took shelter inside a two-story building were buried alive when an avalanche of mud and water from a hilly portion across the road swallowed the structure.

Massive logging in the Sierra Madre mountain ranges has been blamed for the tragedy.

Tirona appealed to local officials in the calamity-stricken areas in the Visayas to stay visible to their constituents and assure them that help would be coming.

“Deliver the relief immediately, especially to those in the remote areas,” he said.

Fr. Pete Montallana, formerly in charge of Sierra Madre Agta natives but is now based in Sri Lanka, urged the government to have strict accounting of all financial donations to Yolanda victims and for the Church and nongovernment organizations to monitor the fund to ensure accountability.

Donations

“The people should monitor the help that comes in for the sake of the generous donors and the needs of the victims. This is first priority, but this is usually neglected,” Montallana said in an e-mail.

He recalled their experience in 2004 when they received an abundance of relief assistance when the calamity was still a hot topic in the media. “It trickled down when we were no longer in the news,” he said.

Montallana urged the survivors, local officials and Church leaders to “strike while the iron is hot.”

“People are most generous to give while supported by news reports. Take advantage of that. The victims will need all the funds for their long-term rehabilitation,” he added.

Tough days ahead

Infanta Vice Mayor Filipina Grace America said the 2004 calamity had “made us better persons, a better community.”

In a phone interview on Tuesday, America said the typhoon victims and local officials in the Visayas were facing a tough challenge on how to rebuild their communities.

“Infanta was also isolated for four days. No accessible roads, our lines of communication were cut off so no relief and assistance were coming from the outside. We were only dependent on our inherent strength as Infantahins,” she said. America was the municipal mayor when the calamity struck.

She remembered the heroism of Army soldiers who hiked amid a flood of mud and forest debris just so they could bring food, water and medicines during the first few days of the disaster.

The vice mayor advised victims, relief workers, local and national officials in the Visayas to conduct regular “convergence meetings” to ascertain the course of actions and priority in the delivery of relief items.

“Sometimes with the continuous floods of donated food items, the victims can already put up a sari-sari store,” America said, citing their own experience.

She said the local government of Infanta had allocated cash assistance for Yolanda victims. “It is our way of expressing sympathy to calamity victims. Also, [it is] our symbol of eternal gratitude to all those who helped us during our time of need,” she said.

Open to evacuees

General Nakar Mayor Leovigildo Rozul appealed to local and national officials and aid workers not to blame each other over the perceived disorganized relief operations.

“The blame game would only cause demoralization among the victims and other aid workers. They should all focus on one task—uplift the spirit of the calamity victims,” Rozul said.

He said in a phone interview that General Nakar had adopted a plan to help typhoon victims in the Visayas resettle in the town.

“We’ve already provided cash for transportation to one local resident who wants to bring his relatives to General Nakar to start a new life,” Rozul said.