Leyte town rocked by blasts refuses to be cowed

Residents of Hilongos town gathered at the town center on Dec. 28 to watch a boxing match when two explosions rocked the area, wounding 32 people. The area surrounding the boxing ring is cordoned off the morning after the blast. —VICKY C. ARNAIZ

HILONGOS, Leyte—Lourdes Sueco prepared the family’s simple feast for New Year’s Eve early because she planned to join her neighbors in going to the municipal gymnasium here.

The blasts that wounded 32 people here on the night of Dec. 28 could not deter her from enjoying the town’s annual get-together as part of a local celebration, known as Alikaraw Festival, held every Dec. 31.

“I was scared, no question about it. But that single incident would not stop me from hiding in our house. Life has to go on,” said the 62-year-old resident of Barangay Campina.

Indeed, at least 3,000 residents showed up at the gymnasium for the party, three days after this sleepy town was rocked by explosions from two homemade bombs detonated by still unidentified persons.

Residents brought food to be shared with others and stayed as long as they wanted.

Some went home before the clock struck midnight. Others opted to stay.

The gathering is the essence of Alikaraw Festival, a form of thanksgiving to the deities for bountiful harvests, residents said.

In previous celebrations, the get-together was held at Plaza Rizal. This year, however, it was moved to the gymnasium following the bombings.

Hilongos Mayor Albert Villahermosa admitted there was a 30-percent drop in the usual 5,000 people who attended the get-together.

“The decrease of attendance could be attributed to the incident. There is still trauma among my people,” Villahermosa said.

He said as part of the healing process, the town proceeded with the festival.

The merrymaking at the town’s gymnasium started at 4 p.m. and went on until 2 a.m. the next day. A five-minute fireworks display brightened the dark skies at midnight to welcome the New Year.

Villahermosa said people could still be scared after what happened on Dec. 28 but he was hopeful the fear would soon disappear, especially that authorities were doing their best to track down and arrest the perpetrators.

“We are a strong and resilient people. We will rise above this challenge,” he said.

At least 1,000 people were gathered at the plaza to watch a boxing bout, which was part of the fiesta celebration, on the night of Dec. 28, when two bombs exploded a minute apart. Among those hurt were 10 children.

Police were looking into the possible involvement of an illegal drug syndicate in the blasts after one of its members was arrested and fake bills were confiscated from her.

After the bombing, policemen and soldiers from the 802nd Infantry Brigade were seen in the town—a sight considered unusual here.

“Our town is peaceful. We never have this kind of incident,” said a local trader, who wanted to be identified only as Emily.

She said the presence of policemen and soldiers made them feel secure and helped them return to their normal activities.

“It’s business as usual here in our town,” said Emily, who owns a store in the public market.

Sueco, who was in the crowd watching the boxing match but escaped unscathed, did not allow the explosion to stop her from enjoying the festival as well as the New Year’s Eve festivities in the town.

And rightly so, said Monsignor Antonio Gaviola, Hilongos parish priest.

“On Jan. 1, we are not just celebrating the New Year but the Motherhood of Mary. We should not be scared just because of what happened [on Dec. 28],” Gaviola said.

He said life in Hilongos, a town of more than 86,000 people, should not be disrupted by “senseless violence.”

“But I hope the (perpetrators) will be held accountable for what they did. Innocent people were affected because of what they did,” Gaviola said. “I pray that their conscience will bother them and they will surrender.”

Located 146 kilomters away from the regional capital, Tacloban City, Hilongos is the center of commerce and trade in the southwestern section of Leyte province. Its seaport that operates Leyte-Cebu and Leyte-Bohol routes is among the busiest in the province. A majority of its people depend on agriculture and fishing with a thriving commerce, mostly on retail and trading.