‘Reming’ survivors recall dead kin, move on

02 December 2007

LEGAZPI CITY—CANDLES were lit and church bells were rang simultaneously in Albay province as people remembered their departed loved ones on Nov. 30, a year after the tragedy caused by Supertyphoon “Reming” that killed more than a thousand people.

In his homily during a Mass at the Albay Capitol, Msgr. Ramon Tronqued stressed the importance of remembering not only the victims of Reming and what the typhoon had caused them.

Tronqued, parish priest of St. John the Baptist Church in Tabaco City, said those who have made a difference in the people’s lives should be remembered just as well.

The Mass was attended by provincial government officials and employees.

“The persons responsible for why we are here, or who we are now and what we are now,” he said, referring to the thousands of people who shared so much concern and solidarity after the typhoon.

“And because of that, we knew that we were not alone and we would survive. Because of them, we saw the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

He asked the people not to forget all those who helped as life was almost back to normal in Albay.

“The best way of not forgetting is by being witnesses and continuing to do the good deeds of others,” he said, adding that this was the best way of remembering and saying thank you.

The prayer, Oratio Imperata for Deliverance from Calamities was also read by Cedric Daep, head of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (Apsemo).

The prayer, which has been recited since Oct. 28 in all the churches in the Legazpi Diocese, was said to have helped in the change of direction of typhoon “Mina,” which was expected to hit the Bicol region last Nov. 24.

Padang

In Barangay Padang in Legazpi City, Shaina Ferrer silently sat near a grotto at the lahar site here as she lighted a candle and uttered a silent prayer.

This was the 6-year-old girl’s way of remembering her grandparents and 2-year-old cousin who were swept away by torrents of lahar at the height of Reming.

The whole neighborhood in this small community of survivors amid a rocky wasteland also marked a day of remembrance.

Padang is one of the villages in the southeast quadrant of Mayon volcano, where the crater rim is lowest and much volcanic debris had been deposited in the past eruptions.

It became a pathway of the lahar when floodwaters overflowed from the original gullies that flushed out water to the Albay Gulf.

Ten households heard Mass in a nipa hut that they had built for the occasion.

The families specially prepared food that they shared with one another.

Isidro Santander Jr., a village councilor, said his two children and wife died in the tragedy.

He said they did not want to remember the tragedy but only how they lived happily as one family before the typhoon wrought havoc to their lives.

Now, Santander lives with his two other children who survived.

Moving on

Fr. Rommel Antiquera, of the St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in the neighboring village of Bigaa, said some of the about 70 people who attended the Mass came from the hilly resettlement site in Barangay Taysan.

“We must spend time loving our families for we never know when they will be gone,” the priest said.

Felizardo Arienda, 35, said most of them had already moved on and accepted the tragedy that struck their village.

In Daraga town, lighted candles, orchids and makeshift markers adorned the deserted spot where a home used to stand only a year ago in Barangay Busay.

Friends and relatives quietly paid their respects to Daisy Llaguno and her family who were among the many chilling casualties of Reming in the village.

Daisy, her four children, and seven others were trapped inside their house when volcanic rocks and debris coming from the slopes of the Mayon volcano were triggered by the typhoon, causing a deadly mudflow.

The two-story house was completely washed out. Half of the house was recovered in neighboring Barangay Binitayan in the aftermath.

Only two bodies were recovered of the 12 that took shelter in the house: that of the family maid, and in her arms, the third Llaguno child, April.

They are survived by the family patriarch, Ariel Llaguno, who was abroad when the tragedy struck his family.

‘Sorry’

As early as 9 a.m. Friday, Daisy’s eldest sister and neighbor, Norma Montero, 45, was already lighting candles and keeping a personal vigil on the spot.

She was joined by three of Daisy’s co-teachers and friends from the Pag-asa National High School in nearby Legazpi City.

Being neighbors, Norma and Daisy were close sisters, with the former being the eldest and the latter being the second child.

Norma recalled how kind and dedicated ‘Dais’ was to her children, saying “she wouldn’t have left them behind.”

“All I can offer now are prayers and these flowers because Dais liked plants,” Norma said, motioning to the two pots of orchids near her feet.

She said she wanted Daisy to know that she loved and missed her.

“I would also like to say sorry to her for not being able to recover all of their bodies,” she said.

Loss

Dariel, or “Din-din,” the eldest of the Llaguno children, would have been a graduating student today at the Philippine Science High School in Camarines Sur.

Her friends and classmates also visited Busay Friday morning, holding a memorial on the spot where Din-din once lived.

They lit candles and put up a tiny flag using barbecue sticks and an empty shampoo sachet.

Norma said that Ariel had once again returned home from Qatar Thursday.

In honor of his wife and children, he attended the memorial Mass held Friday morning in neighboring Barangay Pandan, where most of the Busay residents have been relocated.

“He has accepted the loss and is doing fine,” Norma said of her brother-in-law.

A Mass was also held Thursday in Legazpi City by the faculty and students of the Pag-asa National High School, where peace for Daisy and her family was prayed for, said Nannette Llaguno, 37, Daisy’s co-teacher and sister-in-law.

“We simply have to move on, otherwise, the agony of losing loved ones will crush us,” Norma said.

In Guinobatan town, about a hundred Reming survivors, all wearing white shirts, gathered at the Our Lady of Assumption Parish Church to attend a Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Dave Ramoso.

At least 41 colored photos mostly taken in the town during and after Reming are also displayed in a photo exhibit entitled “Reming’s shadow remains” at the Social Hall of the town from Nov. 30 to Dec. 9. Joanna P. Los Baños, Ephraim Aguilar, Jaymee T. Gamil, Inquirer Southern Luzon