By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 18:33:00 01/09/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Health officials noted a cholera outbreak for the past three weeks in Ticao Island, Masbate after having recorded 124 cases and two fatalities in the towns of Monreal and San Fernando, the Department of Health in Bicol reported Friday.
Nestor Santiago Jr., Bicol health director, said in a report that in Monreal town, most of the cases were seen in the village of Guinhadap with a total of 96. There were four cases in the village of Morocborocan and nine in the village of Poblacion.
In San Fernando town, all 15 cases were seen in the village of Ipil.
Most of the victims were children and adolescents. Initial laboratory tests through stool culture revealed three of the 124 cases as positive for Cholera Ogawa.
Cholera is a bacterial disease marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea.
Santiago Jr. said their study of the trend of cholera occurrence in the Bicol region showed a reemergence every three to four years.
"This year, being the fourth year since its last regionwide increase, we expect the reemergence of the disease," Santiago Jr. said.
He said prolonged rainy days and the occurrence of floods in many areas in Bicol as well as the unsanitary toilet conditions in villages are some factors that might have caused the reemergence of the disease.
Santiago Jr. said the DOH had distributed medicines like, fluids, antibiotics, and laboratory supplies to cholera hot spot areas in Masbate.
However, what complicated things, he said, was the confusion as to where to refer the cases since most of the health centers were closed during the holidays. Only hospitals were open.
Menwhile, some 32 diarrhea cases have also been recorded first week of January in the Calaguas Group of Islands in Vinzons, Camarines Norte, of which 21
cases were from the village of Banocboc and 11 from Pinagtigasan.
Twenty-five percent of the victims were infants while the rest were from ages one to 10.
Santiago Jr. said laboratory tests through stool culture yielded negative results for cholera. Water tests have also been conducted but results have yet to be released.
Santiago Jr. said diarrhea cases increase mostly during the rainy season when open wells become contaminated because of poor drainage systems.
Residents in affected areas were advised to do household chlorination to ensure potable water.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Rebels bomb Globe cell site in Albay
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 16:42:00 01/09/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Suspected New People's Army rebels bombed the cell site of a telecommunications firm Thursday evening in Malilipot town, Albay, police reported Friday.
The Albay police said that at around 8 p.m., security guard Alan Bongales noticed a dog barking inside the cell site compound of Globe Telecom located in the village of San Jose.
When he went outside to check, 10 unidentified heavily-armed men pointed guns at him, forced him to open the gate, and dragged him 15 meters away from the cell site.
Ten minutes later, a bomb exploded.
The security guard was unharmed while the perpetrators fled towards Barangay Binitayan of the same town, police said.
The communist rebels have been attacking Globe facilities in remote villages purportedly due to the telecommunication firm’s failure to pay protection money.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 16:42:00 01/09/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Suspected New People's Army rebels bombed the cell site of a telecommunications firm Thursday evening in Malilipot town, Albay, police reported Friday.
The Albay police said that at around 8 p.m., security guard Alan Bongales noticed a dog barking inside the cell site compound of Globe Telecom located in the village of San Jose.
When he went outside to check, 10 unidentified heavily-armed men pointed guns at him, forced him to open the gate, and dragged him 15 meters away from the cell site.
Ten minutes later, a bomb exploded.
The security guard was unharmed while the perpetrators fled towards Barangay Binitayan of the same town, police said.
The communist rebels have been attacking Globe facilities in remote villages purportedly due to the telecommunication firm’s failure to pay protection money.
RP-US ‘Balikatan’ goes to Bicol; no war games
By Ephraim Aguilar and Roy Gersalia
Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY—WHILE NO ONE CAN predict how a Barack Obama presidency will affect ties between the Philippines and the United States, a US Navy officer thinks the time-tested “good relations” are not likely to change.
Proof of this, according to Capt. Kelly Schmader, commander of the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, is the 2009 RP-US Balikatan military exercises that will be held in three Bicol provinces—Albay, Masbate and Sorsogon—in April.
Schmader visited the Bicol region yesterday to see to the final stages of surveying and planning for the Balikatan (meaning “shoulder to shoulder”), which is now on its 14th year in the country.
“My commander in chief is President [George W.] Bush. Nobody knows at this point what might happen beyond his administration. But personally, I do not expect that the good RP-US ties will change,” Schmader said at a press conference.
The Balikatan is part of the mutual defense treaty between the Philippines and the United States, he pointed out.
In Sorsogon on Wednesday, Schmader and 30 other US soldiers had a three-hour dialogue with Sorsogon Gov. Sally Lee and Juban Mayor Maritess Guab-Fragata to formalize arrangements for the exercises to be held in the Pacific Board area near Albay and Sorsogon.
The deployment of an engineering battalion and medical mission groups was among the points discussed.
Purely humanitarian
Last year’s Balikatan was held in Mindanao. Its primary objective was to improve the “interoperability” of the two countries’ armed forces for mutual defense.
This time, some 400 American doctors, engineers and nurses, predominantly belonging to the military, will join the monthlong exercises to provide humanitarian aid to depressed areas in Albay, Masbate and Sorsogon, Schmader said.
These provinces are considered hotbeds of communist insurgency in the Bicol region. But Col. Ariel Bernardo, commander of the Philippine Army’s 901st Infantry Brigade, said there would be no war games in the coming exercises.
Intervention suspected
“The Bicol Balikatan shall only comprise humanitarian projects in the form of medical missions and engineering works,” Bernardo said.
But Greg Bañares, spokesperson of the communist-led National Democratic Front in Bicol, said in a press statement that the US soldiers might intervene in the armed battles between government troops and New People’s Army guerrillas.
He also warned that the “fake” humanitarian missions could be used to survey the Philippines’ rich lands and seas or to spy on revolutionary movements.
Bernardo dismissed these accusations, saying the aims of the exercises were peace and development.
“We are [conducting] development projects in depressed communities because we recognize poverty as the root cause of the insurgency,” he said.
Bernardo said the insurgency in Bicol was reduced to a manageable level in 1995 but eventually saw a resurgence because of poverty.
“We do not want that mistake to happen again,” he said.
Local materials
Engineering work (involving the construction of roads and water facilities) and the medical missions are scheduled to begin in the first and second weeks of April, respectively.
Schmader, himself an engineer, said all materials for the engineering work would be acquired locally in order to boost local economies.
Neither the American and Filipino military officials specified the costs and funding source of the 2009 Balikatan despite direct questions from reporters.
But Schmader said the costs would be shared by the countries. He estimated the engineering work to cost around $450,000.
Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY—WHILE NO ONE CAN predict how a Barack Obama presidency will affect ties between the Philippines and the United States, a US Navy officer thinks the time-tested “good relations” are not likely to change.
Proof of this, according to Capt. Kelly Schmader, commander of the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, is the 2009 RP-US Balikatan military exercises that will be held in three Bicol provinces—Albay, Masbate and Sorsogon—in April.
Schmader visited the Bicol region yesterday to see to the final stages of surveying and planning for the Balikatan (meaning “shoulder to shoulder”), which is now on its 14th year in the country.
“My commander in chief is President [George W.] Bush. Nobody knows at this point what might happen beyond his administration. But personally, I do not expect that the good RP-US ties will change,” Schmader said at a press conference.
The Balikatan is part of the mutual defense treaty between the Philippines and the United States, he pointed out.
In Sorsogon on Wednesday, Schmader and 30 other US soldiers had a three-hour dialogue with Sorsogon Gov. Sally Lee and Juban Mayor Maritess Guab-Fragata to formalize arrangements for the exercises to be held in the Pacific Board area near Albay and Sorsogon.
The deployment of an engineering battalion and medical mission groups was among the points discussed.
Purely humanitarian
Last year’s Balikatan was held in Mindanao. Its primary objective was to improve the “interoperability” of the two countries’ armed forces for mutual defense.
This time, some 400 American doctors, engineers and nurses, predominantly belonging to the military, will join the monthlong exercises to provide humanitarian aid to depressed areas in Albay, Masbate and Sorsogon, Schmader said.
These provinces are considered hotbeds of communist insurgency in the Bicol region. But Col. Ariel Bernardo, commander of the Philippine Army’s 901st Infantry Brigade, said there would be no war games in the coming exercises.
Intervention suspected
“The Bicol Balikatan shall only comprise humanitarian projects in the form of medical missions and engineering works,” Bernardo said.
But Greg Bañares, spokesperson of the communist-led National Democratic Front in Bicol, said in a press statement that the US soldiers might intervene in the armed battles between government troops and New People’s Army guerrillas.
He also warned that the “fake” humanitarian missions could be used to survey the Philippines’ rich lands and seas or to spy on revolutionary movements.
Bernardo dismissed these accusations, saying the aims of the exercises were peace and development.
“We are [conducting] development projects in depressed communities because we recognize poverty as the root cause of the insurgency,” he said.
Bernardo said the insurgency in Bicol was reduced to a manageable level in 1995 but eventually saw a resurgence because of poverty.
“We do not want that mistake to happen again,” he said.
Local materials
Engineering work (involving the construction of roads and water facilities) and the medical missions are scheduled to begin in the first and second weeks of April, respectively.
Schmader, himself an engineer, said all materials for the engineering work would be acquired locally in order to boost local economies.
Neither the American and Filipino military officials specified the costs and funding source of the 2009 Balikatan despite direct questions from reporters.
But Schmader said the costs would be shared by the countries. He estimated the engineering work to cost around $450,000.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
UNDER OBAMA
Change unlikely in RP-US ties--officer
By Ephraim Aguilar, Roy Gersalia
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:37:00 01/08/2009
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view/20090108-182207/Change-unlikely-in-RP-US-ties--officer
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--(UPDATE) While no one can be sure at this point how a Barack Obama presidency will affect ties between the Philippines and United States, a US Navy officer said the time-tested “good relations” between the two countries is not likely to change.
Captain Kelly Schmader, commander of the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, said proof of this are the 2009 Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises, which will be held in three Bicol provinces this April.
Schmader was in Bicol Thursday for the final stages of surveying and planning of the joint US-RP military exercises, now in their 14th year in the country.
“My commander-in-chief is President [George W.] Bush. Nobody knows at this point what might happen beyond his administration. But personally, I do not expect that the good RP-US ties will change,” Schmader said at a press conference.
He stressed that the Balikatan exercises are part of a mutual defense treaty between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US.
Schmader said around 400 American doctors, engineers, and nurses, predominantly military, will join the month-long exercises to provide humanitarian aid to depressed areas in the provinces of Albay, Masbate, and Sorsogon.
These provinces are considered hotbeds of the communist insurgency in the Bicol region. But Colonel Ariel Bernardo, commander of the Philippine Army's 901st Infantry Brigade, said there will be no war games in the Bicol Balikatan.
“The Bicol Balikatan shall only comprise humanitarian projects in the form of medical missions and engineering works,” Bernardo said.
Greg Bañares, spokesperson of the rebel National Democratic (NDF) Front in Bicol, warned in a press statement that US troops might intervene in armed battles between government troops and communist guerrillas.
He also warned that the “fake” humanitarian missions could be used to survey the country's rich lands and seas or spy on the revolutionary movement.
Bernardo brushed off these accusations, saying the aims of the exercises are peace and development.
“We are pouring in development projects on depressed communities, since we recognize poverty as the root cause of insurgency,” Bernardo said.
He added that, in 1995, insurgency had been reduced to a manageable level in Bicol, but people went back to rebellion because of poverty.
“We do not want that mistake to happen again,” Bernardo said.
The engineering works -- construction of roads and water facilities -- will begin in the first week of April and medical missions in the middle of the same month.
Schmader, also an engineer, said all materials for the engineering works will be acquired locally to boost the economy.
None of the American and Filipino Army officers have been specific about the source and total amount of funds to be used for the 2009 Balikatan despite direct questions by the media.
But Shchmader said the funds will be shared by both countries. He estimated the engineering works alone to cost around US$450,000.
In Sorsogon on Wednesday, US soldiers led by Schmader conducted a dialogue with Sorsogon Governor Sally Lee and Juban town Mayor Maritess Guab-Fragata on the joint exercises to be held in the Pacific Board area near Albay and Sorsogon provinces.
Last year, Balikatan was held in the war-torn Mindanao region. Its primary objective is to improve the interoperability of both forces for mutual defense.
By Ephraim Aguilar, Roy Gersalia
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:37:00 01/08/2009
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view/20090108-182207/Change-unlikely-in-RP-US-ties--officer
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--(UPDATE) While no one can be sure at this point how a Barack Obama presidency will affect ties between the Philippines and United States, a US Navy officer said the time-tested “good relations” between the two countries is not likely to change.
Captain Kelly Schmader, commander of the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, said proof of this are the 2009 Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises, which will be held in three Bicol provinces this April.
Schmader was in Bicol Thursday for the final stages of surveying and planning of the joint US-RP military exercises, now in their 14th year in the country.
“My commander-in-chief is President [George W.] Bush. Nobody knows at this point what might happen beyond his administration. But personally, I do not expect that the good RP-US ties will change,” Schmader said at a press conference.
He stressed that the Balikatan exercises are part of a mutual defense treaty between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US.
Schmader said around 400 American doctors, engineers, and nurses, predominantly military, will join the month-long exercises to provide humanitarian aid to depressed areas in the provinces of Albay, Masbate, and Sorsogon.
These provinces are considered hotbeds of the communist insurgency in the Bicol region. But Colonel Ariel Bernardo, commander of the Philippine Army's 901st Infantry Brigade, said there will be no war games in the Bicol Balikatan.
“The Bicol Balikatan shall only comprise humanitarian projects in the form of medical missions and engineering works,” Bernardo said.
Greg Bañares, spokesperson of the rebel National Democratic (NDF) Front in Bicol, warned in a press statement that US troops might intervene in armed battles between government troops and communist guerrillas.
He also warned that the “fake” humanitarian missions could be used to survey the country's rich lands and seas or spy on the revolutionary movement.
Bernardo brushed off these accusations, saying the aims of the exercises are peace and development.
“We are pouring in development projects on depressed communities, since we recognize poverty as the root cause of insurgency,” Bernardo said.
He added that, in 1995, insurgency had been reduced to a manageable level in Bicol, but people went back to rebellion because of poverty.
“We do not want that mistake to happen again,” Bernardo said.
The engineering works -- construction of roads and water facilities -- will begin in the first week of April and medical missions in the middle of the same month.
Schmader, also an engineer, said all materials for the engineering works will be acquired locally to boost the economy.
None of the American and Filipino Army officers have been specific about the source and total amount of funds to be used for the 2009 Balikatan despite direct questions by the media.
But Shchmader said the funds will be shared by both countries. He estimated the engineering works alone to cost around US$450,000.
In Sorsogon on Wednesday, US soldiers led by Schmader conducted a dialogue with Sorsogon Governor Sally Lee and Juban town Mayor Maritess Guab-Fragata on the joint exercises to be held in the Pacific Board area near Albay and Sorsogon provinces.
Last year, Balikatan was held in the war-torn Mindanao region. Its primary objective is to improve the interoperability of both forces for mutual defense.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Taiwanese shot dead in Albay
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 14:49:00 01/07/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--A Taiwanese official of a cement factory in Camalig, Albay, was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen Tuesday morning, the Bicol police reported Wednesday.
The victim, Lee Shih Ying, 38, assistant marketing supervisor of the Goodfound Cement Factory, was at the firm’s quarry site when he was shot.
Police recovered from the crime scene five empty 9 mm pistol shells.
According to police, the killers also stole the victim's bag before fleeing towards the hilly village of Caguiba, also in Camalig.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 14:49:00 01/07/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--A Taiwanese official of a cement factory in Camalig, Albay, was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen Tuesday morning, the Bicol police reported Wednesday.
The victim, Lee Shih Ying, 38, assistant marketing supervisor of the Goodfound Cement Factory, was at the firm’s quarry site when he was shot.
Police recovered from the crime scene five empty 9 mm pistol shells.
According to police, the killers also stole the victim's bag before fleeing towards the hilly village of Caguiba, also in Camalig.
Monday, December 08, 2008
2 fishermen missing in Catanduanes
Rains trigger landslides, floods in Bicol areas
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 23:17:00 12/08/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—As monsoon rains continue to affect Southern Luzon, two fishermen were reported missing while roads have been made impassable by landslides and floods in the provinces of Catanduanes and Sorsogon, officials said.
The Bicol regional disaster coordinating council identified the two fishermen as Edwin Taopo, 40, and Cezar Soriano, 40, of the village of Batalay in Bato, Catanduanes. They were last seen Friday.
A landslide also occurred in the village of Paraiso in San Miguel, Catanduanes.
The Virac-Viga road in Catanduanes was already impassable, Bicol civil defense director Raffy Alejandro said in the RDCC report.
In Sorsogon province, a spillway in the village of San Rafael in Sta. Magdalena, Sorsogon was also impassable due to rising floods. Footpaths in the villages of San Roque, San Isidro in the same town were also flooded.
Some 40 families were already evacuated and are temporarily sheltered at the San Antonio Elementary school in Sta. Magdalena.
Alejandro said the RDCC already requested a chopper from the Philippine Air Force as requested by the Catanduanes provincial government, which intends to conduct an aerial survey of the affected areas.
Corazon Samar, chief meteorologist of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration in Legazpi City said heavy rains in Bicol are caused by the tail-end of the cold front affecting the region.
She said that there is currently a gale warning over Bicol and Southern Luzon, which means these areas will experience winds gusting up to 70 kilometers per hour as induced by the surge of the northeast monsoon.
A low pressure area was spotted in the Samar area Monday morning but Samar said it was an inactive low pressure area and just a remnant of the cold front.
She said the prevailing weather from November to February is expected to be wet in the eastern side of the country especially in the coastal areas.
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 23:17:00 12/08/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—As monsoon rains continue to affect Southern Luzon, two fishermen were reported missing while roads have been made impassable by landslides and floods in the provinces of Catanduanes and Sorsogon, officials said.
The Bicol regional disaster coordinating council identified the two fishermen as Edwin Taopo, 40, and Cezar Soriano, 40, of the village of Batalay in Bato, Catanduanes. They were last seen Friday.
A landslide also occurred in the village of Paraiso in San Miguel, Catanduanes.
The Virac-Viga road in Catanduanes was already impassable, Bicol civil defense director Raffy Alejandro said in the RDCC report.
In Sorsogon province, a spillway in the village of San Rafael in Sta. Magdalena, Sorsogon was also impassable due to rising floods. Footpaths in the villages of San Roque, San Isidro in the same town were also flooded.
Some 40 families were already evacuated and are temporarily sheltered at the San Antonio Elementary school in Sta. Magdalena.
Alejandro said the RDCC already requested a chopper from the Philippine Air Force as requested by the Catanduanes provincial government, which intends to conduct an aerial survey of the affected areas.
Corazon Samar, chief meteorologist of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration in Legazpi City said heavy rains in Bicol are caused by the tail-end of the cold front affecting the region.
She said that there is currently a gale warning over Bicol and Southern Luzon, which means these areas will experience winds gusting up to 70 kilometers per hour as induced by the surge of the northeast monsoon.
A low pressure area was spotted in the Samar area Monday morning but Samar said it was an inactive low pressure area and just a remnant of the cold front.
She said the prevailing weather from November to February is expected to be wet in the eastern side of the country especially in the coastal areas.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
‘Reming’ survivors meet new aid heroes
By Ephraim Aguilar
Legazpi City
TWO YEARS AFTER SUPERTYPHOON “REMING” sent lahar from Mayon Volcano crashing down villages in Albay, killing over a thousand people, new heroes have risen from the rubble to sustain what was started from scratch.
Many international relief agencies had ceased to operate in the province, but new institutions are now bringing long-term assistance to the survivors.
A defining moment confronted Gail Narramore, a 30-year-old South African, when she visited the ruins left by lahar in Barangay Maipon in Guinobatan town. A grade school teacher from London, Narramore flew to Manila and Albay in January last year to see for herself the magnitude of the disaster.
Dream
Since childhood, Narramore has dreamed of putting up her own orphanage to care for abandoned, abused and neglected children.
While reading the Bible on a four-hour train trip in London, Narramore said she met an old Christian minister who befriended her. The man, however, died five years later but he had willed that all proceeds from his funeral be given to Narramore so she could start her charity work.
The woman’s visit to Maipon village wrenched her heart. “Around 300 people ran after me the moment the villagers noticed my presence. Maybe they thought I was there to distribute food or clothing. There was deep despair in the eyes of the people,” she recalled.
“It was raining and flooded that day. I saw one house made of bamboo standing, but half of it was buried under sand,” she said.
But Narramore could not forget the face of a woman survivor named Nora. “She looked very happy and was smiling to me as she pointed to her half-buried house,” she said.
Nora was tending a “sari-sari” (retail) store near her house. “I wrote a sign ‘Business as Usual’ and posted it there,” Narramore said.
Despite the tragedy, she said she was “shocked at how these people kept on going.”
Free day care classes
Narramore went back to Manila to learn the legal requirements and ways of putting up a charity institution. In October last year, she started the Tiwala Kids and Communities in Albay.
Tiwala has been holding free day-care classes for poor children in the hilly Sitio Cawayan in Barangay Calayucay, Sto. Domingo town. The schools are far from the village, an hour-long walk down a craggy trail.
“Most of their parents are farmers. The livelihood of the people there were badly affected after Reming,” Narramore said.
Tiwala has also been feeding and educating street children in the capital city of Legazpi.
It has Filipino volunteers and a staff. Narramore and two staff members had been living with the community in a farm in Cawayan, a 45-minute trek from downtown.
Alleviating hunger
Another kind-hearted soul, businesswoman Mediatrix Villanueva has been actively involved in linking government and nongovernment organizations for relief missions.
Seeing thousands of children facing hunger in the aftermath of the supertyphoon, Villanueva, who hails from Daraga town, created the Dios Mabalos Foundation. “Dios Mabalos,” which means “May God bless you in return,” is used by Bicolanos to express gratitude.
Villanueva said her group had been working with the St. Francis of Assisi Foundation and the Pondo ng Pinoy to hold supplemental feeding programs in schools and parishes.
“Since livelihood was badly affected by the disaster, the standard of living of families dropped. Poverty left many children sickly and malnourished,” said Erlinda Samonte, Dios Mabalos project manager.
The foundation has already fed 47,875 children over six months under its daily nutrition program dubbed “Hapag-asa.” It serves rice porridge containing Vita-meal (lentil fortified with over 28 vitamins).
It has already expanded its operations to Aklan, where Villanueva’s mother comes from.
Recovery
The provincial government has created a task force to implement a socioeconomic recovery program called “Albay Mabuhay.”
Its coordinator, Emily Kare, said many of the relief agencies had already closed, but there was still the need to bring the people’s lives back to normal and uplift them.
Albay Mabuhay has been providing skills training, credit assistance for livelihood, and job referrals and placements to beneficiaries.
If there is one good thing that “Reming” had brought to Albay, it strengthened the collaboration between government and nongovernment agencies, Kare said. “We have learned to combine our strengths to help the victims of disaster,” she said.
She said, however, that more funds were needed to complete the recovery as displaced families were still living in “transit” shelters in relocation sites. The dwellings are rooms made of plywood and galvanized iron sheets.
Kare placed the shelter gap at still 5,862 in two cities and five towns in Albay alone. Each resettlement house costs around P150,000.
Legazpi City
TWO YEARS AFTER SUPERTYPHOON “REMING” sent lahar from Mayon Volcano crashing down villages in Albay, killing over a thousand people, new heroes have risen from the rubble to sustain what was started from scratch.
Many international relief agencies had ceased to operate in the province, but new institutions are now bringing long-term assistance to the survivors.
A defining moment confronted Gail Narramore, a 30-year-old South African, when she visited the ruins left by lahar in Barangay Maipon in Guinobatan town. A grade school teacher from London, Narramore flew to Manila and Albay in January last year to see for herself the magnitude of the disaster.
Dream
Since childhood, Narramore has dreamed of putting up her own orphanage to care for abandoned, abused and neglected children.
While reading the Bible on a four-hour train trip in London, Narramore said she met an old Christian minister who befriended her. The man, however, died five years later but he had willed that all proceeds from his funeral be given to Narramore so she could start her charity work.
The woman’s visit to Maipon village wrenched her heart. “Around 300 people ran after me the moment the villagers noticed my presence. Maybe they thought I was there to distribute food or clothing. There was deep despair in the eyes of the people,” she recalled.
“It was raining and flooded that day. I saw one house made of bamboo standing, but half of it was buried under sand,” she said.
But Narramore could not forget the face of a woman survivor named Nora. “She looked very happy and was smiling to me as she pointed to her half-buried house,” she said.
Nora was tending a “sari-sari” (retail) store near her house. “I wrote a sign ‘Business as Usual’ and posted it there,” Narramore said.
Despite the tragedy, she said she was “shocked at how these people kept on going.”
Free day care classes
Narramore went back to Manila to learn the legal requirements and ways of putting up a charity institution. In October last year, she started the Tiwala Kids and Communities in Albay.
Tiwala has been holding free day-care classes for poor children in the hilly Sitio Cawayan in Barangay Calayucay, Sto. Domingo town. The schools are far from the village, an hour-long walk down a craggy trail.
“Most of their parents are farmers. The livelihood of the people there were badly affected after Reming,” Narramore said.
Tiwala has also been feeding and educating street children in the capital city of Legazpi.
It has Filipino volunteers and a staff. Narramore and two staff members had been living with the community in a farm in Cawayan, a 45-minute trek from downtown.
Alleviating hunger
Another kind-hearted soul, businesswoman Mediatrix Villanueva has been actively involved in linking government and nongovernment organizations for relief missions.
Seeing thousands of children facing hunger in the aftermath of the supertyphoon, Villanueva, who hails from Daraga town, created the Dios Mabalos Foundation. “Dios Mabalos,” which means “May God bless you in return,” is used by Bicolanos to express gratitude.
Villanueva said her group had been working with the St. Francis of Assisi Foundation and the Pondo ng Pinoy to hold supplemental feeding programs in schools and parishes.
“Since livelihood was badly affected by the disaster, the standard of living of families dropped. Poverty left many children sickly and malnourished,” said Erlinda Samonte, Dios Mabalos project manager.
The foundation has already fed 47,875 children over six months under its daily nutrition program dubbed “Hapag-asa.” It serves rice porridge containing Vita-meal (lentil fortified with over 28 vitamins).
It has already expanded its operations to Aklan, where Villanueva’s mother comes from.
Recovery
The provincial government has created a task force to implement a socioeconomic recovery program called “Albay Mabuhay.”
Its coordinator, Emily Kare, said many of the relief agencies had already closed, but there was still the need to bring the people’s lives back to normal and uplift them.
Albay Mabuhay has been providing skills training, credit assistance for livelihood, and job referrals and placements to beneficiaries.
If there is one good thing that “Reming” had brought to Albay, it strengthened the collaboration between government and nongovernment agencies, Kare said. “We have learned to combine our strengths to help the victims of disaster,” she said.
She said, however, that more funds were needed to complete the recovery as displaced families were still living in “transit” shelters in relocation sites. The dwellings are rooms made of plywood and galvanized iron sheets.
Kare placed the shelter gap at still 5,862 in two cities and five towns in Albay alone. Each resettlement house costs around P150,000.
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