Ondoy survivors recall tragedy with grief, hope

Jennifer Mahusay, 22, is due to give birth anytime this month, a year after she lost all of her three children when tropical cyclone “Ondoy" (Ketsana) ravaged their community in the municipality of Tanay in Rizal province.

Roselyn Sayaman, 25, is likewise five months pregnant, supposedly with her fourth child, except that she also lost her three children in what is considered as the deadliest natural calamity to have hit the country in recent history.

Both Jennifer and Roselyn, however, admit that fond memories of their deceased children continue to haunt them, sometimes unbearably so to the point of blaming themselves for being unable to save them during the onslaught of Ondoy.

Thirty-year-old Allan Flores, meanwhile, still feels uncomfortable talking about his three children, his wife and his mother, all of whom died in floods caused by the typhoon.

On Sunday, which marked the anniversary of the Ondoy tragedy, Jennifer, Roselyn, Allan and other survivors sailed along the banks of Laguna Lake, their boat filled with wreaths and candle, in remembrance of everything they have lost, but more so to signify their intent to move on and rebuild their lives.

Celebration of hope

Residents of Rizal and Laguna gathered in Parola, a lakeside area in the Barangay San Isidro in Tanay, in commemoration activities spearheaded by the local government of Tanay, international aid agencies Oxfam and Australian Agency for International Aid, and the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC).

“Through this commemoration, we want to present new images of the communities, highlighting their efforts to rebuild. While this is a commemoration of the losses of the tragedy, this also calls for a celebration of stories of hope and recovery," said Tanay mayor Lito Tanjuatco.

The event was highlighted by the unveiling of a memorial marker in Parola in Tanay, one of the most affected municipalities during the Ondoy disaster where 60 residents were killed and four remain missing.

The concrete marker, about four feet in height, was made by the Angono-based Higante Makers and Sculptors Society, whose members were also victims of the strong typhoon, and influenced by the artwork of National Artist for Visual Arts Carlos “Botong" Francisco.

It features the figure of a woman pulling up a rope to which people stranded in floods cling, pleading to be brought to safety.

“The marker is open to different interpretations, but we made sure there is the figure of a woman to highlight the gender dimension of disasters. Women bear multiple burden in the aftermath of disasters," said Janice Ian Manlutac, Oxfam’s post-Ondoy project head.

In the afternoon, survivors of the tragedy, including Jennifer and Roselyn, sailed along the banks of Laguna Lake in a symbolic remembrance of and offering to the loved ones they lost in the typhoon’s deadly floods.

Survival fund to fill in gaps

Oxfam is pushing for the creation of a National Survival Fund, which will provide for climate change adaptation projects especially in provinces most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

“We need a national defense against climate change. Even as we call on rich countries – who are responsible for the climate crisis in the first place – to help developing countries adapt to the impacts by providing sufficient funds, we need to pour money ourselves to prepare for the worst," said Oxfam country director Snehal Soneji.

Based on Oxfam’s records, 100,000 families in Rizal were displaced by Ondoy, which killed over 400 people and caused damage estimated at P20 billion, but the provincial government has been able to provide shelter to only 7,000 families.

The provincial government has said it needs some P14 billion to provide homes for the remaining 93,000 families.

Meanwhile, roads, hospitals and schools are still awaiting rehabilitation in Rizal, where infrastructure damages due to the typhoon were estimated at P1.8 billion.

The RDCC, for its part, said it needs at least P30 million for the purchase of basic rescue equipment, but only P17 million was allotted for it in the Annual Investment Plan of Rizal for 2011.

According to Oxfam, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Deputy Speaker Rep. Erin Tañada are drafting a measure that will push for the creation of the Survival Fund. The proposed bill ensures a steady stream of international aid and national financing to enable the country to adapt to the dire effects of climate change.

Moving on, starting over

Meanwhile, even as much needs to be done in terms of the country’s disaster preparedness, Oxfam believes there have been commendable projects to help affected residents cope with the grim effects of Ondoy.

Some 270 families from Barangay San Isidro, for example, were relocated to a housing site in Sitio Gabihan in Barangay Tandang Kutyo, also in Tanay.

The relocation site is a 2.5-hectare piece of land allotted by the municipal government for evacuees. The site is relatively safer, has water provision, and facilities for electricity are underway.

Jennifer, Roselyn and Allan are among those who were relocated to Barangay Tandang Kutyo. They were thankful for the relatively safer and decent housing they were given, but they still say the houses feel empty at times.

“Sometimes I ask what the use of a decent house is when I have no children. My life revolved around my children," Roselyn said, who now maintains a store as a source of income.

Jennifer meanwhile admitted to feeling that familiar fear she felt during Ondoy, when strong winds forebode of bad weather and memories of her three children, one whom remains missing, come flowing like the ravishing floods.

“I also fear for the baby that I will have. I fear that God will also take him away from me," explained Jennifer, who is expecting a baby boy.

Allan, on the other hand, sounded more resolved. A year after Ondoy claimed the lives of almost everyone in his family, he finally felt the need to move on and start over.

“I figured it was a trial that was not intended for us to weather for the rest of our lives. I have my sister and my nephew. I should not be grieving forever," said Allan.

Jerrie Abella, GMA News