(The following is an account by Presidential Assistant for Cordillera Affairs (PACA) Tom Killip on the recent Typhoon Pepeng's fury which hit northern Luzon especially that of Baguio City, Benguet, and Mountain Province. PACA Killip wrote this letter to US-based Archie Stapleton, member of yahoo egroups' Kotim ya Eta (KyE). The blogger, also a KyEr, deems the letter is of public interest so here goes.... )
Dear Archie and Ol,
Am back here in Baguio City for almost a week since we forced our way into half-cleared landslides that covered whole stretches of roads along the Benguet side of Halsema Highway specially parts of Tublay and Buguias in order to reach Baguio. But just to continue my long story which I believe is relevant up to this writing as the trauma and effects of the recent disasters hereabouts continue to affect entire communities:
(Oct. 13,2009)
I am e-mailing here at the Rural Bank of Sagada which is probably the only internet that is working in this town since the aftermath of Typhoon Peping and since that fateful evening of October 8, 2009 when nature struck with such fury ramming down the heaviest blows into the neighboring areas of Benguet Province , Baguio City and Mountain Province . I am lucky there is a generator running at this bank otherwise it is total brownout in the entire province as there is extensive damages to electrical facilities all over it may take more than a week to rehabilitate.
As of this writing information gathered thus far shows that Benguet Province and Baguio City suffered the most number of deaths at 182+. La Trinidad was hardest-hit as one area at Barangay Puguis gave in to mud, slime, and rocks burying alive more than 70 people and countless homes. At Abatan 90 in Buguias town, the edge-part of the public market area gave in causing a landslide that buried houses below it. Twenty eight (28) people many of them students were buried alive. In different towns of Benguet Province such as Bakun, Mankayan, Tublay, and Kabayan scores of people were also killed all contributing to the total number of casualties in Benguet Province and Baguio .
Meanwhile here at Mountai Province around 42 deaths were accounted for. The biggest tragedy occured at the beautiful village of Kayan, Tadian when at around 6:30 p.m. at suppertime on Oct. 8, 2009 a landslide occurred at the road just above Kayan East.The mix of rocks, soil, and mud gave in to heavy rains creating an avalanche that gained momentum as it bulldozed its way into a residential area from top to bottom until it reached the main avenue leading into to the main town. Entire families were lost in the rubble and landslide.A total of 35 people were listed missing as rescue and retrieval operations begun that very night. At Bunga, also a barangay of Tadian, 3 members of a family were killed by an avalanche which tore apart their home. In Barangay Betwagan, Sadanga, 12 houses were wrecked by a landslide but only one was killed as most of the residents noticed the danger and were able to evacuate to safer ground. At Talubin, Bontoc 2 people died as they drowned in a swollen river.All told Mountain Province has 40+ victims due to Typhoon Pepeng.
During the entire period of rescue and retrieval operations from the date of tragedy, most areas of Benguet and Mountain Province were cut-off, totally isolated by landslides, road washouts, destroyed electrical facilities, shortage of fuel, limited transportation, and limited communications. But as usual the finest quality and noble character of the Igorot rose up to the occasion during this whole period of disaster, a story of a people worth telling and re-telling. Of course it was expected that all agencies of government and churches had to come out as is their mandate and function. It must be to the credit of some local government units and government agencies that rescue, retrieval, relief, medical care, were forthcoming from the beginning.
The Municipality of Tadian through Mayor Constito Masweng should be commended for a very efficient disaster coordination and management work. We can likewise say the same to all provincial agencies and local government units involved as a matter of duty and function. Likewise, Col. Bismarck Soliba of the Philippine Army and Col Albas of the PNP mobilized their respective units to be actively involved in the rescue and retrieval operations. Meanwhile the youth from the college in Bontoc (MPSPC) with many of their teachers were among the first to respond. But what stood out as an outstanding feat of the outlying towns and communities was their collective heroism and the traditional practice to come out in situations of disaster to provide rescue, manpower,food, material support, and various types of services to the stricken communities.
From day one, hundreds of able-bodied men, womenfolk, and youths from nearby towns of Bauko, Sabangan, Sagada, Bontoc,Besao and other places arrived everyday to become part of the work shifts involved in the excavation and extraction of dead bodies. It was non-stop work even at night. You wouldn't miss to observe that this stream of faceless volunteers were mainly lowly farmers and laborers armed with shovels, picks, and garden hoes who did the brunt of the heavy work of extricating bodies from the muck and rubble.I have to take exception to this fact and the way that various mountain communities responded because usually the true accounts get lost in the jumble of media and political projections.
Three feeding stations were organized at the Municipality of Tadian which provided food for the family of the victims, for the volunteer brigades, and for relatives or friends of victims coming to see the situation. Carpenters from all over came to provide free labor by constructing beautiful pine coffins for all the dead with donated lumber and materials.
I must also take exception to the crucial role of some local leaders who initiated moves to trigger an effective and efficient response. Speaking about the involvement of Sagada, the person of ABC Jaime Tigan-o Dugao of Angkileng should be specially cited here. Although he does not hunger for the limelight I am still wondering why his name and his role in these events are never mentioned. (It must be recalled, if only to show how soon people forget that only recently Kapitan Tigan-o has been sitting on top of the peace negotiations between the affected communities of Sabangan, Taccong, and Tulgao as a result of the killing of a Tulgao vendor by a guy from Taccong who is married to a native of Sabangan.
The case is already resolved through the active mediation of the members of the Peace Executive Council of Mountain Province whose members include Mayor Franklin Odsey, Jaime Dugao, Bontoc elder ex-Mayor Kiat-ong, Fr. Pablo Buyagan, and a host of other peacemakers. The provincial government has supported the initiatives of this group. Peace has been finally restored last week as the parties concerned amicably closed the case. This is equally important because it prevented a violent social storm from erupting). If you read local and regional newspapers Tigan-o's crucial role does not appear. Truth to tell, the peace talks would not have advanced significantly without his involvement from the start.
Coming from Bontoc on the afternoon of October 9 where we had a brief conference with Mayor Franklin Odsey the president of the Mayors' League of Mt. Prov. about LGU mobilization for Kayan, ABC Jaime Dugao initiated an emergency meeting of all the barangay captains of Sagada.It was planned and agreed that all families in all barangays would bring out their donations and at the same time organize volunteer brigades for the arduous task of retrieval. That very same morning of Oct.9 the Sagada Police Force and local guides proceeded to Tadian via the circuitous route through Nacawang, Besao as the Sabangan route was blocked by a series of slides. All these moves ensured a steady supply of men and material support from Sagada which accounts for the sustained mobilization throughout the entire period of retrieval. I am pretty sure that similar conduct of mobilizations rooted in "ugali" were likewise carried out in other communities involved. (Pardon me but this is incidentally my dramatic way of introducing folk-leaders like Jaime "Tigan-o" Dugao to KYE)
At one point Undersecretary Tobias called up from Malacanang to inquire about the situation of the Mountain Province since what they knew from scanty information was that the entire provinces of Benguet and ours were in total isolation which was true at earlier days. The situation conjured images of death, devastation, hunger, and helplessness. She sounded unbelieving when I told her that the people of Mountain Province can take care of themselves even at this stage and that there are other calamitous areas and regions of Luzon specially in the cities where people are more helpless. I would understand why it took her some time to comprehend because in the cities the slightest floods could render entire populations helpless and looking up to government for help and relief. But hereabouts in the mountain communities whenever there are disasters of any type (vehicular accidents, fires, landslides, drowning, epidemics, etc.) whether natural or man-made, 'there are no strangers only friends".
And of course there were some comic relief in the course of the disaster operations. A military chopper came over to transport the five injured survivors from the Luis Hora Hospital , Bauko to Baguio for special surgical operations. At the same time the chopper brought in two sniff dogs trained for searching buried victims. The dogs went about for 3 days sniffing for buried corpses but only found dead mice and cats whereupon some elder volunteers suggested that they be better used for the "daw-es" (traditional cleansing ritual).
Still due to the efficient and determined work of volunteer brigades the last victim was finally recovered in a few days time.
Oct. 17 (Sat.)
I went to Sadanga to observe the search and retrieval of three folks from Talubin, Bontoc and Annabel, Sadanga that drowned in the Chico River . Village folks, both men and women from Betwagan, Sakasakan, Saklit, and all villages downstream towards the Kalinga territory were scanning the entire stretch of the river up to where God knows. Two drowning victims were retrieved that day close to the town of Tinglayan and the search continued. Food and manpower were provided by all the communities involved. It is a strong practice in these mountain communities that whenever there is a disaster people even warring communities stop hostilities to help victims no matter if they belong to an enemy tribe. This practice reflects our communities' very high value and respect for life. Ay waday maka-umat is kaneg todi? Only in these Igorot communities.
Oct. 20, 2009
Sagada
Here we are at the Municipal Hall with Mayor Eduardo Latawan and all Sagada folks who have gone to Kayan, Tadian to help in one way or another during those trying times. All vehicles used for the mobilization were likewise required to be grounded at the municipal premises for the "Daw-es" which was performed by town elders. This cleansing ritual is intended to protect the volunteers from nightmares and bad dreams, and to protect volunteers from any form of misfortune. Meanwhile the vehicles were blessed with holy water by the parish priest. After a sumptuous lunch with the people and towns officials we left for Baguio City .
The relief and rehabilitation continues. I am sure that post-disaster period requires very special approach and work among all agencies, organizations, and people concerned whether in the Philippines or from responses coming from outside of the country. The health situation, the emotional trauma, the damages to homes and infrastructures, and livelihood sustenance for surviving victims while they cope up with the next phases of their lives are important matters to consider. At this point as appeals for help are raised, donations and assistance should be channeled to legitimate bodies and agencies duly recognized. The church is one good channel at this point in order to avoid too much politics in the management and administration of relief and rehabilitation. Churches and missions are located inside most of these affected communities thus they can form part of the network for the post-disaster work and rehab as surely this will take a longer time to carry out.
Manong Champag
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(To add more details, the following is an account sent to KyE by Ray Fiar-od, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Officer based in Sagada, Mountain Province. By the way, KyE is an egroup promoting indigenous language.)
P8 en ol,
Sagada consistently sent the biggest retrieval contingent from Day 1 until the recovery of the last body, aside from sending our firetruck to do flushing during and after the retrieval operations. At one time, we sent more than 300 people from all over Sagada. Incidentally, the firetruck of the Bauko Fire Station which was also utilized during the retrieval was manned mostly by firemen from Sagada. Col. Bismarck Soliba also led the Philippine Army contingent from the Montañosa Command.
During the entire duration of the retrieval operations, the old men from Sagada took turns doing the cleansing rituals every afternoon when our crew returned from Kayan. Ikkan da san sapon di danum sakbay ay sumaa nan naki retrieval isnan beb-ey da. Nin daw-es nan amam-a id kubaban. (They will do the water ritual before those who participated in the retrieval of bodies, proceed home. The elder men performed the daw-es ritual) The ritual was presided over by Councilor Joseph Capuyan. Kanan apo konsehal en men daw-es nan municipio ta makaan am-in di as-asi is inagwit nan inmey naki badang id Kayan dapay ta kumedse nan iSagada ta adi da en maamisan is dakes. Inmali da nan amam-a ay nagapo isnan tapi na ay barrio sunga napno nan opisinan Mayor Latawan is bishops ya nan Kayan crew tako. Idi madama nan daw-es, dinamag Lakay Polat nan crew no waday inlaw-an da is pinidit isnan inmeyan da id Kayan ta masapul maisubli. Gawis met tay umegyat tako od ay en men pidit tay lawa isnan kaugaliyan tako.
Inmali gedan si Padi Princel Balitog et siya abes nan nang bendisyon isnan am-in ay lugan ay nausal ay inmey id Kayan. Wada metlang si Pastor Ap-apid id Bugang ay nang bendisyon isnan kinan nan ipugaw.
Men bungsos tako is wakgat tay awnit iyalin Kapitan Dennis Lopez nan napawingan ay kawitan ta kasin mapalti id municipio. Siya di nan culminating activity nan daw-es.
Mabuhay nan heroes,
Polgas
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