Veil of grief hangs over Phivolcs offices

A pall has descended over the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) building in Diliman, Quezon City a week after its former director and four of its scientists perished in a helicopter crash.

While the remains of former Phivolcs chief Raymundo Punongbayan and Phivolcs personnel Jessie Daligdig, Norman Tungol, Dindo Javier and Orlando Abengoza have yet to be identified through DNA testing, Phivolcs officials and staff have prepared a memorial for them at the building’s lobby.

Wreaths of flowers surrounded the memorial — six panels of photographs showing Punongbayan and the others in action, as well as copies of letters of sympathy and condolence from all over the country and various parts of the world.

"We have lost people who are like family to us. Dr. Punongbayan was a father to us and Jessie, Norman, Dindo, and Olan are like brothers to all of us," geologist P.J. delos Reyes told The STAR, tears welling in her eyes. She is the officer-in-charge of Phivolcs’ Geology, Geophysics Research and Development Division (GGRDD).

Mylene Villegas, chief of the Geologic Disaster Awareness and Preparedness Division, said the memorial is their way of showing how much they love Punongbayan and the others.

"We will surely miss them," she said. Like everyone else at Phivolcs, Delos Reyes and Villegas try to contain their grief and go about their daily tasks almost mechanically.

Reynaldo Rederacion, officer-in-charge of security at Phivolcs, has been with the institute since 1985. He could only shake his head in disbelief at the tragedy that befell the men he considered to be exemplary scientists and workers.

Since the helicopter crashed in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija last April 28, killing the scientists, many Phivolcs employees feel as if a part of them has died as well.

Daligdig, born Dec. 27, 1960, was a native of Dagupan City, Pangasinan. He was among the top 20 in the licensure exams for geology in 1983, the year he joined Phivolcs.

He received a postgraduate diploma in geological surveying from the International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences in the Netherlands in 1989. He led efforts to map the ground rupture caused by the July 16,1990 Luzon earthquake and eventually led the Phivolcs’ project to study active faults all over the country, including mapping the Marikina Valley fault system in 1991.

Daligdig was among the group of Phivolcs personnel given an individual citation award certificate from the Secretary of the US Department of Interior in connection with the monitoring of the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo volcano. He was also chosen as Phivolcs’ model employee in 1991.

Graduating with a degree in geology from the University of the Philippines in 1981, he was among the scholars of the Japan Ministry of Education in 1993. He finished his doctorate degree in earth and planetary sciences, specifically applied geophysics, at Kyoto University, Japan in 1997.

In 1999, Daligdig became an associate scientist of the Department of Science and Technology, assigned to Phivolcs. Since his return to the country, he relentlessly pursued the mapping of active faults in the Philippines by actively participating in related research programs and projects.

He also provided technical insight as a member of two task forces, one on land subsidence and another on Bulacan’s Angat Dam and dike safety. In June last year, he was awarded career service executive eligibility. Daligdig is survived by his wife Amor, and children Anya Jael, Jan Adriel, and Jerold Alden.

Tungol, born June 12, 1965, was the chief science research specialist of the GGRDD when he was killed in the crash. He was a native of Floridablanca, Pampanga.

He graduated from UP with a degree in geology and placed fourth in the licensure examinations in 1987. When he joined Phivolcs as a science research specialist in 1991, he participated in the monitoring, mapping and assessment of Pinatubo volcano’s lahar flow. He was also part of the mapping and trenching team at the Marikina Valley fault system in 1993.

In 1997, Tungol received the S.P.A. Harrison memorial prize in engineering geology by the Department of Geological Sciences of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, where he finished his postgraduate diploma in engineering geology with distinction.

He also finished his doctorate degree in engineering geology at the same university in 2002.

That same year, Tungol placed fourth in the career service executive examination. He greatly contributed to Phivolcs’ research and development efforts, including research and published scientific papers on the post-eruption lahar flow of Pinatubo and active faults in the Philippines.

He is survived by his wife, Ma. Lourdes, and children Athena Eirene, Alyssa Loren, Ava Gabrielle and Alexie Catherine.

Dindo Javier, born May 17, 1963, joined Phivolcs in 1988 as part of its audio-visual documentation unit. He was a native of Hagonoy, Bulacan.

He was always a member of the team of technical staff sent to the field during volcanic- or earthquake-related crises, including the July 16, 1990 earthquake, the 1991 Pinatubo eruption and its subsequent lahar flow, and the 1993 Mayon Volcano eruption. He was also sent on various Phivolcs Quick Response Team investigations of these crises.

He is survived by his wife, Emerita, and children Ma. May Fatima, Angelo Carlo and Ma. Kristine.

Abengoza, born Jan. 21, 1956, was a science research assistant at the Phivolcs’ Seismological Observation and Earthquake Prediction Division at the time he was killed.

Abengoza, who hailed from Naga City, joined Phivolcs in 1994 as a budget assistant. His main task at his last position was providing technical assistance and accompanying the institute’s technical personnel on the field.

Like most Phivolcs personnel, Abengoza’s job brought him to the country’s most unfriendly terrain, at the most dangerous times. He helped monitor the lahar flow from Pinatubo during the rainy season and map active faults and investigate volcanoes when these became active.

He is survived by his wife, Susan, and children Allan Kinski, Maria Danica, Orlando and Allan Rafael.

With their remains still unidentified, the scientists’ respective families are at a loss – they do not even know when to hold funeral rites. They have already agreed to participate in the tribute to be held by Phivolcs next week.

"But what we are really concerned about is the children they have left behind," Phivolcs planning officer Delfin Garcia said.

He expressed apprehension that the death benefits the families will receive may not be enough to support the schooling of the surviving children.

According to Phivolcs officials and staff, the meager benefits due the families of their colleagues only compounds their grief.