Six months after: Lessons from Sendong's wrath

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Six months have passed but the frightening memories of typhoon “Sendong” keep flashing back, mostly floodwaters that brought him to the brink of death. Sleep offered little comfort as the same images moved whenever he closed his eyes.

Anthony Cabanigan, 34, a volunteer worker of Habitat for Humanity Philippines, vividly recalls the horrifying moments in December 2011 when Sendong sent him hurtling from his home in Sta. Elena to the Cagayan River.

“It was the scariest moment of my life. For several hours, I was swept away by the raging waters of Sendong to the river where (I was left) unconscious. I remember sharply how I was playing like ‘patintero’ on the water with the big logs floating by the river. I didn’t know what to do,” Cabanigan recalled.

Vivid memories

The family of Mareilli Serino, 39, is one of the 163 beneficiaries from Barangay Sta. Filomena in Iligan City provided with permanent shelter in Barangay Sta. Elena, Bayanihan Village, Iligan City by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

She misses her two-year-old son, who died in Sendong’s wrath.

“I am still terribly in pain because we were unable to save Benjo from the rapids of Sendong. I miss him so much. He was so playful when he was alive. He brought joy to the family. The Sendong disaster reminds us of the loss of our angel, but we’re happy now because we know our angel is in the hands of the Lord,” Serino said.

David Mangubat, 62, admits his family has not fully recovered from the pain of losing their loved ones. Eight of his children and grandchildren died at the height of the typhoon.

To this day, they remain missing as declared by the authorities. “I am still hurting. I am still in pain. But what can I do? It is very painful and I try to move on. I try hard to veer away from the memories of Sendong and how he took the lives of my family. It is really hard to cope with the loss of your loved ones,” Mangubat said.

For Cabanigan, Mangubat and Robert John de la Torre, 21, when it rains, they must be prepared. They should either stay awake until the rain stops or place their emergency kits beside them so that when intuition dictates, they could quickly move to a safer place.

This is exactly what Mangubat and his wife do whenever the rain falls long enough to consider leaving their temporary shelter.

“We don’t want to wait for another Sendong to come and ravish the last member of our family. We don’t wait for a storm signal warning before we all move up and find a safer place for us. We just need to be more cautious and alert this time. Another Sendong tragedy should not happen again. That’s the last thing I want to happen in this midst of our recovery to a new life, new home and new neighbors,” Mangubat said.

Cabanigan, on the other hand, would immediately check on his children and wife, gather them close together to make sure it will be easy for him to secure them.

Baselisa Montero, a single parent, is making ends meet through her sari-sari store.

“My family occupied my mind when I was almost helpless thinking only if my family were safe or were they wiped out by Sendong. Now that God allowed us to live another life I want to make sure that I am able to protect them from harm,” Cabanigan said.

Moving on

It was romance made in heaven under Sendong’s spell, a witness to love that conquered even nature’s wrath.

Carmelyn de la Torre, 17, and Ericson Lacadman, 27, a laborer, decided to live together when they thought Sendong would keep them apart. De la Torre was seriously hurt after she was hit by heavy logs. Her mother, Mareilli, was grieving for her baby brother so it was Lacadman who took care of her while in the hospital. De la Torre is now six months pregnant and plans to marry Lacadman when she reaches 18 this year.

Cabanigan, for his part, was elected president of the Tent City that helped in the rehabilitation efforts of the DSWD. Being an internally displaced person, his motivation to recover and start a new life did not deter him from bringing inspiration to others and sharing his skills with the community.

Cabanigan was hired by the Habitat for Humanity which evaluated his leadership skills as president of the Tent City. When President Aquino formally turned over 700 housing units to the Sendong victims, he represented Sta. Elena and his new community.

Lucita Gemar, 46, continues to plant vegetables even after their house in Sta. Filomena was des-troyed by Sendong. While she feels no anxiety or fear after six months, she said she feels safer now in the Bayanihan Village.

Baselisa Montero put up a sari-sari store inside the Macasandig evacuation center. With a profit of P1,000 a day, she is now excited to transfer her store to her new home in Calaanan Village.

Disaster preparedness

Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Vicente Emano is all praises to Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman for her unwavering support and quick response during the relief operations.

Evelyn Madrio, social welfare officer II of DSWD-Region 10, has mixed emotions in Sendong’s aftermath. “Since Sendong was a history to both Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities, we can only thank his arrival because we learned so many things about disaster response management that our international counterparts have helped us put together,” Madrio said.

Madrio is not waiting for another Sendong but she is confident that the next disaster will find them better prepared.