3 years after typhoon Frank Ilonggos hail recovery

ILOILO CITY, Philippines - One incident that Ilonggos could not forget until now is the destruction caused by Typhoon Frank, exactly three years ago on June 20, 2008, a disaster that however tested the unity of the people here and the leadership of government officials.

Typhoon “Frank” triggered the worst flooding in Western Visayas, hitting the hardest the city and province of Iloilo, and the capital city of Kalibo in Aklan.

Based on the final official report from the City Social Welfare and Development Office, the typhoon affected 418,000 people in this city or close to 63 percent of its population, in all 180 villages, and completely destroyed a total of 1,448 houses and killed 26 persons.

This year, the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) in Jaro district is spearheading a five-day event, called Bangon Festival, to commemorate the third year after the devastation of typhoon “Frank.

The festival will showcase the unified effort, resilience and spirit of Ilonggos to rise above the devastating calamity. “Iloilo City has fully recovered from the destruction of typhoon Frank,” Mayor Jed Patrick E. Mabilog said in expressing his support to the event.

From June 17-21, various activities were lined up by ABC-Jaro headed by district president Rammy Guintibano, in partnership with the city government and private sponsors.

Barangay M.V. Hechanova chief Perla Guinea will serve as chairperson of Bangon Festival 2011, which will include film showing, concerts and food festival presenting the Ilonggo’s complete recovery from the devastation.

Grand opening program will be on Friday, 5:30 p.m. at the Jaro covered gymnasium, with the expected guests namely Mabilog, city's lone district Rep. Jerry Treñas, and city councilors, among others. A nightly concert and food festival will be held until June 21.

From June 18-20, a short documentary film “Hupa” will be shown starting 5:30pm at Jaro covered gym. It is a purely Ilonggo film documentary, produced by ON Creative and directed by Oscar Nava.

The film chronicles the tragedy caused by “Frank” with the aid of news files, footages, and reports from sources like ABS-CBN Iloilo and the local Aksyon Radyo.

ABC-Jaro will also show a video presentation they produced regarding the Ilonggo’s successful recovery from the disaster. On June 21, a disaster awareness and flood drill will be conducted at 8:00am. Cultural and dance events, as well as a concert in the evening will culminate the anniversary day.