Cebu-based call center agent reunites family in Tacloban

CEBU, Philippines - Twenty-six-year-old Reyno Campos, a Cebu City-based call center agent, could neither eat nor concentrate on his work.

Following the wrath of super typhoon Yolanda that nearly wiped out his home of Tacloban City, causing shutdown of all network signals, he had to go home and checked for himself his family, including his 96-year-old grandmother and 77-year-old mother.

"Nag-take ko og emergency leave. Di mada g'yud. Di ko katulog, di ko ka-concentrate sa trabaho," said Campos, who lives in a boarding house in Banilad, Cebu City.

On Saturday midnight, together with three other fellow Taclobanons, Campos, bringing goods for his family, took a free ride on a Philippine Navy's boat and, after some 12 hours, they arrived at the devastated city.

 Monday morning, since there were no available vehicles yet as roads were still impassable, he walked for at least three hours to reach his residence at Phase 2 in V&G Subdivision, which is some six kilometers from the downtown area.

When he finally reached his house, Campos witnessed a heartwarming scenario---his grandmother, his mother, his aunt, and two cousins playing with his six-month old nephew. "Kahilak ko sa kalipay kay kumpleto sila," he told The Freeman.

His mother and the rest of his relatives, upon seeing him, hugged him and in tears, narrated their ordeal.

"They just prayed for four hours samtang sige og bayo ang bagyo," Campos related their story.

Luckily, he said, of the six Phases in V&G Subd., Phase 1 is the most elevated. The 10-feet flood was not able to penetrate their house, and only damaged the roof in their kitchen and displaced their concrete wall from the ground for about two inches, he said.

Today, Campos is scheduled to proceed to Leyte town, also in Leyte to look for his younger sister, who works there and who he believes has also survived. He said that once he finds his sister, he will go back to Cebu with her and their mother and stay in the city for at least five months or until their hometown, or at least at V&G Subd., is back to normal.

A military official told him that V&G Subd., where houses were least affected by the supertyphoon, is in danger from looting. "Mag-amping daw mi kay naa'y intelligence report na naa daw mga tawo from Samar na victims sad sa bagyo na muatake sa among subdivision, kay wa man kaayo mi gub-i. Iandam na lang daw namo among mga armas," Campos narrated. A grocery store and a pharmacy remained standing and were still selling goods and medicines since after the typhoon.

Campos, after checking on Tacloban City's current situation, guessed that it may still take some five years for the city to regain its normal life. "Tanang establsihments g'yud guba. Ang mga tag-iya na mostly nagpuyo sa V&G, nangbiya na. Wa na man sila'y mahimo kay giukopahan man ilang mga building sa mga biktima," he said.

Like the rest of the world claims, Campos said this is the worst typhoon and calamity that hit Tacloban City.

He urged the survivors to remain strong further until they can build anew. "Gamiton nila ang mga resources nila na nahibilin, kung naa. If wa gyud, they need to be strong, and mangayo sad sila og tabang sa government. This is what we really need to survive and eventually move on," he said.

He also wished that political woes in the region should be set aside so  victims can get help to rise back from the devastation the soonest possible time. — (FREEMAN)