It’s going to be “Silent Night” on Christmas Eve for
thousands of people who lost their loved ones in the worst storm to hit
Philippines this year.
Many households in the
flood-ravaged cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan are grieving. There will be
no fireworks, not even firecrackers there. Instead, candles will be lit in
houses where power has yet to be restored, and in funeral wakes.
For the first time since
Tropical Storm “Sendong” struck on Dec. 16, the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) admitted that the missing may be more
than the 49 reported to President Aquino on his trip to the disaster zone on
Tuesday—four days after the storm struck.
The fear is that the death toll
may top 3,000.
On Friday, the NDRRMC put the
number of missing at 1,979 and the confirmed death toll at 1,080.
Still, NDRRMC Executive
Director Benito Ramos continued to downplay casualty figures.
“We have stopped estimating how
many are still missing so that it will not be misleading. We do not know if
some of those missing are among the remains that we have recovered,” Ramos told
reporters in Manila in a phone interview from Cagayan de Oro City.
The agriculture department
estimated damage to crops at P310 million.
Somber air
In six evacuation centers
crammed with 20,000 people in Cagayan de Oro, a mix of desperation and a
subdued Christmas spirit was in the air on Friday.
For single-mother Nova Lopena,
there was so much to thank for. “We lost our house, our little shelter, but he
is the greatest gift for this year,” the 17-year-old said of her 2-week-old
baby Hadji Rey.
At West City Central School,
Josefa Mandula, 66, was waiting for her son to arrive with food packs from the
relief line. Mandula’s house was swept away by the rampaging flood, but nothing
could stop her from celebrating with her family intact in the evacuation
center.
“We can prepare sardines,
pancit or misua so that we can have something to eat,” Mandula said.
Said Imelda Lantawan, whose
family was sharing a room in the school with 25 other families: “It would be a
great Christmas after all, with new friends we can share experiences with.”
In one corner, Cesar Legazpi
said that despite the tragedy, there was reason to be thankful for the second
chance in life.
“While others perished, we need
to go on and smile and honor their memories. We must be thankful for the chance
we are given because many did not have that chance,” Legazpi said.
Bleak Christmas
Flora Abellanosa, 65, said
celebrating Christmas at the evacuation center would give survivors a chance to
“reflect on their lives, their blessings and losses, and the chances we are
given and the changes we are going to make.”
There are some who feel a bleak
Christmas.
Flora May Abutan, 18 and seven
months pregnant, was looking forward to celebrating Christmas this year with
her new husband before Sendong struck. She was busy decorating their home in
Barangay Macasandig before it was demolished by the flood.
“There will be no Christmas for
us here … I do not know what we are going to do on that day,” she said.
Vilma Laturino, an evacuee at
Xavier Heights in Upper Balulang, said she was thankful that her husband and
her five children survived Friday’s disaster.
“Our Christmas celebration will
be sad because we lost our home.
It is really painful to be
celebrating it in an evacuation center, but at least my family is safe,” she
said.
Reminder of Christ
At the flood-stricken village
of Balulang, Teresita Palacio was still clearing debris in front of her house.
She still could not say where and how her family would spend Christmas.
“But it will come. It serves to
remind us of the sufferings of Jesus, whose birthday we are celebrating,”
Palacio said.
At Villa Angela Subdivision,
Carmelita Sabinay could only stare at the Christmas gifts she had wrapped last
week. They were now scattered on the mud-splattered floor.
The Christmas tree was in the
garbage dump outside. But the lantern still hangs in the garage.
“The Christmas tree was beyond
repair, so it has to go, but not the spirit it represents,” Sabinay said.
Bobby Lagsa and Cai Panlilio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
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