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TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – More than a week after Typhoon Yolanda hit the Visayas, those who live in V and G subdivision in Tacloban City unite to protect each other and restore order in their community.
Bea Cupin reports.
After Yolanda struck Tacloban, the exodus followed. But not everyone is leaving. Some chose to stay. Residents of a subdivision in Tacloban begin to sort through the debris and damage and bring normalcy back to their lies.
But Zenaida Royo, who live on land owned by a bank, admits she still doesn’t feel safe.
ZENAIDA ROYO, TACLOBAN RESIDENT: Natatakot, labi na pag nabalita na merong mga tulisan na pumapasok dito, natatakot kami, lalo na ‘pag yung mga malalaking bahay inaakyat. Sa kalagayan namin dito, hindi talaga kami safe. Kasi pag yung masamang tao, walang pinipili yan. Pag masama na yung pumapasok sa utak nila. (It’s scary when you hear news of robbers entering the villages. We get scared, especially when they loot the bigger houses. We are really unsafe. People don’t choose when bad ideas dominate their minds.)
Days after the storm, police and military told residents to set up their own patrols in the village. Residents set up posts per street and screened vehicles that came in and out of the subdivision
Another resident Euno Areola says he considers Tacloban too risky for his grandmother, wife, and 3-year-old son. They are now in Manila.
EUNO AREOLA, TACLOBAN RESIDENT: Pag may bagyo tapos may brown out, lagi talagang may magkakanaw. To make it worse ay yung mga balita na meron daw magraransack. May intelligence daw sila na aattackihin yung community. Security wise talaga, nakakatakot. (If there’s a typhoon and there’s no power, there will always be thieves. To make it worse, there’s new of a possible ransacking. They say they have information there will be an attack on the community (in the subdivision). Security wise, it’s really scary. )
At the Tacloban airport, people beg, threaten, or wait patiently.Those who could afford take commercial flights out. While those who can’t line up to board C130 cargo planes. Many took a bus out of the Visayas.
Zenaida says even if she wanted to leave Tacloban, she can’t.
ZENAIDA ROYO, TACLOBAN RESIDENT: Saan naman kami pupunta? Wala naman kaming pupuntahan. Mahirap naman kami eh. Siguro sa mayayaman, takot sila. Okay lang sila kahit pumunta sila sa maraming lugar, marami naman silang pera. Sa katulad namin na ano lang (Where will we go? We have nowhere to go. We’re poor. They’re scared of the rich. The rich can go anywhere, they have a lot of money. But for us, we have no choice.)
But the residents who stayed behind help each other through the nightmare.
EUNO AREOLA, TACLOBAN RESIDENT: Yung mga cousins who who are even younger than me, sila yung nag-tetend sa barricade, sila yung nagbabantay doon. (My cousins who are even younger than me tended the barricade. They’re the ones who stay guard.)
Zenaida and her family will stay in Tacloban.
But Euno says their family will return to Tacloban city soon, the city they will always call home.
EUNO AREOLA, TACLOBAN RESIDENT: Tacloban has been good to us naman eh, ever since. Syempre, meron talagang challenges. This is one of it. And we believe kaya pa naman nating makabangon. (Of course, there are challenges. This is one of it. We believe we can still rise up from this.)
Bea Cupin, Rappler, Tacloban City.
– Rappler.com
The Long Road to Tacloban
A Rappler team is headed to Tacloban City, Leyte by land. The 24-hour trip will take them through provinces most heavily devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).
Follow their story here
Help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda (international codename: Haiyan). Visit Rappler’s list ofongoing relief operations in your area. Tell us about your relief and recovery initiatives, emailmove.ph@rappler.com or tweet us @moveph
Visit rappler.com/typhoon-yolanda for the latest updates on Typhoon Yolanda.
Want to help? Read these:
- #ReliefPH: Victims of Typhoon Yolanda need your help
- #YolandaPH (Haiyan): Filipinos worldwide heed call to action
- Why Paypal may lock Haiyan relief accounts
- Yolanda (Typhoon Haiyan): Aid, donations for international community
Other ways to help out:
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