Councilor Sangkay Maruhom of Barangay Mandulog, Iligan City
On the night of December 16, 2011 at 11:00 in the evening, he heard a very unusual noise from the river like there was some kind of stone crashing. Because his house was located near the river, he went outside to check. And upon seeing the water level, it had risen very fast and overflowed to the ground. In just a matter of minutes the water level had reached knee deep. He immediately decided to go outside the house to check on his mother’s house but he struggled to go outside for the reason that the door was being pushed back by the strong water current that already got inside the house. What he did was to push hard the door in order to get out. As he approached his mother’s house he noticed that the water level was already on his hip in a span of a minute. Right then and there they decided to vacate the area together with their neighbors crossing to the opposite side of the river passing through the bridge. A large volume of water slapped the bridge but they were able to manage to reach the other side of the river with more than 20 other families.They all stayed in a concrete house hardly believing they were still alive.
On the following day, at the crack of dawn, they were terrified upon seeing that the entire houses of Purok 2 and Purok 17 had all vanished. The only structure that was left was their Mosque.
What do you think is the cause of the flood?
There was a huge tornado (buhawi) because the water from the river spilled out to more than 200 meters from the riverbanks.
What was the barangay’s response to the tragedy?
We conducted an emergency meeting and made initiatives because there were no assistance given to the area for three days. The council had decided to borrow 30 sacks of rice from Bigasan from our women organization.
We tried to seek assistance from DSWD but we were unhappy of their system. They would not release goods without recommendations from the area coordinator of District 5 where Mandulog belongs.
In sum, there were more assistance coming from different NGOs, UN organizations, and private institutions than from our own local government.
Were the needs of IDPs answered?
At present, the IDPs really need food, clothing, and shelter to families with totally damaged houses and these were not fully answered yet. Most of the farms were severely damaged; we cannot plow because of the debris. These need to be cleared first. Most of the farm animals also died. As of now we really need a livelihood and farm tools as well as working animals.
What were the lessons learned from the tragedy?
There was no Disaster Drill conducted in the area. We need training on survival and first aid for the people to be prepared. We wish to have the river dredge and if possible the government must take actions against releasing of permits to sand quarrying. It is very rampant in the area We realized that it is not suitable to build houses near the river. Aside from that, we will encourage our brothers and sisters to stop cutting trees because it is one of the major causes of destruction. Some people passed the blame to the Creator. For me, our Creator loves us for he provided all the resources and assigned the responsibility to human beings to take care of them. But we mismanaged and abused our environment.
How cooperative and supportive are the community if some organizations will provide assistance?
We welcome and are willing to cooperate in any activities that will benefit our people. We are all thankful for any opportunity to help us in rebuilding our lives.
Dialogue with Mrs. Loida Koka
Loida Koka, 44 years of age, is also a survivor of Typhoon Sendong and a resident of Purok 13, Barangay Mandulog, Iligan City. During the interview Loida cried as she shared their terrifying experience. On the afternoon of December 16, 2011 upon hearing about the news that Sendong will hit Mindanao, they had noticed the change in weather. At around 12:00 midnight, her son saw the water had reached at knee level and got into the house. She was reluctant to leave the house because she was worried about the safety of their animals. Her husband forced her to leave because the level of water already risen to their hips. That time she is already convinced that their animals were already dead. She decided to leave and managed to inform their neighbors to vacate the area. They used their airbed to transport the children to a safer place and she carried along with her their important documents but forgot to bring their money they gained from selling flowers. They did not expect it to happen that fast and to destroy all their belongings, leaving them nothing but a shadow of devastation.
How did the tragedy affect you?
I am troubled and saddened of the devastation that took away our belongings, our livelihood which is flower farm, and killed our animals (cow, goat and chicken). I cannot accept the fact that in that instant everything we have invested for so many years was wiped out by the flood. But despite of it all I am still thankful because we are all alive. I have noticed that I have irregular bowel movements due to tension. Every time there is rain, whether light or heavy, I have an uneasy feeling. After the flood my son decided to stop from going back school. He had witnessed how the flood wiped out our livelihood but I did not allow him to stop, I told him we will find ways with God’s help.
What do you think is the cause of the flood?
I think it was the act of nature, the loads of logs that swept the area came from the forest; we even saw a monkey on top of the logs. It is undeniable that those came from the forest. Another cause is the presence of sand quarry and crusher.
What have you learned from the tragedy?
We should be more aware and watchful every time there is typhoon. We did not anticipate it will happen because our house is far from the river but the flood still reached our area.
What are your other needs?
School supplies for children and livelihood for every family so we can start rebuilding our lives. We cannot depend always on the external help and aids. We would also welcome skills training and training related to ecology. We appeal to the donors and to the government to provide us livelihood assistance.
How cooperative and supportive is your community will be if some organizations will provide assistance?
We will support any initiatives as long as it will benefit the affected people
Ching Borres