Last February 27 to March 2, UGAT volunteers went to Saint Bernard Leyte to administer psycho-spiritual assistance to survivors of the Southern Leyte landslide. The team, composed of Carlos T. Lagaya, Mary Ann Patacsil, Lyra Versoza and Nerisa Dimapilis were sponsored by Mirant Philippines Foundation, Inc.
Afterwhich, a second UGAT team went to Saint Bernard for another round of counseling and debriefing. The team of 8, composed of four Manila-based and 4- Cebu-based counselors, talked to the survivors of Guinsaugon evacuated at the Cristo Rey School.
It was a truly heart-wrenching , life-changing experience.
Guinsaugon & the First Companions
It was all over in barely three (3) minutes. The mountain came down on them. A conference at the barrio auditorium filled with women celebrating Women’s week did not make it. Kids on their morning break from elementary school did not make it. A school bus with high school students visiting for an activity in Barangay Guinsaugon of St. Bernard town in Southern Leyte, Philippines, tried to turn around at the sound of the boulders rushing down the coconut planted mountain slope, did not make it. Estimates run into 1,500 people buried under the landslide caused by continuous rains due to La Nina loosening the soil foundations of boulders which were unknown to the residents resting in those mountainous ridges. At least that is one of the more plausible theories. Others opine that a “buhawi” or whirlwind came about and brought the mountain boulders and soil down. Surviving witnesses speak of the boulders bigger than their houses (many of which were still made of nipa and bamboo) rushing down. That must have been quite a rush as police guarding the site (from looters) pointed out at the house of an American resident which was pushed a quarter of a kilometer from its original site. Two lucky male survivors were able to climb two separate coconut trees, but these trees were likewise pushed scores of meters from their roots. It looks and sounds like a tragic-comedy but those trees were observed like trees running away from the havoc.
Mirant Corporatrion, a U.S.-based power corporation but with projects in the country, immediately organized a composite team to rescuers to attend to the disaster Fortunately, we at UGAT Foundation were one of those chosen to provide the psycho-social intervention for the survivors. We sent a team of four. Since then, we have sent a follow-up team of 7, 6 of whom are Cebuano-speaking. These volunteers responding to our call, mostly by text (SMS), is a miracle by itself. Some of them had to leave work even upon the objection of insensitive employers and institutions. But I understand the miracle now. For most of our volunteers, they attended our spiritual recollection on “The First Companions: The Vision of St. Ignatius, the Passion of St. Francis Xavier and the quiet Caring of Peter Faber.” At the end of the recollection we all prayed together the prayer of Generosity of St. Ignatius. That they have responded is still a miracle, but a miracle I indeed understand.
I mentioned to our volunteers: “this experience will change you totally. You will come out of this experience a different person.” This was a prediction borne of our experiences of doing disaster counseling from the Ormoc floods, Mt. Pinatubo volcano eruption, Cabanatuan earthquake and the Infanta floods, too. That moving experience changing personal lives became reality soon enough, as we have confirmed as we shared in our own de-briefing. The overwhelming pain of losing practically all of one’s family as 68 kids were totally orphaned in the evacuation center we served. Adults, too, lost their own parents (the lolo’s and lola’s).
While there are a number of miracle stories, from the 85-yr. old lola who got buried but prayed and prayed tapping the table which covered her. Eventually rescuers heard and pulled her out to safety. To the charismatic farmer who was working the fields and as the coconut tree was felled down by the rushing landslide, it fell but between his legs, he walking out of it without a scratch. The amount of pain, recurring bad dreams and early awakening indicating depression still lurked above the evacuation site till the time we were counseling them. A few questioned God’s goodness and mercy. Many confusedly and continuously asked themselves: “Ngano man ako ug nabilin apan ang tibuok kong pamilya nahurutan?” (Why was I spared, when I had lost all my family?) On top of all these, the anxieties surface of the present- what of the relocation? Will the government help me out of my lost meager piggery with only 2 boars? And, the ever remaining question: what if they or some of them are still alive? Some persist on visiting the mud-covered area of some 150 to 200 hectares hoping some signs of life can still be found.
My last picture of the tragedy is a 12 year old boy caring for and holding tight to his nephew. He became edgy as we asked questions and interviewed him. He lost both parents and all his 4 siblings. He was saved because he was peddling fish to add to the family income in another village. Eventually, he begged to be excused. He did not want yet, or not ready to face the gruesome reality of his total lost. I don’t blame him, he has nothing left. “I thought this is the only family left for me- my 6-yr old nephew … give me space to hold on tight at least to what is barely left for me, and for all those whom I lost? …. Let me grow up first!”
--- Nilo E. Tanalega SJ
