INFORMATION BLITZ: Paalala sa mga OFW-members ng PhilHealth: Ang PhilHealth membership and contribution ay MANDATORY ayon sa batas kaya magpamiyembro at magbayad ng kontribusyon bago umalis ng bansa. Seguraduhin ang proteksyon ng kalusugan ng iyong sarili at pamilya.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

PIA Team One Mindanao: The Tacloban experience

By Alma L. Tingcang

Filled with an overwhelming desire to help and be counted in providing information support during the relief and recovery operations in Tacloban City, the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) IX (Zamboanga Peninsula Region) forged a partnership with PIA Region XIII (CARAGA Region) to embark on certain communication activities in typhoon-ravaged Tacloban City on December 12-22, 2013, bringing with them gifts from generous people for the typhoon survivors at the evacuation centers.

Leap of Faith

Despite all odds, PIA-IX pooled available resources together with the help of concerned individuals to join the CARAGA Region as PIA Team One Mindanao for Tacloban City. For Regional Director Abner Caga and his staff, it was their second time to be on the ground as they braved the storm to support PIA-8 led by Regional Director Olivia Tiu, a few days after Yolanda hit Tacloban. For Regional Director Noemi Edaga and her staff, it was a far different experience after the Zamboanga siege in September last year.

PIA Team One Mindanao arrived at the Operations Center in Tacloban City on December 14 and immediately arranged the schedules for film showing in the evacuation centers. Considering its limited resources, the team first conducted an ocular inspection of the place to strategize and come up with the most effective way to help out the evacuees.

Film Showing/Free Charging

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in Pagadian City provided PIA-IX with extension wires which were used in providing free charging of cellphones  and other electronic gadgets.

“Malaking tulong po sa amin ang free charging ninyo. Pwede na kaming maka-text o makatawag sa aming mga pamilya para sabihing okay lang kami dito para hindi sila mag-alala,” expressed Roselyn Moreno, a young mom housed in San jose Elementary School evacuation center. (Your free charging is a great help to us. We can text or call our families and loved ones to tell them we are safe, for them not to worry.)

Joan Abarilla, 20, sheltered in Anibong Community School evacuation center was glad to have availed herself of the free charging services. “Sa labas po kasi kami nagpapa-charge. Nagbabayad kami ng P20-50, depende kung anong gadget,” she said. (We go outside for charging and we pay P20-50, depending on what gadgets we have.) 

Christmas greetings from afar

What made an impact among the children were the Christmas cards made by grade school children from Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur. They were glad to read the greetings telling them not to lose hope and that God is still in control of the situation. Somehow it touched the hearts of Tacloban kids and there were even evacuation centers wherein kids were more excited to receive cards rather than candies. They were eager to meet friends from far away, wishing them a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year despite the sufferings wrought on them by Typhoon Yolanda.

Seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces was enough to give you a sense of fulfillment. All the more when we danced with them as we shared the goodies we brought along. We all said: it was well worth the trip!

Candle Lighting for “Pacuarenta”

The “Pacuarenta,”  signaling the 40th day of those who perished on that fateful day when Yolanda hit Tacloban, was a candle lighting ceremony held on December 17 in strategic areas worst hit by the typhoon such as the DZR airport, Coca-cola junction,  and along five major streets of the city.

This was spearheaded by “One Tacloban,” in partnership with the  Department of Tourism (DOT) and PIA Team One Mindanao with local, national and international media covering that momentous event.

From among the great piles of rubbish in the areas we have visited, who knows there might still be some bodies of people who perished during the storm surge.

Lessons Learned

The Tacloban experience taught us many things. Life is short and we have to be ready anytime God would take us, and that brothers are born for adversities, as there are friends who stick more than a brother and there are people who take advantage of the situation. Where God guides, He Provides. Where God leads, He never leaves you.

In our own little way, we have made people in Tacloban smile for a moment, wiping away the sad memories left by the storm surge. To PIA Team One Mindanao and to all our partners in bringing glad tidings of great joy, God will richly bless you! (PIA9)