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.