This is in connection with the recent Typhoon “Santi” that battered Cabanatuan City. Compared to previous typhoons, when the residents were caught flatfooted and did not know what to do and where to go, during Santi they were prepared, organized and forewarned. Hence, when the typhoon struck, they were already ensconced in designated evacuation centers.
For this, we would like to thank and commend the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) chaired by Mayor Julius Cesar “Jay” Vergara. Through its effective and efficient disaster risk reduction and management program, the CDRRMC succeeded in minimizing and/or mitigating the damaging impact of Santi and thus achieved its
zero-human casualty objective.
It was heartening to see that during and after the typhoon, the famed bayanihan or tulong-tulong spirit of the Filipinos stayed alive, particularly in the matter of attending to the immediate needs of the evacuees. The spirit also showed in the avalanche of relief aid, in the women volunteers who repacked the relief goods, in the electric generator sets made available for free by a good Samaritan to power-less barangays, in the soft loans offered by the Government Service Insurance System and private lending institutions for the repair of damaged houses, and in the Manila-based Meralco crew that assisted in fixing power disruption.
Indeed, so many lent a helping hand in bringing life back to normal in our typhoon-ravaged city. This was a big tribute to the Filipinos’ undying bayanihan spirit.
—PRUDENCIO E. MAGPAYO,
consultant,
First Cabanatuan Ventures Corp.,
Cabanatuan City