THE YEAR 2013 did not end on a promising note for the Waray locals of the Eastern Visayas region. On November 8, 2013, Super Typhoon Yolanda tore through the region, robbing locals of their homes and their loved ones.

According to Rappler, the typhoon was one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded. Exactly a month after the calamity, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported over 5,600 dead and 1,761 missing persons. In addition to this, OCHA notes that a total 14.9 million people were affected by the typhoon.

One year later, the region has started to show signs of recovery. Although the government had stated that recovery efforts still have a long way to go, the situation in the affected areas have significantly improved in comparison to the immediate aftermath of the storm.

Recovery efforts

After months of anticipation from locals and different sectors, President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III finally ratified the Yolanda Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (CRRP) last October 29. The P167.9-billion rehabilitation master plan aims to address post-calamity issues concerning livelihood, resettlement, social services and infrastructure. The target beneficiaries of the master plan are the 171-Yolanda hit towns in six regions of the country.

In an article by Rappler, only 50 families in Tacloban City have moved to permanent settlements. Groups such as Habitat for Humanity and GMA Foundation have been building shelters to speed up the process of relocation for the affected families.

In terms of livelihood, OCHA reports that over 5.6 M workers were affected by the calamity, with their sources of income destroyed, lost or disrupted. Organizations like World Vision have started to provide livelihood assistance such as livestock management trainings to qualified beneficiaries.

Yolanda-affected schools have started conducting classes, although according to a report by Rappler, only 300 of the 2,300 needed classrooms have been completed. Classrooms that are currently being built are designed to withstand intense earthquakes and winds.

In a press conference, Julie Hall of the World Health Organization reported that only one in every three health facilities has been repaired. Only two-thirds of the 600 damaged health facilities is undergoing repair.

Aftermath of the devastation

Despite these developments, memories of the tragedy still remain with the people. These include the volunteers and those with relatives in the affected areas.

Sr. Odilia Bulayungan, OSB, a Benedictine missionary assigned in Tacloban, was one of those who witnessed firsthand the devastation of Super Typhoon Yolanda during its aftermath. She recounted her initial reaction when her plane landed in the airport. “I was personally shocked when I came out of the plane,” she recalled. “I had to go to a corner to cry and to compose myself. The whole area was in total devastation.”

The sight she was not ready to see was the remains of the locals. “I saw lots of black body bags lying beside the road among the big piles of debris. [They] were ready to be picked up by the dump trucks and to be brought to unidentified mass graves,” she said.

When she first heard about the devastation caused by Yolanda, junior Charlene Aguilos, a Tacloban resident, was in total disbelief. “Tacloban is such a small and quiet town. I never really thought that it would be placed in that position,” she said.

Like many who have relatives living in the affected areas, Aguilos was worried about the condition of her loved ones. “The whole weekend [when the storm was raging] was just a mix of long prayers and terrible images in my head of my family fighting to stay alive,” she recalled.

Days later she got a call from her family informing her that they were all safe. During their conversation, her mom was tearfully telling her, “Ginhahagkot na kami (We’re cold).” “Nothing is more heartbreaking that hearing your mom cry,” she said. “My family was hungry and cold and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.”

Road to rehabilitation

Despite criticisms for lack of urgency and commitment to its rehabilitation programs, President Aquino defended the government’s efforts. He said that he wants to ensure that the program will be carried out completely rather than hastily. “I am impatient like everyone else but I have to stress that we can’t rebuild haphazardly,” he said in a speech last November 8. “We have to build back better… Let’s get it right the first time and the benefits should be permanent.”

Many attributed the large chunk of the development to the efforts of various non-governmental organizations. Aguilos said that they “were much more visible [than the government] and they boosted the morale of the [people].” These organizations worked hand in hand with the locals in restoring their communities.

Bulayungan said that the locals of the region learned a lot from the tragedy, and are still continuing to learn more. “We have to equip the locals on the skills on disaster mitigation so that they will be self-reliant,” she said.

Like many Filipinos, both Aguilos and Bulayungan believe that hope is still alive for the victims. “Significant changes really took place in the lives of the people,” Bulayungan said in Filipino. “The Waray locals will rise and they will rise through the mercy of God.”