Calls for an investigation into flood control projects and the government’s handling of Typhoon Tino were renewed a day before the disaster’s first anniversary, as survivors and advocates pressed authorities to account for the devastation and loss of lives in Cebu.
Speaking during a commemoration near Cotcot Bridge on the Compostela side on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the Bayan Muna spokesperson John Ruiz and BAYAN Central Visayas representative Jaime Paglinawan joined survivors and bereaved families in demanding accountability for the deaths, destruction and continuing hardships left by the disaster.
The United Tino Survivors for Justice and Reform organized the gathering a day before the first anniversary of the typhoon’s onslaught. It opened with a Holy Mass presided over by Fr. Ciano Ubod, followed by a program and a flower offering for the victims.
Ruiz, the group’s convenor, questioned why communities continued to suffer from flooding despite the numerous flood control projects implemented across Cebu.
He called for investigations into contractors and other parties involved in the projects, as well as concerned government agencies, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Paglinawan, meanwhile, questioned the effectiveness of riverside protection projects along the Cotcot River, saying these failed to protect communities and contributed to flooding that destroyed homes and claimed lives.
He also criticized local chief executives who allegedly left their constituents for London despite early warnings about Typhoon Tino’s projected path.
Paglinawan said the disaster exposed failures in leadership and the implementation of flood control projects, despite billions of pesos reportedly allocated for infrastructure.
The group also questioned the distribution of relief and rehabilitation assistance, describing it as unequal.
It cited Commission on Audit findings involving P30.7 million worth of assistance that the agency said it could not fully validate, raising concerns about the distribution and use of funds intended for typhoon victims.
Ruiz said the commemoration was meant to give victims and their families a platform to seek justice and push for reforms.
He also urged the government to provide adequate assistance and services to families who lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods.
“Ang bagyo tinuig… dapat ang atong gobyerno andam na sa pag-atubang ani, gani gigamit ni sa naa sa posisyon para protektahan ang mga katawhan pero makita nato ang proyekto wala’y human-human,” he said.
For the survivors, the gathering was also a painful return to the site of a disaster that claimed several members of their families and left one child missing.
Emily Maglanqit, 46, of Purok 4, Mulao, Compostela, said she lost her mother, a sibling, two nieces or nephews and four children. One of her children, a six-year-old girl, remains missing.
She said private individuals and organizations provided much of the assistance her family received after the typhoon. Although she acknowledged government help, she said it was not enough to meet their needs.
Even ordinary rainfall now frightens survivors, Maglanqit said, as rising water levels bring back memories of the tragedy. She also questioned whether authorities had put sufficient measures in place to prevent another disaster.
Her brother-in-law, Junel Maglangit, 40, recalled losing 14 family members, including his pregnant wife and two sons, aged 11 and 15.
He survived by holding on to a piece of wood as floodwaters swept through their community, but his family did not survive. He said rebuilding his life after losing them had been extremely difficult.
Almida Paglinawan, 35, also from Mulao, brought photographs of her mother, younger sibling and two nieces or nephews who died during the typhoon.
She recalled that the family took the photographs when they visited the graves of their departed relatives on All Souls’ Day last year. She could not imagine then that they would lose more family members the following day.
“Sakit, dili basta-basta ang nawala” (The pain is immense; what we lost is not something easily endured), she said in tears.
The United Tino Survivors for Justice and Reform held the commemoration near Cotcot Bridge on the Compostela side on Tuesday, Nov. 3, a day before the typhoon’s first anniversary.
The gathering began with a Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Ciano Ubod, followed by a program and flower offering for those who died.
The group vowed to organize more activities to sustain its campaign for justice and accountability.
Photo from Kaiser Jan Fuentes
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