Leyte landslide survivor: Prayers saved me

SAINT BERNARD, Southern Leyte — Loreta Marqueda, the second survivor to be pulled out from the landslide that buried the mountain village of Guinsaugon here last Feb. 17, has turned to prayer to help her cope with the loss of two of her children.

"Nawalan na kami ng bahay, at ng hanapbuhay, pati ang mga anak ko hindi pa rin nakikita sa ngayon kaya lagi akong nagdadasal sa Diyos na sana bigyan Niya kami ng lakas ng loob (We lost our house, our livelihood, and my children have not yet been found so I am constantly praying to God to give us courage)," a highly emotional Marqueda told The STAR at the Anahawan District Hospital where she was still recuperating until yesterday.

On that tragic day, Marqueda, 45, clearly remembers feeling a mild earthquake shake their village, which sits beside Mt. Kan-Abag. The area had seen intermittent rains over the past four months.

This slight tremor, she said, was followed by a horrifying sight as the side of the mountain seemingly went up in smoke, then collapsed into a thick layer of mud.

Her son Lemuel, 25, upon seeing the muddy avalanche, shouted to his mother to run for her lives.

Lemuel tried to rescue his sister Rachel, a fifth-grade student at the village elementary school that is still buried in mud. They were still missing as of press time.

Marqueda said she has lost hope that her two children would ever be found alive, as she knows the layer of mud that buried their village is dozens of meters thick, making it harder for rescuers to dig through.

Rhowen, her 16-year-old son, has been at her bedside constantly at the hospital.

Dreaming of becoming an accountant someday, Rhowen said although he no longer holds much hope that his siblings would be found alive, he said they should try to move on with their lives.

"Wala naman na po tayong magagawa dahil ang Diyos lang ang may karapatang magbigay at bumawi ng buhay. Dapat hindi tayo mawalan ng pag-asa sa buhay (We can’t do anything because God is the only one who can give life and take it back. We should not lose hope)," he said.

Marqueda is now in stable condition, although her doctors still have to remove blood that has entered her lungs after a wall of mud collapsed on her, causing multiple injuries.

Finally over

Upon the recommendation of search and rescue experts, efforts to look for further survivors of the landslide ended yesterday, giving up hope that the 246 schoolchildren and teachers buried in mud would ever be found alive.

Search and rescue operations for the last eight grueling days were hampered by intermittent rains at the dig site, posing hazards to rescuers and prompting officials to temporarily suspend the digging for two days.

Southern Leyte Gov. Rosette Lerias said they decided to call off the search and rescue operations because the bodies of people who died in the tragedy could spread disease among rescuers.

There are 1,328 people still reported missing, believed to have been buried in a layer of mud 30 meters deep in some places.

Rescuers from other countries like Taiwan and Spain have already pulled out from the base camp of rescue operations in Barangay Tambis.

United States Marine Capt. Burrell Parmer, public affairs officer of the contingent of American troops here, said they were still awaiting instructions on whether to pull out from the site.

Lerias said they would need further help from the US Marines to build a resettlement site for the evacuees.

‘No greater gift’

In an interview, an emotional Lerias told The STAR that she, on behalf of the people of Southern Leyte, thanked those who responded to their call for help during the tedious task of searching for survivors, the retrieval of fatalities and in caring for people in the evacuation centers.

"There is no greater gift one could give his fellowmen than the gift of himself. I believe these people gave a greater part of their lives to help us here. We are very lucky because we have brothers and sisters from around the world who unselfishly share whatever they can in this tragic event," she said.

Lerias said she feels very proud because it was in her province that men and women from different nations gathered to achieve a single purpose.

"We were able to prove that regardless of race, color, religion and culture, we could unite and be a community of nations," she said.

Lerias said that those eight long days have seen the forging of strong camaraderie among rescue volunteers from different parts of the country and other parts of the world.

"We have seen the best of men, and the best in men," she said.

A Mass was held at the base camp yesterday in memory of those who were buried alive by the landslide.

Help from Filipinos overseas

Overseas Filipino workers in various Middle Eastern countries have banded together and mounted a fund drive to help victims of the Leyte landslide.

Labor attaché Romeo Young said the leaders of the Filipino Community Social Club immediately expressed willingness to extend further assistance to the landslide victims.

Young said Filipino community leaders also agreed to encourage various Filipino groups in Oman and other countries in the Middle East to actively conduct fund drives for the residents of Guinsaugon.

"All funds to be collected during the humanitarian campaign in Oman will be turned over to the Philippine embassy, which in turn will remit the entire collection to the Philippine National Red Cross," Young said.

Donations in kind, such as blankets, tents and folding beds, have also been accepted and directly deposited with a local cargo company called Trico International, which will ship relief items to the provincial government of Southern Leyte, he added. — With reports from Mayen Jaymalin