Kudos to Archbishop John Du of Palo

I was in Palo not only because I wanted to be there when Pope Francis would come but because I wanted to see the Pedrosa ancestral house. It is an icon of the town because of its history, but it was leveled to the ground by typhoon Yolanda. My sister in law told me that the ground floor would be made habitable for us in time for the Pope’s visit.

I got copies of the calendar a day before that featured a perspective interpretation of the house by J.T. Manosa & Associates after it is fully  restored. The building was constructed during the Spanish era and considered an icon by the townsfolk of Palo. It sits directly across the Cathedral and I thought it would be an excellent vantage point to watch events.

The department of Public Works and Highways were poised to destroy it for a road widening project but it was quickly stopped by appeals from the people who signed a petition to the government. Running priest Robert Reyes did a run from Mindanao to the site to express his objection. For the moment it is under the care and jurisdiction of the National Museum thanks to the timely intervention of Dr. Maria Serena Diokno who is the chair of the National Historical Commission.

Earlier it was hoped that the restoration would be undertaken through the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitarion and Recovery (OPARR) under Senator Panfilo Lacson. But I was later told that it would not happen after all because OPARR will soon be abolished.

So it was back to square 1 as far as saving the house was concerned. Other ways had to be found to save the 200-year house from the clutches of the government.

When and if it is restored the ground floor would be for the Palo Public Library and the second story would be for a Samar-Leyte museum.

Very minimal refurbishing was done to house us during the Pope’s visit. But it was enough for relatives (the Pedrosas originally came from San Joaquin, a town adjacent to Palo) to come and gather and tell us stories of Yolanda’s nightmare.

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I met Archbishop John Du sometime after Yolanda. My daughter Veronica of Al-Jazeera and her crew lived in the Cathedral while covering the typhoon and its destruction. He told me when we met in Manila that how my daughter had cried on his shoulder when he asked who was the last one who lived in the Pedrosa ancestral house.

I wanted to see him again on this trip to ask him if there was any way I could join the events in Palo that would put me close enough to the Pope but I never had the chance. It was not possible. People lined the streets under pouring rain long before the Pope even passed when he rode on the Popemobile from Tacloban airport to the Palo Cathedral.

The vantage point from the destroyed second floor of the house was excellent to see Pope Francis pass by. But the security of police and soldiers that were assigned to the house had strict instructions we should not let anyone access to that vantage point. We were of course allowed to view the Pope from the second floor but we were asked to move a few meters back from the ledge as soon as the motorcade arrived. (I suppose this has become sop for security since the Kennedy assassination).

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Archbishop John Du should be credited for his initiative to get the Pope to come earlier than expected. Reliable sources said that the head of the Catholic Church was expected much later, like next year for the Eucharistic Congress. But Archbishop Du on his own initiative decided to write a letter to appraise him of the situation in his diocese since the typhoon.

As the new Archbishop of Palo, he will head around 1.2 million Roman Catholics in his care. He will be serving 63 parishes, 1 chaplaincy and 13 mission stations. There are two districts, the eastern with the vicariates of Tacloban, Carigara, Burauen Abuyog and Palo. The western district consists of the vicariates of Ormoc and Palompon.

According to the source, Archbishop Du found a contact close enough to the Pope to hand him the letter which said that he must come as soon as it was possible for him to help the people in his diocese. The archbishop expressed his wish because “there was nothing moving,” referring to reconstruction and aid to the people. It would help a lot if the Pope were to come to speed up the government program for assistance to the typhoon victims.

I was able to interview some of these victims. Their pain and loss are very much visible even in a cursory drive around the town. There were a few structures that seemed to have withstood the typhoon but I was told these were just as vulnerable as the smallest nipa hut. Some of those who lived in the houses drowned when their houses were flooded with water. Someone described how humongous waves of water fell on the whole area and there was no escape whatever your house was made of. They pointed out to me one such concrete house, where all the residents died except for one who had left to visit the hospital during the storm and was saved.

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From the interview, I learned that the aftermath was one chaotic mess. There were no systems or procedure on how to get help and aid. That is the reason for the tons of aid that rotted. “We were told to make applications to the DSWD which we did but never heard what became of our applications. We waited and waited until we had to fend for ourselves.” They praised the Chinese Buddhist group from Taiwan who were organized and did not ask for applications before any aid was given. They knew to whom to give the help.

An over-all assessment of the conditions of the town shows that reconstruction to date has been superficial. Most houses may have looked painted over and spruced up for the Pope’s visit,  but it is the rebuilding of the lives of those who survived that counts. There are still wounds to heal in this town since the typhoon and these are gaping.

What stood out in the reconstruction of the town of Palo was the Metrobank building in front of the Cathedral Plaza. The George Ty family has been active in this area. I was told further work will be done to make the entire area into a plaza and named after Pio Pedrosa.