This refers to the recent super typhoon Santi that battered Cabanatuan City.
Kudos to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) chaired by Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara. Through its effective and efficient disaster risk reduction and management program thrust, the CDRRMC succeeded in minimizing and/or mitigating the damaging impact of typhoon Santi and thus achieved its zero human casualty objective. Compared to previous typhoons when residents were caught flat-footed and did not know what to do and where to go, the residents during typhoon Santi were prepared, organized and forewarned, hence when the typhoon struck, the former were already safety ensconced in CDRRMC’s designated evacuation centers.
It’s good to see that during the calamity, the famed bayanihan or tulong-tulong spirit of the Filipinos remained alive particularly in attending to the immediate needs of the evacuees. The spirit also showed in: the avalanche of relief aids and the women volunteers who repacked the relief goods, the electric generator sets made available for free by a good Samaritan for power-less barangays, the soft loans offered by the GSIS and private lending institutions for repair of damaged houses, and 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 is a big tribute to the Filipinos’ undying bayanihan spirit. — PRUDENCIO E. MAGPAYO, Consultant, First Cabanatuan Ventures Corp., Cabanatuan City