When the water rises

The Philippines, Asia’s Pearl of the Orient, is a tropical country and archipelagic state bounded by the South China Sea on the west, the Pacific Ocean on the East, the Bashi Channel on the north, and the seas of Celebes and Sulu on the south. It is known for its beauty, abundant natural resources, and remarkable biodiversity. Culturally diverse and rich in history, the country has 7,641 islands categorized into three main island groups, namely Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (Department of Tourism-UK n.d.).

Attractive places, from the mountains to the beaches, are scattered throughout the country. Unfortunately, the splendor of these is always being tested by mother nature. Because of its geographical location, the Philippines suffers from various natural hazards. According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (n.d.), hazards include “biological, environmental, geological, hydrometeorological and technological processes and phenomena.” Typhoons and flash floods fall under the hydrometeorological category, while geological hazards include earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions.

Manila Bulletin (2021) wrote that an average of 20 earthquakes per day and 100-150 per year happen in the country, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). These occur because the Philippines is seated within the Circum-Pacific belt or commonly known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, “home to 75% of the world's volcanoes and 90% of its earthquakes” (National Geographic 2017).

Aside from numerous earthquakes, the Philippines also braces frequent typhoons that average 20 per year (Hilotin 2022). According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA (n.d.), “More tropical cyclone (TCs) are entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) than anywhere else in the world.” This unwanted reality that causes grave aftermaths in the country is primarily due again to the Philippines’ position on the map. It straddles the Typhoon Belt, a tract in the northwestern Pacific Ocean where nearly one-third of the world’s cyclonic storms are generated. According to Hilotin (2022), this area also braves the “most intense storms globally.” One of the strongest typhoons among these was Haiyan or locally named Yolanda.

According to the country’s Official Gazette (n.d.), Typhoon Yolanda, striking the Philippines on November 8, 2013, was “the most powerful storm to make landfall in recorded history.” Kerr (2013) echoes this, also saying that the typhoon was “the most powerful tropical cyclone ever to hit land and perhaps the most powerful in recorded history.” Casualties amounted to 6,300, while a total of 1,473,251 families were affected (Official Gazette n.d.)

Former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said through a televised speech (Official Gazette n.d.) that “Bukod sa inaasahang bugso ng hangin, ulan, pag-apaw ng mga ilog, pati ang posibilidad ng pagdagsa ng lahar sa mga pook malapit sa bulkan ng Mayon at Bulusan, mino-monitor din po natin ang banta ng mga storm surge sa mahigit isandaang mga pook.” He furthered that wave height could reach five to six meters high — a human could absolutely drown.

In a Philstar article headlined “1912 reports on Tacloban storm 'killing' 15,000 resurface,” Camille Diola (2013) reported on how history repeated itself. November 26, 1912, 101 years earlier, Tacloban was devastated by a killer storm. During that time, the country didn’t have a naming scheme for typhoons yet. It was only in 1945 when “systematic naming of TCs within the Western North Pacific basin including the Philippine region began” (PAGASA 2017, 6). Eighteen years later, the post-war Philippine Weather Bureau started assigning local names to TCs entering or developing within the PAR. These names were female names ending in -ing and arranged using the local alphabet. In 2001, PAGASA — then Philippine Weather Bureau — deviated from the old scheme to adapt local male names, the English alphabet, and other names that do not end in -ing (PAGASA 2017, 6). Vila (2014) reported that the Philippines didn’t follow the Typhoon Committee of the World Meteorological Organization’s use of numbers to name TCs because “it is presumed that local names are easily remembered and noticed by the local islanders of the Philippines.”

The nameless typhoon of 1912 impacted the city of Tacloban in ways identical to Yolanda. In the aftermath of Yolanda, the 1912 Washington Herald report resurfaced, disseminating that 15,000 people were killed and agricultural plantations were destroyed by a storm. The estimated damage of that storm amounted to $25 million (Diola 2013). History repeated itself, but now, it had a name.

During the onslaught of this nameless disaster, the Philippines was battling the Americans. On September 28, 1901, the Balanginga Massacre in Samar happened, the bloodiest event in the history of the Philippine-American war. Because of the blow the Americans suffered, losing 48 members of the 9th Infantry regiment (Evangelista 2018; Reuters 2018), Brig. Gen. Jacob H. Smith ordered, “I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn. The more you kill and burn the better you will please me. . . The interior of Samar must be made a howling wilderness” (Bruno 2011, 39). It was also reported that he ordered the killing of everyone over ten (Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library n.d.). According to a BBC timeline (2018), the war ended in 1902, but “some independence forces fight on until defeat of Moro resistance in south in 1913.

These events happened in Visayas and Mindanao, the center and south of the country. The North had a fair share of battles — of triumphs and defeats. Typhoons, catastrophic and violent, are included in this list. Luzon is in the same country, anyway.

Ondoy and Pepeng

“Baha na kalsada, pumasok na sa bigasan. Ang ginawa namin muna magtaas ng bigas. ‘Yung sofa nilagay sa ibabaw ng lamesa,” my mom told me, narrating the events on the onset of Tropical Storm Ondoy that ravaged the northern part of the country, where Dagupan is situated, in September 2009. According to Reliefweb (2009), Ondoy “brought a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours.”

My mom went on, citing an unforgettable scenario that nearly caused her and my lolo’s life. “Tapos hindi ko pa makalimutan noon, kaming dalawa ni tatay nakulong kami sa bigasan. Pataas nang pataas ‘yung tubig, hindi natarangkahan ‘yung pintuan sa puwesto, sumara.” The water was flowing rapidly from the road, entering our rice retail shop in front of our house. My mom expressed how nervous she and my lolo were at that moment. “Walang ng dadaan ‘yung tubig, papasok na lahat. Mabuti na lang nung binubuksan namin, nasira.”

A CNN article cited the final report of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, now National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, on Ondoy, which revealed that there were “464 dead, 529 injured and 37 missing due to the storm” (Gregorio 2019). Further, Ondoy “wrecked P11 billion worth of agriculture and infrastructure, including schools, daycare centers, and health facilities.” Our family lost approximately P20,000 worth of rice because we weren’t able to save those sacks piled on the floor.

“Wala kaming natanggap na kahit anong tulong, zero. Kami pa nga ang nagbibigay. Si tatay, pagkain minsan pera,” my mom shared. She told me that barangay officials didn’t give them relief goods because they said our family was capable of buying, given that we had a business. “Binulsa na nila,” my mom added.

In 2009, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was serving her eighth year as the country’s president. On September 30, four days after Ondoy struck the country, Senator Chiz Escudero (Senate of the Philippines September 2009) said Arroyo “should realign or use unreleased portions of the stimulus fund to help Ondoy victims and concerned local government units cope with this tragedy.” The P330-billion economic stimulus program dubbed the “Economic Resiliency Plan” involves infrastructure projects and job creation pursuits. Earlier, a senate resolution (Senate of the Philippines February 2009) was filed to investigate the plan, saying it was “legalized fraud, a perfect scam to take advantage of the present economic crisis, whilst the Filipino people continue to suffer in silence. This plan is appalling and immoral.”

On October 3, 2009, another devastation entered the PAR. Typhoon Pepeng hit Pangasinan, my home province, and submerged over 67% of it — 29 towns and the cities of Dagupan, Urdaneta, and San Carlos (Visperas 2009). Philippine National Red Cross officials in Dagupan City reported that 317,000 families, or more than 1.8 million residents, had been affected by the flooding. San Roque dam’s release of water worsened the flooding. ABSCBN (2009) reported that more than 3,000 Dagupan residents lost their homes.

“Noon kapag mamalengke, one kilometer magmula sa bahay hanggang sa downtown proper. Mula doon maglalakad ka. Hanggang lagpas dibdib. Maraming naglalakad. ‘Yung iba nakasakay sa balsa, sa improvised na saging. Almost one month na walang kuryente kase andaming natumbang poste,” my mom reminisced, recounting how during our “free time” we used to stand on top of our roof and watch people conquering the chest-deep waters. She furthered, “Sa likod natin natumba ‘yung Kaimito, Duhat, saka Ilang-ilang. Tatlo o apat na baitang na lang bago maabot yung second floor.”

My high school friend, Alodia Maunahan, recalled through a messenger chat how it was her first time hearing helicopters roaming around their area in Barangay Lucao, Dagupan. “‘Yung hagdan namin, jusko apat o limang baitang na lang. First time kong marinig na may mga helicopter na nag-iinspect dito sa Lucao. Wala pa namang drainage so ‘pag tag-ulan baha talaga kung baha. Halos isang buwan atang di talaga makalabas nun jusko lulusong talaga sa baha,” she recounted.

Citizens’ Disaster Response Center reported in 2012 that “Government statistics show that the combined devastation brought about by the two typhoons reached up to P38.1 billion in total damages. The hardest hit was the agricultural sector which was reported to have around P26.6 billion in losses.” In February 2010, Arroyo signed the national budget for the year, amounting to P1.541 trillion (Reuters 2010). Former Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said that “about P10 billion would be used to finance infrastructure projects damaged by tropical storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng” (Agcaoili 2010). Only 10 billion.

In Nakasu’s (2011, 102) study on the effects of Tropical Storm Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng, it was said that “in terms of the actual disaster response, countermeasures against the price gauging of drugs and medicines, which tend to be in short supply, and the misappropriation of donations were a problem.” Nakasu wrote that “President Arroyo warned that there would be a crack down on these types of activities.”

The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (2009) cited in its Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report that Arroyo created the Special National Public Reconstruction Commission, or the so-called Public Commission, which has eight key tasks. One of these is to “undertake a study of the causes, costs and actions to be taken in the wake of typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng and Frank” (Official Gazette 2009).

In 2012, Former President Noynoy said in a disaster meeting in Camp Aguinaldo, “During Ondoy, the government had difficulty helping our people” (Burgonio 2012). He also said that there was a “sense of helplessness.” I could still remember myself — a seven-year-old kid — excreting waste in a plastic bag and throwing it toward the barred and vacant lot beside our house in Dagupan. Everyone in the family did the same; a picture of helplessness. People were really vulnerable at that time, totally exposed to the dangers of the waters and the wind.

In 2018, A Harvard study (Bollettino et al. 2018, 1) was conducted, revealing that “The Philippine government has developed strong coping mechanisms over their long history of experience with disasters.” Despite this, the study noted that “significant gaps remain in disaster management capacities across different regions” in the country, adding that data on local levels of disaster resilience and preparedness are scarce. The study was said to be “the first nationwide household survey on measures of disaster resilience and disaster preparedness carried out in the Philippines” (Bollettino et al. 2018, 1).

After all that’s happened, things haven’t changed. The Philippines’ disaster responses are still poor. And these can be seen in recent disasters that plagued our country.

The typhoons a decade after

In November 2020, during the onslaught of a typhoon, my dad brought home a dog. We named him after it — Ulysses. His nickname was Yul. Typhoon Ulysses hit the country on November 11 and exited PAR two days after. Its stay was quick, but it was able to wreak havoc on the people of Luzon, most especially the Cagayan Region. According to Deiparine (2020), the total damages in agriculture and infrastructure amounted to P12.9 billion. Moreover, NDRRMC reported that 88,713 houses were damaged, while 9,763 were totally destroyed. Typhoon Rolly was the strongest to hit the country in the same year, according to UNICEF Philippines (2020), affecting 700,00 children and a total of 68.6 million people.

Days before the country would celebrate Christmas, on December 16, 2021, Typhoon Odette struck parts of Visayas and Mindanao. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) Philippines (n.d.), Odette was the third strongest storm ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere. Odette also left Siargao ravaged, with an estimated damage of P20 billion (Arquiza 2022). The picture of Siargao without the coconut trees and the infamous floating deck still lives in my mind.

On October 29, 2022, Paeng made landfall and “was felt most severely in Regions 5, 6, 8, 12 and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM),” according to Reliefweb (2022). Philstar (2022) reported that over 34,900 houses and 800 infrastructures worth P4.5 billion were damaged, while damage to agriculture amounted to P3.1 billion, leaving 92,000 hectares of crops unprofitable. As of writing, the Philippines has already recorded three typhoons in 2023: Amang, Betty, and Chedeng. Livingston (2023) claimed that Betty, internationally known as Super Typhoon Mawar, is “2023’s strongest storm.” According to the NDRRMC, Betty affected 14,908 individuals, while the estimated damage amounted to ₱68,695 (CNN Philippines 2023). Betty in 1987 was more destructive (AP News 1987).

Conquering the tides

Because of Ondoy and Pepeng, we were able to eat fish for the whole month — specifically, milkfish. Dagupan City is known as the “Bangus Capital of the North.” My mom told me this was the case because people caught those fish that escaped the ponds and sold them on the streets. Drastic times call for drastic measures, indeed. Looking at the past, the circumstances our nation surpassed should impart a lesson. Learnings that we should use to never commit the same mistakes. It is a sad reality that after every disaster, people and properties earned through hard work are reduced to mere numbers — the death toll and damages.

It is as if we have accepted this reality that every year something or someone will be taken away from us. Are we not developing as a nation, or are the people we put into power hindering this progress? Studying the aftermath of these typhoons and the measures each administration took to mitigate the catastrophes would give us a better understanding of how we could move forward — in disaster preparedness and risk reduction. We can’t relocate the Philippines to evade the Typhoon Belt unless we could turn back time and have Pangaea spread out in such a way the country would not be inside the Typhoon Belt.

Moreover, we have an erroneous perception of resilience that has been shaped by the fact that Filipinos are always left behind — we have no choice but to be brave to survive. Ordoñez and Borja (2021) said, “Filipinos tend to simply adapt and remain silent.” Their study found that most Filipinos “saw themselves as incapable of participating in politics or influencing public affairs.” Furthermore, it was also said that the positive attitudes of Filipinos toward changing their government are boxed by the ballot. Ordoñez and Borja (2021) stated that “it is important to determine what resilience means to ordinary Filipinos and how much is it a societal value to them.” Romanticizing resilience should not be tolerated because this would only make things worse. Let people call for help when they needed to and hope that someone would answer their call — or be that someone instead.

Sometimes, people avoid talking about the environment, perhaps because of the “doomsday” narrative. This makes them anxious about what the future might turn out to be. People should be encouraged more to take action and not shy away from the realities that confront them every day. Learning more about the tragedies of the past — of what the typhoons left us — is vital in studying our nation’s history. Times are changing, and typhoons are becoming stronger.

Let history teach us what to do. So that no matter how history repeats itself, we will always come prepared.

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