With the past two typhoons Ketsana (Ondoy) and Parma (Pepeng) that claimed lives of 858 people in the country, 438 deaths was recorded at Northern Philippines; where at least 214 were killed by landslides and flood in Benguet alone. (CNN News and Inquirer)

With victims still catching up, another typhoon is hitting Northern Philippines which is expected to batter again the areas hit by the past two typhoons. Today,  typhoon storm signal no. 2 has been raised again in my area — Benguet Province according to ABS-CBN news.

Let our prayers move for the protection of our fellowmen…

For days now, Philippine government and United Nations (UN) helicopters have been hovering around La Trinidad valley airlifting food supplies to a number of Benguet villages trapped and inaccessible by land.

Clearing of roads continues and relief goods distributed to towns severely affected by the typhoon.

With the university classes restored since Wednesday (Oct. 14th), students in Benguet whose families were not able to send food supplies from their hometown due to washed out roads, have been distributed with food supplies as well.

La Trinidad Benguet is about to be called a “tent city” with hundreds of tents put up in open areas for the evacuees to temporarily reside to. Setting of tents have started yesterday.

(Click on the image to the right to view the landslide that’s a few meters away from our apartment. Open area is where tents were being put up.)

We also had a chance to visit one the villages we were outreaching to. Along the tiny zigzag roads are countless mudslides that has been cleared out.

However, on two villages of Balluay and Bagong, we weren’t able to continue as massive landslide has washed out the road with gigantic rocks making the road irrepairable.

While on the site, a group of volunteers are carrying at their back sacks of rice, clothing, and food.

To view how massive the landslide is, click on image to the left.

The road which is usually passed by vehicles has now been buried by massive rocks and stones. People now have to climb a mountain of rocks and mud to reach out Bagong and Balluay.

There are many more villages which have been overlooked by major relief operations due to hundreds of towns and villages landlocked by landslides…

…and two of them is Balluay and Bagong, Sablan Benguet.

CALL TO ACTION: We have scheduled to bring relief goods to the two villages on October 30th. Join us leaving our “worlds” and reach out to the unreached people who are victims of Typhoon Parma (Pepeng).  Bagong Village has their ricefields washed out leaving hundreds of families of no harvest on this season and more villages of the same case.

Your financial support whether big or small counts. For every penny you’ll fund in this mission, you are a part in extending cure, comfort, and support to people who are physically left in the open.

CLICK Here To Be A Part In Giving Relief to Typhoon Victims!

For donations in kind, please contact us through:

helpdesk@zinixent.com
T/F: 0063 74 422 1473

Phone lines cut, mobile communication intermittent, down internet connection, most streets blocked — these had put us in work standby mode for days.

Being in isolation state, the whole province is running out of gas supply with prices of commodities skyrocketing. With the province inaccessible, vegetable prices in Manila, capital of the Philippines, has also tripled and even quadrupled.

The rising number of deaths caused the province to lack supply of caskets. With the president’s visit, she was airlifted to the nearby province to personally order supply of caskets to be transported to Benguet. This has however, eased the families of the victims in giving their loved ones a formal burial.

Relief goods from the government are however, airlifted to the province. Civilians also flocked the municipal hall bringing in donations in kind to the victims.

BACKGROUND:

Baguio City is dubbed as the “Summer Capital of The Philippines” due to its climate. In order to reach La Trinidad Benguet, people have to passed by Baguio City which is 20 minutes away from La Trinidad town.

Benguet is one of the primary source of vegetables which are transported to different parts of Luzon, primarily to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. This is the reason why vegetables’ prices jumps up when Benguet is inaccessible.

La Trinidad, Benguet is also dubbed as the “Salad Bowl of the Philippines”. It’s main attraction is the farming of strawberries which is one of the few in the country. With the vast hectares of fields, aside from strawberries… lettuce, cabbage, carrots, brocolli, cauli flower and salad vegetables are also planted.

Photo to the left is the view of the flooded “Salad Bowl” field with hectares of crops to be harvested ruined. The shot is taken from our apartment. Click on photo to enlarge.

Around 8am in the morning of October 9th, my companions in the mission house were rushing to the nearby neighborhood, a few meters away from our apartment. Wearing my orange upper raincoat, i went after and what lies ahead of me is a huge landslide with massive building debris cutting the road.

[SIDENOTE: Click on image to enlarge.]

With government and civilian rescuers I, Nelson and Ptr. Andres joined the rescue team despite continuous heavy downpour.

What I thought at first was we’re clearing the road from the stones, debris, and moving the mud out of it. However, while conversing with with the man beside me, we are “actually” digging out two rescuers who had been buried on our spot while they were trying to rescue one family that was trapped!

Realizing that we may be able to rescue any survivors… shivers from cold, hunger and with hands and feet turning grey have not put me from non-stop digging and moving of stones and flowing mud.

Oh, I mentioned my feet turning grey as I only wore rubber sandals and shorts, not expecting to take part in the rescue labor in consideration of my heart condition; and which is an act I have never done before and a calamity I had never witnessed personally before my very eyes.

But with His protection, I was in perfect health after 4 hours in the field.

Wondering if Trishabella is in the field? Yes, she is! She’s the one who took a pic of me (in orange coat) on my once rest. They were not allowed to go near the spot we’re digging to because of the hanging house (in the pics) that might at anytime continue to fall. Everytime we hear crackling sounds from the house’ spot, we’re running out and after a few seconds -back again digging.

Nelson is in the field too. Not expecting as well to be in the field, he’d only wore a sweatshirt and pyjamas! He was not with us with Ptr. Andres into digging as he’d only wore slippers. Going to the spot where we are would bury his feet knee-high! They are lined up passing stones, rocks, and debris. (Photo at the bottom.)

Without eating breakfast, we went back home for lunch and continuously new batches of rescuers were arriving. So far nothing undesirable happened to us. Ptr. Andres (my spiritual dad) had a cut on his hand from the roof sheets.

Though it’s sad that we were not able to rescue any survivors, it’s comforting for us though to have been part of digging up 3 victims who were not able to survive.

What left us into trauma is to discover that death toll on the landslide, which is a “few meters away” from our apartment, counts to more than 20 people including families of both children and parents that were buried…

REALIZATION POINT: It’s really different when love and passion moves. Although the victims were in no way related with us, the love of neighbor will surpass any limits moving you to take action despite health conditions and possible danger…

*FYI, Nelson and Trishabella are my coworkers. The three of us are working online to support the mission oureaches. All of us resides in the mission house as well.

What used to be a scenic view has now been buried by an enormous mudslide swallowing up the entire Kibungan village where over 40 houses and buildings were crashed, buried, and washed away.

This village is a few hundred meters away from our residence. In fact the massive landslide can be viewed from our porch. (Click to enlarge photo at the left.)

With building debris and floating crashed cars all around, the village’s original state is unimaginable.

What has been more grievous is to discover that more than 100 people have been killed. An entire family of 4, a family of 5, and even a family of 8 of no survivors would leave you speechless.

No words would even describe how it would feel when you look at an unearthed mother with her baby and kids around her arms all stiffened and lifeless.

Hundreds of families have been evacuated at the nearby elementary school.

Moving around the rooms of the school building would leave you breathless with almost each room housing a family who were lamenting over their loved one’s coffin.

For the first time in many decades, La Trinidad a major tourist spot which is dubbed as the salad bowl of the Northern Philippines, is now  a picture of tragedy, grief, and silence…