Tormented Tacloban

Let us not even talk about the undying support of this country’s sitting president and his DILG head (and wife!), to the city of Tacloban. They'll only trouble the heart more.

They're now very popular on the web! Yun naman ang hanap nila, di ba? Merese!

But let’s continue my story and here are shots as I entered the devastated city. Note that these were right-side only where my van passed, not where/what I wanted to see.

To say "depressing" is a gross understatement.

Onwards from Palo, towards entering Tacloban...
That is (was) a lovely residential compound I have admired seeing before Yolanda.

These are (were) their next door neighbors, exactly 22 days after the super typhoon.

To the left of this running van, before I clicked this photo, was the Mormon Church. I wanted to take a picture of that one too, but not a chance, I was at Seat No. 8! Argh!
They both looked fine, so I thought 'ah me pera kasi, so they were able to repair ASAP', which, I incidentally heard, was exactly, verbally expressed by one fellow passenger.

Okay na sana to believe our baseless presumptions, but our madaldaling driver loudly jokingly cracked "mas love sila ni God, kasi di masyado sinira ang mga simbahan nila"!
And I laughed loud when a lady passenger said "asya na, kasakit gad hit kamatuoran"!

By the way, that pink single level building seem to have also withstood Yolanda's ire. Di ko pa alam kung ano yan, basta the facade says Manila Teachers' tapos wala na!

Then ruble and ruins again. I don't (didn't) know what these buildings are (were).
I did see the mangled facade of that one at left, and saw a word that said "industry". Maybe it is/was the regional offices of the Department of Trade and Industry or DTI.

One of the few already open on Day 22 - its like a party place
some vendors are back on the sidewalks
they say only that upper white part was seen during the deluge
curiously, this oldie is still standing
They say water reached above the maroon paint. I saw traces.
lampara, sulo, serilya to light their evenings

Well, everyone is picking up the pieces. I started hearing many stories along the way, even from our very own driver himself. But I will probably lump all those tales of woe or wonder at the end of this series. For now, share the grief as I rushed through the city heading towards the van terminal…

Let's go to Samar.


For a chronology of this trip's stories, click these numbers:
01   02   03   04   05   06   07   08   09   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18

Previous
Next
- Posted

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Enchanted River, Hinatuan

Image
Enchanted River, Brgy. Talisay, Hinatuan, Surigao Del Sur "What a river" - you can use that expression to mean so many things. Let's start with this.., That's not a metropolis parking area. That's the road - about a kilometer before - the Enchanted River! I was already "pre-warned" by my driver that the place would definitely be more crowded than Tinuy-an Falls, but I didn't expect it to be this crazily crowded at 10:27AM. If you arrived in a 4-wheeled vehicle and this late, you'll be unfortunate to be walking about a kilometer from where you may park your car. Those who come in motorcycles have a shorter way to walk - only about half a kilometer hahaha! That's because motorbikes are allowed to a certain nearer point to drop passengers and/or load, then exit back to a designated parking area. Eto pa, for some reason rain stopped and sun shone harshly! Here here, for posterity shots (after the long walk), smile even if you are panting ...
Read more

Beware of JAM / Tritran Bus

Readers should all be aware of this when going to Puerto Galera or any of the destinations en route to Batangas City! There is an anomaly that the bus company (or probably just their employees and without the management’s knowledge) has been perpetrating. Last February 25, 2005, being a holiday, I, together with three of my friends decided to go to Puerto Galera for a much needed weekend break. We decided to take a JAM/Tritran bus by reason of its station being conveniently located at EDSA near Kamuning which happens to be nearest our residences. This decision to take Tritran ruined our weekend! We were at the bus station as early as 5:30AM so we can take the 6AM trip. We happily rode on bus number 727, a yellow JAM liner. The aircon was great – even too cold and the bus was clean. It got readily full to capacity so we left by just about 5 minutes past 6AM. Upon departure, the “conduktor” distributed tickets without asking for our money yet. After he has given tickets to everyone, he c...
Read more

Seaside Dampa, Macapagal Boulevard

Image
With the proliferation of “Dampa Style” eateries, I find this to be the best in terms of orderliness and cleanliness. You can call it “bourgeois mentality” but thankfully, this place is out of the easy reach by the common masses in terms of distance and location. I am not even sure if there are jeeps that ply a route passing by this place. Some friends tell me there are. Anyway… I came to know about this place through someone who invited old friends (that’s including me) for some kind of a reunion. And I immediately liked it. “ Seaside ” – as it is commonly referred to by those who know about it, is located along the not yet so dense Macapagal Avenue facing the Manila Bay. Of course it faces the water, that’s why it’s called “seaside”. But that is only if you get to settle at those restaurants by the edge of the waters. Nonetheless, you will like many of the restaurants there – my favourites are not even by the water’s edge. As you would already know, “Dampa Style” eateries have ...
Read more