Philippine Travel Notes

Nightfall already caught us just talking to some of the people we encountered. But we were not that worried since we had our own vehicle. Please never do this though, if you are just commuting. Why? Because there is no accommodation for outsiders in this town as of the moment. You will just become another problem for them to tend to, if you were caught by night-time in Hernani. On top of this, we were extra confident since our driving friend had been to this place many times, the last of which was just a few days ago. Anyway, going out of Hernani in the darkness was still not that easy. Night driving, you know how it is on rural roads, right? And we met many convoys of big trucks and other vehicles delivering relief goods. Them and us must negotiated the roads carefully so we all fit just right in without falling off! We also had to again pass by that cemetery where bones and skulls were swept to the other side of the road and very prominently ‘on display’ when headlights would train o...

"Barangay Tres" (Barangay 3), the most devastated I have seen in this town. Many houses are gone. Those few that remain (can be counted with your fingers) are either just “skeletons” or “exoskeletons”, some probably just need a final push with a child’s hand and they would tumble or crumble! That grave, and that dangerous, even at 22 days after Yolanda. I have not been around this town before Yolanda, but I could not imagine I was in a residential neighborhood where many people lived! So I went looking around while the friend looked for Sylvia who was easily found. She is not just some resident of the town. She is municipal accountant. A jolly business minded lady. Accountant eh! And probably reason why she is friend of my friend. She is/was the contact person my friend was looking for. They talked, I bantered with some kids then heard some of their stories. This boy says they were already at a school building as advised by the barangay captain since Yolanda was expecte...

This was the final destination of the friend I went with. She was to contact a local in Hernani, to get details in preparation for next weekend’s ‘relief operations’ by some good people of Calbayog City which she was tasked to coordinate for. Not really an easy task since they are not just bringing in the usual food and clothes. They are/were to bring about a thousand tables and kitchen wares for Hernani families. A bright idea, I must say. To at least get typhoon victims to recover some bit of their dignity, by having a table to partake of whatever food are doled out to them – be it in their badly mangled houses or tents provided by foreign aid folks. Ah anyway, I now seem to associate seeing those tents with total devastation. Why would you live in a tent? Probably because there’s nothing left of your home, right? And OMG, the tents were increasing in numbers as we got nearer to center of town. Not a damn cute sign. This is no jamboree but a calamitous aftermath… The friend who dro...