Chapter 47
Typhoon Frank Came, With Floods, We Never Saw Before!
On June 22, 2008, Typhoon Frank (Fengshen) came to Iloilo and Panay Island. It hit hard Iloilo City with strong wind and very heavy flood together in most part of Panay Island. The devastation was grave that we never saw and experienced before.
In Buntatala, Leganes and nearby villages, much of what have been started by families and developed the past years of hard work were destroyed. The heavy floods completed the destruction. I saw 10 feet flood around homes in Buntatala, Leganes, Iloilo.
Five jeeps and cars were swept by the strong flood from the highway and smashed on the gates of our house. I saw more than 10 cows and carabaos, carried by the water from farms above, passing near our home, down to the sea. Everything we were caring at home -3 pigs, a dozen ducks, 1,200 heads of Quail-- 600 layers and 600 1 month old, were drowned.
The equipment of Alternative Resource Development Center, Inc.,-- Risograph Printing Machine, 2 commercial photo copiers, 3 computers, were submerged in 10 feet water. We have some 50 reams of bond papers, 1,200 newly covered books, part of the book we launched that May were covered with mud.
Our library books of 5,000 volumes were covered with muds, after it fall down and submerged in waist deep muds mixed with rice husks from a rice mill 150 meters above us. Our neighbors suffered the same destruction like us.
Typhoon Frank made a direct hit on the Philippines and China, causing severe damages, resulting in some 1,371 deaths and leaving 87 people missing in the Philippines. Eight hundred forty six (846) of the 922 people on board the boat “Princess of the Stars” were killed when the ship capsized.
The Philippines was most heavily affected country in the wake of Fenshen (Frank) typhoon.
Ten of thousands were affected by the storms, many of whom climb trees and rooftops, when they saw the swirling water coming fast that Saturday morning about 11:00 AM.
Capiz, Aklan and Antique provinces were heavily affected. It remained cut off from comunications.
Hardest hit outside Iloilo City where Pavia, San Miguel, Leganes and Sta. Barbara. The northern and central towns of Iloilo including San Rafael, Passi, Barotac Viejo, Sara, Concepcion, San Dionisio, Batad, Estancia, Balasan and Carles were devastated.
The markets of Roxas City, Kalibu, Aklan, San Jose, Antique and the surrounding towns and villages were heavily affected. We saw the seemingly hopeless faces of men and women as they stares at us, looking at their destroyed homes and lost belongings.
The damages, according to news reports, caused by “Frank” in agriculture was placed at P1.087 billion while in infrastructure was P519,71 million.
Typhoon Frank, taught me many things. Life and things we possessrf were fleeting. You see it now. Then, you see it no more. That morning of the flood, I was preparing to go to a town of San Miguel. I was scheduled to speak in Inner Iloilo City Circuit Conference, held in Consolacion Baptist Church, in the municipality of San Miguel. The topic I was requested to discuss was “The Methods and Technics on Quail Raising”. I was invited by the Organizing Committee with Engr. Rollin Deocampo of Inner Iloilo Ciricuit Conference.
I have direct experiences on Quail Raising. Two pastors in the circuit had cared 100 laying Quails already, under my and guidance. One has left for Mindanao and I cannot remember his name. One was Pastor Jemuel Benigay of Pagsangaan Baptist Church, Pavia, Iloilo. By that time his Quails were laying eggs.
Some church members would like to learn and start Quail Raising, as community ventures.
The proximity of Inner Iloilo Churches to Iloilo City, make Quail Raising potential business to undertake. Big number of quail eggs, were bought from Manila. Some pastors would like to start the enterprise. They asked me to provide them with the technology of raising a 1 day old quail chicks to start the project.
I told them, we will provide the 1 day old quails. We have an Incubator with 100 native chichen eggs. It can be used for 250 quail eggs. A friend in Bakyas, Bacolod City has bigger quail project. He have fertilized quail eggs. I bought 250 quail eggs, per order. Then we incubate it at home. And some raisers have started buying 1 day old quail eggs from me.
He said. “If we raise quails and taught our children and the children of the community to eat quail eggs, our children and our youths will be more healthy, strong and intelligent.”
The rain that Saturday morning has slowed down. Then about 11:00 AM, water entered our floor. It was very fast. In a few minutes it was knee deep. A few minutes more, water was on our thigh. I called Hesther and my sons to come. We will go to the highway. It was higher there.
We went out of our house. The flood was on our thigh and moving strong. We walked 5 of us, holding our hands going to the highway. We heard later, the two big dams were opened to release water, to lessen the pressures on the dam. And it brought down strong flood waters to the communities.
We cannot reached the highway. The flood water was very strong. It carries some big woods and bamboos down with strong force. We’re on the side of the highway. But we cannot go up the highway. There was Jeepney, full of beer and soft drinks. I went up the jeepney. I try to relaxed.
Then, a two men came. They were carrying long ropes. They throw the rope to us. We caught the rope. Slowly we moved up to highway. There, the water was a bit calm. It was above our knees.
We entered the of our neighbor, Ms. Grace Alangre. Her house with three floors. The first floor was full of water. The 2nd floor was half-way full. We went to up the 3rd Floor. There we stayed for 3 days, until the flood subsided. Six families all, some 30 people.
After we were settled in the house, I realized my 2nd son, Noynoy was not around. Also my brother-in-law, Dodong Alvarez. He visited us a week ago and stayed for a vacation. Seeing that they were not around, I decided to go back to our house. The water was more stronger. My two sons did not allow me to go. They were asking me to let them go instead. But I cannot allow them, under that force of the flood.
Later, I learned Noynoy (Rod Chester) and his uncle, went to the roof-top where they stayed. Four families with 15 members, all our neighbors, were stranded.
They cannot get out of the area anymore . Their home were flooded with 10 feet water. They came to our back gate and cling to the fence. Our house was fenced with hollow blocks and iron grills.
The water was deep but not strong inside and the back of our house. My son opened the gate and the four families clumber up to the roof. They stayed there. Fifteen of them, with a child, one month old. They stayed there at the roof of our house until 5:00 PM.
As I looked at our home, 100 meters away, with waters near the roof my tears fall. I was so sad.
As I looked at our home and the homes of my neighbors, tears came out slowly.
I saw almost all our things were lost and destroyed. Our clothes were washed away. Some were buried in the mud. All our for printing, publishing and broadcast equipment, were buried under water. All were destroyed. I looked at my wife and four children. I knew, we have nothing to start life again.
But I remembered the promise of the Lord. He said, “I will not leave you alone. I will not forsake you.” It gave me strength. I bowed my head in prayer. In the midst of the flood, I thanked God for the strength and grace of His presence.
I reflected on what we will do. It was very hard to live with nothing to start, except our home partly damaged. Soil and rotten rice husks from the rice mill 200 meters were dumped inside our house.
On the 2nd day, members of Lifegate Church, our church in Leganes came with several gantas of rice, canned foods and used clothing. I was able to change to dried pants, that morning. We cooked the rice and canned goods. We eat together. We gave the clothes to each member of the family.
On the 3rd day after Typhoon Frank, Mrs. Feraz Legita and some CPBC staff came to us. They brought us One-half sack rice, canned goods and used clothing. We used that for all our foods in the 5 families. We were still stranded. Water was still waist deep.
I was invited by Mrs. Legita to join them that morning I did. We went to Northern Iloilo, to Roxas City, Kalibu. Aklan and San Jose Antique. We passed several municipalities along our route. We saw the devastation all around the villages/ barangays we passed. We saw people around, trying to put whatever was left of their home and make repairs. Roxas City Market was destroyed heavily. Also Kalibu, Aklan’s wet market.
The people were working, doing whatever they can to repair their stores and homes. In Antique, we saw the devastation, the same all over the towns the 4 provinces of Panay. We went back to Iloilo City that evening. Mrs. Legita gave me P1,000 that evening. The following day, we returned to our home. The flood has subsided. But inside our home, 3 feet of soil, sands and rotten rice husks were damped by the flood inside our house.
Slowly we cleaned our house. We all helped. We got the soils and rotten rice husks and carried them out of our house. My brother, Restituto Jr., came with his Electric Power Sprayer, so we can clean the walls and floors of our house. The Electric Sprayer was a great help. My sisters, Elvira and Myrna came. They brought some materials for our needs. My sisters in Carles and our father sent rice and dried fish. And like our neighbors, we worked for almost a week, before we can live a bit of normal lives.
After some reflections with my wife, Hesther, we decided to find another way to earn a living. We thought of looking for a farm to rent. Planting vegetables will enable us to harvest in 2 months. With rice and corn, we will harvest in 3 to four months. And with few native chickens we will have eggs in a month or two. If we raised a few goats, we could have meat in 6 months. Goats will eat grasses only.
We rented a small farm. It’s nearly 3 hectares. The land was not planted for 3 years. It was like a forest with tall grasses. When heavy rains comes, the area were flooded with much water from Metropolis Subdivision. The land was owned by the Philippine American Cemetery Association. The President was Dr. Vicente Suoribio. I am the Vice President. I negotiated with him and the Board of Directors. He allowed us to rent it for five years. We paid rentals yearly.
In my ministry, I always have relations with farmers, sugar cane workers and fishermen. I have some knowledge on farming. What we called conventional farming. The methods that used commercial fertilizers and poisonous pesticides.
Tyhoon Frank hit Panay Island and hit hard the areas of the Convention of Philippine Baptist. of Rev. Arsenio Llamas, President and Rev. Job Santiago, General Secretary. They worked hard to help develop the resources of the Convention and respond to the needs of families heavily affected by dissasters in Negros, Panay, Romblon and Mindoro.
One day, Rev. Job Santiago, CPBC General Secretary visited me at home. We have coffee. He told me my friend, Leo Liljengren from their church in Sweden has sent an amount, about P160,000, from their Church, as assistance for our house. Leo saw the flood on TV in Sweden, and knew the area near our home. He had visited us at home before.
We used the amount to make a 2nd story floor on our house, to make sure we have a place to run, when another strong flood came in future years. We use also some amount to start a little farming to start life again.
I began to get interested in natural farming. Raising vegetables, rice, corn, bananas with composts and earthworms casts. We raise fresh water fish, few chickens and ducks without using chemical fertilzers and pesticides. We sprayed our vegetables and plants with pesticides made from cut /shredded Neem Tree leaves, ½ kilo of garlic, ½ kilo of roots onion mixed with 1 kilo of molasses and fermented for days.
We kept these in a clean container. We spray our plants weekly with the solution, 4 tables spoons in 1 standard sprayer with about 20 liters of water.
We started to hold study and trainings on natural farming with neigbors and friends. Slowly and gradually, we discovered a new life’s work, a new ministry - farming and fishing. We made studies, researches and experiments. We established relations with Iloilo City Agriculturist’s Office. With them, we began to reached to out and help farmers and fishermen, some needing skills and equipment to improve their incomes and lives.
I joined the “Highly Urbanized City Agriculture and Fisheries Council (HUCAFC).” The President is Mr. Romeo Villanueva. I am the Vice President. We met once every 3 months, with time of sharing, learning, planning and getting new technologies on farming and fishing.
We organized the “Iloilo City Farmers Association”, that provided skills on farming, using the
conventional methods. The association is headed by Ms. Gemma Aujero. I am a member of the Board of Directors.
We have also organized and registered with the Department of Labor & Employment (DOLE) the “Iloilo City Organic Agriculture Alliance (ICOAA)”. I was elected President. Pastor Arana is Vice President. We’re assisted by Ms. Lizel Luna and Mr. Renato Madrillejo of the City Agriculturist’s Office. `
These was a new ministry God called me to participate. Twice we went to Cebu to participate in the regional & national trainings and planning. We met often in Iloilo City, with the regional studies on farming technologies. What we learned, we share with our group, in the city, the province and in our municipalities. From the devastating flood, God opened a new ministry for us.
Part of the series The Ministry Years (chapter 47 of 48)
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