INFANTA, Quezon—Village Chairman Reynaldo Pereña was busy collating data from his seven kagawad (councilors) who assist the purok (village) leaders in the mass evacuation of their constituents.
Just before the 5 p.m. expected landfall of Supertyphoon Rolly (international code Goni) on November 2, several residents went back to the seashore to witness the rolling waves that they expect to bring flash flood and storm surges into the shorelines of Barangay Dinahican.
Dinahican is the biggest barangay in Infanta in terms of population, where the number of fishermen is also the largest in the whole province.
The fishermen have bigger boats and the largest fleets of fishing vessels that can withstand the powerful waves of the Pacific Ocean.
“Boats made of fiberglass are not allowed here because of the big waves,” Pereña, 65, said in Filipino.
Some boats can stock up to 20 tons of fish caught from the ocean.
Fishing can be a big-time operation, depending on the school of fish in the traditional fishing grounds, where ships and other vessels can be seen navigating the vast open sea.
“Many residents here have finished university education, but they refused to be employed. They chose to go fishing instead because there is a luck of very good catch. Sometimes they just spend two days and two nights in the open sea and their boats would already be full of fish,” Pereña said.
The fish port is closed
The fish dealers’ stalls were empty. There’s where the bulungan, or bidding by whispering, are held.
It was already 4 p.m., and the residents were monitoring the wind strength that would trigger the storm surge.
George Peñamante was anxious while observing the wind pattern before Rolly’s landfall.
“I hope the wind would not come from the south [salatan, or strong wind from high pressure area to low pressure area]. I hope it would come from northeast. If not, all the houses here would be washed away. The ocean waves could reach the streets if the wind would come from the south,” Peñamante said.
He was referring to the wind that will come behind the Polillo Islands, together with southwest wind, or habagat.
Almost 90 percent of the residents in the area are fishermen or fish vendors.
“Dinahican belongs to the sea. Dito po dumadahik yung mga pawikan [The pawikan lay their eggs here],” continued Pereña, in the process telling the origin of the barangay’s name.
Calling himself a “product” of the ocean, Pereña was a former Philippine Navy personnel before transferring to the Coast Guard.
Fighting smugglers in the Southern Philippines and being stationed in the Pag-Asa Group of Islands groups made him love the high seas.
In an area facing the Pacific Ocean, he was the detachment commander of the Coast Guard substation to monitor storms as Infanta is under the typhoon belt.
He has witnessed major storms under his watch. One was in 2004, where many had died from the flash floods, and another in 2008, where Typhoon Frank literally sank his detachment building.
“Nilamon ng daluyong pabalik sa dagat [The big wave swallowed it and brought to the sea,” he said.
Having a military background, he used his experience to prepare for the onslaught of Rolly. He created committees for search and rescue, evacuation and disaster management.
The municipality has a total of 412 families that were brought to 16 evacuation centers, including the barangay multi-purpose centers, elementary schools, health and daycare centers, churches and other worship places, and private residences.
“It is good the typhoon deviated its direction. If not, I would ask the cockpit owner to accept evacuees. Thank God that it did not happen,” he said.
His quick response has mitigated the loss of lives.
“Nag-bandillo kami [We went around the communities and announced the need for evacuation] on Friday [November 1]. The residents immediately evacuated. We have 115 families in our barangay. It was not crammed, we still have personal distancing,” Pereña explained.
The residents were not new to the threats of the sea as typhoons often visit his town.
“Typhoons bring damage but we are always able to rebuild. Our livelihood comes from the sea. If there is no preparation and coordination, we would have bigger problems, he said.
He said that it is better to feed his barangay constituents “instead of having no one to feed anymore,” pointing out that no amount of tears can bring back a life that’s lost.
With that in mind, he felt lucky that they have zero casualties, after Rolly missed Dinahican. The Day of the Dead on November 1, which is also the expected landfall of the destructive supertyphoon, ironically became the “day of the living” for them.
Concerned citizens
Kevin Perry, 70, is a retired businessman from the land down under. He was born in New Zealand but worked in Australia until his retirement.
He has been staying in Infanta with his family for the last two years. He is building a two-story house, which became a shelter for 100 families from Sitio Parola, Barangay Dinahican, that is exactly across the Polillo Islands.
Meanwhile, Gerry Monares, his partner Evelyn and PWD son Ariel Villa, 17, stayed in Perry’s unfinished villa for four days, together with 99 other families.
They were about to return to their house when they were chanced upon by BusinessMirror on Sunday morning when the local barangay leaders announced it was already safe to go home.
Perry drove Monares’s family home in his own tricycle. The family’s ramshackle house is within a 12 km radius from the shoreline.
“If the weather becomes bad, we just run for safety. It is difficult for us because Ariel is a PWD [with cerebral palsy],” Evelyn said.
Even after Rolly has left the Philippines, Evelyn’s family is still facing storms: how to play hide and seek with typhoons with the problem of how to feed and take care of their son.
Another Parola resident, Abner Ordinado, was driving his tricycle full of appliances to return them home after Rolly left Dinahican unscathed. He has already ferried his family back home earlier.
But to Lolet, now a House of Bread Ministry member, the storm surge in 2004 that flooded Infanta from heavy rains and caused a landslide, has put her faith to test. She saw the almost two-story high wave in front of her house which scared her most.
Even with her meager resources, Lolet was able help her neighbors affected by the flash flood.
Malou, another resident, is just another good samaritan helping children cope with each and every storm, the current pandemic and the coming of another strong typhoon.
As Pereña, Perry, Lolet and Malou stand together, no supertyphoon can break their kindness to help their neighbors.
And in Infanta, nobody is left starving because one just have to look at the Pacific Ocean, the vast sea that teaches them how to fish, literally and spiritually.
Image credits: Bernard Testa