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— The Editors

Flood victims still facing survival struggle

By Christine Cudis

December 21, 2020, 7:00 pm

<p><strong>GETTING BY.</strong> Gina Tinedero sits by her window reminiscing the traumatic episode on Nov. 11, the day when Typhoon Ulysses battered her community in Marikina City. Her house was covered with mud and dirt from when the Marikina River overflowed due to the heavy rains brought by Ulysses.<em> (Photo by Raquel Bonustro) </em></p>

GETTING BY. Gina Tinedero sits by her window reminiscing the traumatic episode on Nov. 11, the day when Typhoon Ulysses battered her community in Marikina City. Her house was covered with mud and dirt from when the Marikina River overflowed due to the heavy rains brought by Ulysses. (Photo by Raquel Bonustro) 

MANILA – From health crisis to calamities, the country has grappled with several adversities this year.

While other people were fortunate to maneuver from these situations, others experienced their perils.

Gina Tinedero, a resident of Barangay Tumana in Marikina, was a victim of the recent flooding caused by heavy rains brought by Typhoon Ulysses.

Her two-story house was covered with floodwaters up to the second floor, leaving only the roof of their house visible during the onslaught of the typhoon.

Most of their belongings were damaged and could no longer be salvaged, she said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency.

“Ang lungkot ng nangyari sa amin, naghirap na kami buhat ng pandemya tapos nadagdagan pa ng pagbaha (What happened to us was saddening. We were already suffering due to the pandemic, then our house was flooded in November),” she said.

Tinedero said she and her four children have only relied on her husband’s meager income for their day-to-day needs.

She said her husband was a mason who also suffered the adverse effects of the pandemic.

Mahirap yung trabaho nitong buong taon para sa kanya (Jobs were hard to come by for him this year),” she continued.

On December 4, her husband died due to heart and lung complications.

Ang hirap kasi wala na akong katulong sa pagpapalaki ng mga bata. Wala nang nag-aabot ng pera (It’s hard because I have lost a partner in childrearing. No one gives us money anymore),” she added.

According to her, she received financial assistance from several government agencies such as the National Housing Authority (NHA) which gave her PHP5,000, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which provided some PHP3,000.

Series of challenges

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Bebe Almodiente was also left jobless, leaving the fate of her two children in the hands of generous people distributing food and financial aid in their area as well as the local government.

She is renting a space in Barangay Tumana in Marikina along with her husband and their two little kids.

GETTING BY. Bebe Almodiente, a victim of the flooding in Marikina City shares how the series of challenges this year affected their family. Even before Typhoon Ulysses battered Marikina in early November, her family was having a difficult time making ends meet due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Raquel Bonustro)

Her husband also found it hard to look for a construction job during the pandemic, she added.

Nakakuha po ako ng tatlong stamp sa Tzu Chi, saka sa DSWD, sa NHA. Doon ko po nakuha ang pang gastos namin (I got stamps from Tzu Chi, DSWD, and NHA. That’s where I got our money to sustain ourselves these times),” she said.

Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines is one of Tzu Chi Foundation’s chapters in more than 57 countries around the globe.

Cash for work

The districts of Tumana, Malanday, and Nangka of Marikina were among those covered with mud in the aftermath of the flood.

The victims said it was like a flashback of what happened during Typhoon Ondoy in 2009.

The foundation encouraged residents to help their community through a ‘cash for work’ program.

‘Cash for Work’ incentivizes every community to clean up homes and neighborhoods by paying each participant PHP1,000 per day even if they are cleaning their own homes.

Both Tinedero and Almodiente said they are asking for help from the government so they could start a new livelihood.

Sa ngayon po, konting salu-salo na lang muna sa hapag para sa Pasko. Masaya na po ako doon (Right now, we’ll just get by if there is food on the table for Christmas. I will be happy for that already),” she said.

Typhoon Ulysses hit landfall on Nov. 11, devastating parts of Luzon including the Bicol region and Metro Manila.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council recorded over 25,000 displaced persons throughout 273 barangays.

To date, it is the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year. (PNA)

 

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