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Surviving Yolanda: The soldier and the boy reunited


Author's Note: While stationed at Tacloban City, Lieutenant Colonel Fermin “Boysie” Carangan (Commanding Officer of Air Force unit TOG 8) was swept to sea by a storm surge at the height of Yolanda's fury, on the morning of November 8.

Drifting as the storm raged, he was able to rescue a 7-year-old boy named Miguel and, together, they endured six hours of the super typhoon until they were helped ashore near Basey, Samar. 

Their story of survival is told in a previous post
This is about the aftermath and how they were reunited. 

 
Lt. Col. Boysie’s immediate concern, after being rescued, was to rush back to his headquarters to find out the extent of the damage. Though he felt tired and cold, his right foot was aching, and he had lacerations all over his body, he knew he needed to get back and consolidate his men. He needed to see how the unit could regroup and help out.
 
Boysie left Miguel with the police in Basey and asked for a way to quickly get back to Tacloban Airport. A motorbike took him to the barangay, he then, on a swollen right foot, had to walk around seven kilometers to reach San Juanico Bridge. By this time it was already getting dark. Seeing the destruction, and having been told that the roads ahead were no longer accessible, he decided to stay the night at the San Juanico police station.
 
Early the next day, there were still no vehicles passing by from Tacloban. He hitched a ride with a police patrol car that was headed for Catbalogan. Upon reaching the 8th Infantry Division (8ID) Headquarters, he was immediately taken to the hospital where his wounds were treated. Then he was able to call the Air Force to report his status and, finally, he was able to call home to let his wife and family know that he was alive. 
 
On a warm bed with clean sheets and with his wounds treated, it was finally time to rest.
 
The following day, he was back at his headquarters in Tacloban Airport – or what remained of it. As it turned out, three of his enlisted personnel had been killed, while two were still missing. The two young PMA graduates who were with him when the storm surge thundered in, were alive. 
 
Boysie and his men were promptly temporarily replaced by personnel from the 2nd Air Division (2AD) from Cebu. A two week break was also granted by the Air Force Chief himself, Lt Gen Larry de la Cruz, who had already arrived for a quick inspection.

Lt. Col. Boysie Carangan and Miguel Rulona are reunited 19 days after surviving at sea for six hours on a plank of wood. (Photo: Courtesy of Lt Col Carangan)
   
Miguel Rulona, the boy he had rescued, was turned over by the police to the Army’s 87th Infantry Battalion. The 87IB had  taken care of him while searching for his relatives. Finally, after two weeks, Miguel’s grandfather arrived to positively identify him and take him home.
 
Miguel had been living in a small village called San Jose, right behind Boysie’s 8th Tactical Operations Group (8th TOG), when Yolanda struck. He lived with his grandparents and a younger brother and had gotten separated from them when the storm surge came. 
 
Lt. Col. Boysie returned to Tacloban on November 24, after recuperating for two weeks at the Villamor Air Base Station Hospital. It was time for him to pick up the pieces and help rebuild his unit’s Headquarters.
 
On November 27, 19 days after Yolanda hit Tacloban, Boysie got a great surprise when Miguel dropped by to visit. Miguel was with his mother and grandfather. His mother had been working in Manila at the time of the storm and she wasted no time getting back home after Tacloban's devastation.
 
Miguel's mother would arrive home to a lone, distraught father. Her mother and two kids were missing. They would find Miguel only days later. Miguel’s grandmother and younger brother, however, remain missing.
 
Miguel and Boysie survived against almost impossible odds during the deadliest storm ever to hit the Philippines. The grateful mother gave profuse thanks to Lt. Col. Boysie for saving her son’s life. 
 
In return, Boysie confided that it was precisely Miguel’s presence that had strengthened his resolve to fight and hang on. Clearly, God had given them each other during those critical moments, in order for both of them to survive. 
 
Miguel’s mom has decided not to go back to Manila and instead intends to rebuild her family, this time in a safer place together with their relatives in Baybay, Leyte. 
 
Lt. Col. Boysie Carangan has busied himself rebuilding the 8th TOG. It will take a few months before the Tacloban landscape is finally rid of everything of the nightamre that was Yolanda. But like the rest of devastated Tacloban, the time to rebuild is now. 
 
Rebuilding is not just about providing houses, offices, and infrastructure but, more importantly, rebuilding is about restoring people's dignity, lifting their spirits, and rekindling their humanity. — KDM, GMA News
 

Maj Gen (Ret) Carlos “Charly” Holganza was the former Commander of the 10th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army. He retired in May 2012, after spending more than 37 years in service. This post originally appeared in his blog on December 7. We are re-posting it here with his permission. 
 


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