‘Ganyan po buhay ng mahihirap': Flooded Bulacan family live in tricycle

The waist-deep floods that remain in Reynaldo Ronquillo’s home days after Typhoon Ulysses hit Hagonoy, Bulacan have forced him, his nieces, nephews, and grandchildren to take temporary shelter inside a tricycle.

According to Raffy Tima’s “24 Oras” report on Monday, Ronquillo and the children have been living inside a friend’s tricycle in Barangay San Agustin for three days now.

“Ika nga po ng kasabihan, ‘Hanggang maiksi kumot, do’n mag-aral mamaluktot.’ Mahirap man po ay nagtitiis. Wala kang matutuluyan,” he said.

Ronquillo decided to live in a tricycle as the evacuation center was too far away.

Their relatives still cook food inside their flooded house but Ronquillo and the kids sleep along the road at night.

“Pagka inantok na, tatandig na lang, ganyan. Tulog na,” he says with a laugh. “Ganyan po ang buhay ng mahihirap.”

San Agustin had seemingly turned into an island due to the flooding caused by Ulysses.

The waters from Nueva Ecija at Pampanga were said to have engulfed 13 barangays in Hagonoy.

In some areas, only boats are used for transportation, while some residents pass the time on their rooftops.

The Bulacan provincial disaster management office said that, for as long as dams in Nueva Ecija are releasing water, the flood in their province will not subside.

Ulysses has claimed 67 lives, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. —Julia Mari Ornedo/LDF, GMA News