Flooded anew by 'Santi', Laguna faces bleak Christmas

Typhoon Santi brought high waters back to municipal and city streets in Laguna. After suffering from "Ondoy's" enormous rainfall in September, six towns and two cities in the province were inundated anew. As local governments grapple with repairs to numerous waterways, the prospects are bleak that some areas will see dry land before December. “Noong Ondoy, lubog lang po sa tubig ang mga bahay dito. Pero nang dumaan ang typhoon Santi, maraming mga bahay ang nagiba. Yung mga bahay na malapit sa isang ilog, na-washout," computer shop owner Arwin Santos lamented in an interview Tuesday. Six out of Laguna’s 27 towns and two of its three cities were inundated by floods caused by Typhoon Santi, which swept across southern Luzon last Saturday. Most of the towns sit on the shores of Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the country.

Source: NDCC Situation Report, November 3 Santos, a 27-year-old resident of Barangay Tagumpay in Bay town in Laguna, said most people in his village lost their sources of livelihood. His computer shop, for one, had to contend with waist-deep flood waters in the wake of Santi. “Kahit nag-prepare kami, di naman maiiwasan yung ganitong pag-taas ng tubig kung malakas talaga yung bagyo," Santos said. But even as they are reeling from the twin disasters, Santos and other Laguna residents are in store for greater suffering. Vicente Tomazar, director of the Office of Civil Defense in Region 4-A, said it might take until December before the floods are flushed out. “Yung assessment namin, baka hanggang December pa," Tomazar told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. He explained that waterways and floodways are still being constructed or fixed, making it difficult for the floodwaters to recede fast. “Kinakausap pa namin yung NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) para ayusin yung mga binahang daan," Tomazar said. In the meantime, he said his office and local government units would continue helping displaced Laguna residents who have taken refuge in 45 evacuation centers across the province. Santi is the fourth tropical cyclone to hit the country after Ondoy battered portions of Luzon last September 26. NDCC’s focus Laguna is among the provinces badly hit by Santi across the Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, Bicol, and Metro Manila regions. Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, spokesperson of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, said that they would focus their rehabilitation efforts in Laguna’s flood-stricken towns. According to the NDCC’s latest report Tuesday, more than 60 percent or 183,243 people of Santi’s victims reside in Laguna province. Thirty percent of the 3,129 totally damaged houses and almost 48 percent (11,736 houses) of the partially damaged houses are also in Laguna. Of the P3.8 million worth of relief goods allotted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development for Santi’s victims, P2.3 million (more than 60 percent) are allotted for affected residents in the province. Business as usual Despite the damage, some residents remain hopeful that they could overcome what Ondoy and Santi took away from them. Erasto Arinuelo, who resides in Laguna’s capital city of Sta. Cruz, said: “Bagaman ito ang kinahinatnan, business as usual pa rin ang ilang establisyimento dito. Bukas rin ang ilang fast food chain at hardware stores." He added that vendors from the city’s public market transferred to the city plaza in Barangay Poblacion to sell their wares. Despite the thick layer of mud that residents are still trying to remove from the streets, Arinuelo said the bustling activity proves that despite the tragedy, life still goes on. In Majayjay, Laguna, where two bridges collapsed under the force of Santi, locals remain unfazed despite their near-isolation from the outside world. The two bridges destroyed were Atillo Bridge in Bgy. San Isidro and the Olla Bridge in Bgy. San Miguel. Ever since the two bridges collapsed, commuters have to take an alternate route through Luisiana town to get to the provincial capital of Santa Cruz, extending travel time to more than an hour and raising the jeepney fare from P35 to P50. Majayjay Mayor Victorino Rodillas told GMANews.TV that rains brought by Santi last weekend buried some streets in knee-deep floods and mud. Without waiting for assistance from the national government, Rodillas gathered the town personnel and launched clearing operations in the streets. "Hindi na namin kailangan iyon. Kaya naman ng Majayjay (Help from the national government is not necessary. We can do it by ourselves)," he said. "Kapag may ganyang bagyo, importante kagad na linisin ang daan para makadaan ang mga sasakyan palabas at papasok," he stressed. Rodillas said he has advised people living near the collapsed bridges to move out to prevent injuries in case of further stormy weather. Like Rodillas, his constituents are equally hopeful. "Pipilitin namin makabangon muli (We will do our best to recover)," said Jennylyn Breganza, a student from Majayjay. - with a report from MARK MERUEÑAS, GMANews.TV