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A photographer tells his story of the Leyte tragedy
By MARY ANNE DE CHAVEZ, GMANews.TV staffwriter, and JESS AZNAR, GMANews.TV staff photographer It's hard not to be affected with all the stories we write every day about the landslide in Leyte. Still, I was not prepared for the anguish I felt when I listened to the story of Jess who trekked to the disaster site on Saturday, February 18, a day after the mudslide. "It was Saturday morning when I decided to go to Leyte. I just packed a few clothes and personal effects, and my most important equipment, my camera. "I took a plane to Cebu and later took a ferry that brought me to my destination. "I met other photographers and journalists covering the incident Saturday evening. I preferred to rest in my hotel room in Leyte. "I first saw the rescuers while I was on my way to Guinsaugon. Like them, I was hoping to see some survivors. "The rescuers later marked the site of the school building as 'ground zero'. More than a kilometer from the point was a command center where I boarded a pay loader, the only vehicle that transports people in that muddy world. "Alam mo kasi, kapag tumawid ka sa nagmistulang ilog ng Guinsaugun, maaari kang maanod ng alon at pwede kang mamatay. Kung patay ang isasakay, sampu lang ang kayang dalhin pero kapag buhay, kaya ang 20 tao. "Grabe. Sobrang lakas ng current. Habang umaandar ang pay loader para kaming inihahampas dahil sa lakas ng puwersa ng current." “Kung titingnan mo, dead end na talaga. No sign of life. Talagang wala nang buhay ang lugar at 20 times na amoy patay na daga. Ambaho talaga. Masusuka ka kung mahina ang sikmura mo. Mabuti na lang at may dala akong Vicks. Mabuti na lang at nalabanan ko ang pagsusuka ko. "May mga butas din na pwede kang mahulog sa ilalim ng lupa kung wala ka sa pay loader. I asked Jess how he felt about what he saw. "Naturally, as part of my job, I didn’t feel anything. Naramdaman ko na lang ang lungkot nang umuwi na ako sa kwarto ko at ni-review ko ang mga photos ko. At the back of my mind, I just said, napakamalas naman ng mga taga-Leyte." As Jess tried to make sense of what he saw, four residents shared a legend about the village Guinsaugon. It sounds strange but the survivors are trying to find reason behind the tragedy. "Before the tragedy occurred, there was an old woman who asked villagers for water. The residents of Guinsaugon reportedly didn’t offer the woman a drink. Then the old woman said: 'Sige, bibigyan ko kayo ng maraming tubig.'" After three days, the landslide occurred. The Southern Leyte town of Saint Bernard had just turned 52 years old when the landslide buried one of its 30 barangays (villages), Guinsaugon, on February 17. Gone is the town’s history and tradition. Many say the disaster also buried a generation, with more than 200 school children and their teachers already feared dead under the ruins of Guinsaugon Elementary School. 
The town's population in 2000 was 23,089 individuals! or 4,746 households. Saint Bernard, when it was still Himatagon village, was the biggest and most populated village of San Juan town (formerly Cabalian). As Himatagon progressed economically and politically, the residents pushed for self-governance. They petitioned authorities to declare their barangay a municipality. On December 9, 1954, then President Ramon Magsaysay converted barangay Himatagon into the municipality of Saint Bernard through Executive Order No. 84. Like most Southern Leyteños, Saint Bernard natives are farmers and fishermen noted for their hard work and frugality. They speak either Cebuano or Boholano. Their cultural and linguistic affinities are, however, different from natives of Cebu, Bohol and the western coast of Leyte. Saint Bernard is predominantly Catholic, with a sprinkling of Protestant followers. The town's patron saint is San Isidro, patron saint of farmers. The town celebrated his feast every May 29. Traditional practices and superstitious beliefs still thrived in the town. Some farmers still observe pre-Hispanic and conservative beliefs, such as rituals to mark the beginning of the planting season. 
Leyte rescue operations temporarily halted Disaster officials on Thursday noon suspended search and rescue operations in Saint Bernard town in Southern Leyte as continuous rains and softening soil exposed volunteers to hazardous working conditions. Villagers in St. Bernard flee homes on landslide fears Several barangays in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte now look like ghost towns after residents deserted their homes for fear that they might suffer the same fate of Guinsaugon villagers. 7 Taiwanese rescuers pulled out of mud Seven Taiwanese volunteers were pulled out of deep mud and floodwater near the rescue operations site in Guinsaugon village in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte, GMA 7's DZBB reported. Local execs seek appraisal of St. Bernard relocation site Southern Leyte Gov. Rosette Lerias on Thursday appealed to concerned agencies to begin the appraisal of lands where residents affected by last Friday's mudslide could be relocated. Aussie-trained Pinoy cops sent to help rescuers in Leyte Australian-trained Filipino policemen have been sent to St. Bernard town in Southern Leyte to help establish the identities of the fatalities recovered from last week's mudslides in Guinsaugon village, Saint Bernard. Rains, thunderstorms expected over Visayas Rescue operations in devastated Barangay Guinsaugon, Saint Bernard town in Southern Leyte are likely to be hampered anew as the easterly wave continued to affect Visayas and Mindanao. Heavy equipment arrive in Guinsaugon US Marines brought in a two-ton drill on Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to find the elementary school building buried by landslide where up to 300 children and teachers were thought to have been trapped. School site found; live chicken gives new hope to rescuers >Rescue volunteers in Southern Leyte on Wednesday recovered five more bodies from the site where more than 200 students are believed trapped in a buried elementary school. School tables, chairs found under rubble in Leyte Rescue teams on Wednesday noon unearthed school chairs and tables, giving a shimmer of hope that the Guinsaugon Elementary School in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte could finally be located. Imelda steals scene in Leyte; hugs Arroyo Former first lady Imelda Marcos on Wednesday exchanged hugs and kisses with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in devastated Saint Bernard town in Southern Leyte, GMA 7's DZBB reported. Arroyo flies off to buried village in Leyte President Arroyo on Wednesday morning left for Southern Leyte to assess ongoing search and rescue operations in St. Bernard town where rescue teams continue to look for survivors from last Friday's mudslide. Continuing rains expected over Visayas 
Downpours will likely hamper ongoing efforts to save residents buried under the mud that engulfed Barangay Guinsaugon in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte. Death toll rises in Leyte mudslide Rescue workers dug grimly Tuesday for a mud-swamped elementary school, but in a different spot from where they excitedly detected underground sounds a day earlier that they hoped were signs of life.
The town's population in 2000 was 23,089 individuals! or 4,746 households. Saint Bernard, when it was still Himatagon village, was the biggest and most populated village of San Juan town (formerly Cabalian). As Himatagon progressed economically and politically, the residents pushed for self-governance. They petitioned authorities to declare their barangay a municipality. On December 9, 1954, then President Ramon Magsaysay converted barangay Himatagon into the municipality of Saint Bernard through Executive Order No. 84. Like most Southern Leyteños, Saint Bernard natives are farmers and fishermen noted for their hard work and frugality. They speak either Cebuano or Boholano. Their cultural and linguistic affinities are, however, different from natives of Cebu, Bohol and the western coast of Leyte. Saint Bernard is predominantly Catholic, with a sprinkling of Protestant followers. The town's patron saint is San Isidro, patron saint of farmers. The town celebrated his feast every May 29. Traditional practices and superstitious beliefs still thrived in the town. Some farmers still observe pre-Hispanic and conservative beliefs, such as rituals to mark the beginning of the planting season. Leyte rescue operations temporarily halted Disaster officials on Thursday noon suspended search and rescue operations in Saint Bernard town in Southern Leyte as continuous rains and softening soil exposed volunteers to hazardous working conditions. Villagers in St. Bernard flee homes on landslide fears Several barangays in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte now look like ghost towns after residents deserted their homes for fear that they might suffer the same fate of Guinsaugon villagers. 7 Taiwanese rescuers pulled out of mud Seven Taiwanese volunteers were pulled out of deep mud and floodwater near the rescue operations site in Guinsaugon village in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte, GMA 7's DZBB reported. Local execs seek appraisal of St. Bernard relocation site Southern Leyte Gov. Rosette Lerias on Thursday appealed to concerned agencies to begin the appraisal of lands where residents affected by last Friday's mudslide could be relocated. Aussie-trained Pinoy cops sent to help rescuers in Leyte Australian-trained Filipino policemen have been sent to St. Bernard town in Southern Leyte to help establish the identities of the fatalities recovered from last week's mudslides in Guinsaugon village, Saint Bernard. Rains, thunderstorms expected over Visayas Rescue operations in devastated Barangay Guinsaugon, Saint Bernard town in Southern Leyte are likely to be hampered anew as the easterly wave continued to affect Visayas and Mindanao. Heavy equipment arrive in Guinsaugon US Marines brought in a two-ton drill on Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to find the elementary school building buried by landslide where up to 300 children and teachers were thought to have been trapped. School site found; live chicken gives new hope to rescuers >Rescue volunteers in Southern Leyte on Wednesday recovered five more bodies from the site where more than 200 students are believed trapped in a buried elementary school. School tables, chairs found under rubble in Leyte Rescue teams on Wednesday noon unearthed school chairs and tables, giving a shimmer of hope that the Guinsaugon Elementary School in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte could finally be located. Imelda steals scene in Leyte; hugs Arroyo Former first lady Imelda Marcos on Wednesday exchanged hugs and kisses with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in devastated Saint Bernard town in Southern Leyte, GMA 7's DZBB reported. Arroyo flies off to buried village in Leyte President Arroyo on Wednesday morning left for Southern Leyte to assess ongoing search and rescue operations in St. Bernard town where rescue teams continue to look for survivors from last Friday's mudslide. Continuing rains expected over Visayas Downpours will likely hamper ongoing efforts to save residents buried under the mud that engulfed Barangay Guinsaugon in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte. Death toll rises in Leyte mudslide Rescue workers dug grimly Tuesday for a mud-swamped elementary school, but in a different spot from where they excitedly detected underground sounds a day earlier that they hoped were signs of life. 
