EVARISTO UBAS III could only offer prayers and candles when he came to Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tina-an in the City of Naga on Tuesday, Oct. 30.
Ubas lost six of his family members to the landslide that hit their barangay last Sept. 20.
Ubas, along with other survivors of the landslide, visited Sitio Sindulan to offer a mass for the traditional 40th day of prayer for the dead.
The mass, held in Sitio Sindulan chapel, was led by Fr. Orlando Ruiz VI and his team of pastors from the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi.
Ubas said that while he is slowly moving on from the tragedy, it is not easy.
He prays for eternal rest for his dead relatives.
"I can only pray for peace for their souls. We don't own our lives; we merely borrowed it from God. What he gave, he can also take away. We have no right to criticize God for what had happened. We just have to move on," Ubas said.
Aside from Ubas, Marilyn Versales also visited Sindulan to not only offer prayers but to also say goodbye.
Versales lost her daughter Bianca and son Michael to the landslide.
Versales said she came to Ground Zero to offer prayers with her surviving son Carlo and her grandson before flying back to Kuwait to work.
She said she is slowly accepting the reality that two of her children are now gone.
"I now draw strength from my remaining son and grandson. If not for them, I don't know if I could keep on going," Versales said.
But some of those who survived the landslide are still calling for justice.
Emerito Quesido, vice president of Sindulan's chapel association and a survivor of the incident, said he and other victims of the landslide condemned the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) for failing to put the blame on Apo Land and Quarry Corp. (ALQC) for the tragedy.
Quesido said he can attest that ALQC initiated earth moving operations in Sitio Tagaytay, which aggravated the cracks and eventually led to the landslide.
The MGB, in its assessment, said the landslide was a combination of several factors, including man-made operations near the site.
After the mass, the survivors and their relatives offered balloons and candles in a simple ceremony at Ground Zero. (JKV)