THE response of the Filipinos following the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) is a testament of resiliency and unity.
This was the statement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, as he led the 10th anniversary commemoration of Super Typhoon Yolanda at the Tacloban City Convention Center.
He commended the resiliency and the “Bayanihan” spirit of the Filipinos, which was highlighted as the affected communities sought help.
He also expressed deep gratitude to non-government organizations and the international community who helped the Philippines, particularly Tacloban, to recover.
“The aid that came from all directions, the volunteerism, the heroism that overflowed in the affected areas, specifically in the rehabilitation of Tacloban,” Marcos said in his speech.
“Indeed, what we saw back then was the spirit of bayanihan in its truest form — moving without prompting, without hindrance, and without ceasing. And much to our surprise, we saw that Filipino bayanihan spirit coming from our friends from all other lands,” he added.
Marcos said that while 10 years have already passed, the memory of the Yolanda tragedy remained indelible in the hearts and thoughts of the Filipinos.
Over 6,000 people died due to the onslaught of Yolanda, while over a thousand more are still missing up to date.
Marcos said there may be more fatalities who remained unrecorded.
“We are certain that there were more but for whatever reason their deaths have not been recorded,” he said.
“So, even if that is the case, let them not be unremembered. So when we grieve and when we mourn for our dead, keep a special place in your heart for those who have not been known to have gone but we know in our hearts, we know the loss that we feel. Let us always pray for them,” he added.
Marcos also recognized that bringing back normalcy in the Yolanda-hit areas is still a work in progress.
He said efforts for the turnover of housing units and land titles to survivor beneficiaries is already being accelerated while the local government units are continuously addressing lingering issues of the affected communities.
“I recognize your disaster risk reduction and the management efforts through the creation of contingency, public service, and the disaster response plans both at the barangay and city levels are now in place. Your endeavors to establish emergency evacuation SOPs and emergency response teams are noteworthy and serve as examples for other local governments around the country,” he said.
“Equally important is your collective action to protect and rehabilitate your communities through reforestation, river embankment and stabilization, and other environmental conservation programs,” he added.
Marcos said the onslaught of Yolanda also proves that climate change should serve as a vital component in making national policies as it will keep exacerbating the impact of natural disasters.
“Be assured that the government is always striving to ensure that such tragedies of this magnitude will be avoided and will be adapted to. We continue to build disaster-resilient evacuation centers and emergency operations centers,” he said.
“We are also putting in place more centralized and efficient early warning systems, incident command systems, and disaster response strategies. The development and deployment of new technologies, such as GeoRiskPH and PlanSmart, along with the continuous conduct of information and education campaigns [and] simulation drills are also aimed to save lives,” he added. (TPM/VoxPop Philippines)