Christmas cheer comes to Leyte, Samar amid gloom from Haiyan
PALO, LEYTE—It was dusk and Maria Jean Tanola, accompanied by her 4-year-old child, lingers in a patch of earth in front of the San Joaquin Church in this seaside town,[…]
PALO, LEYTE—It was dusk and Maria Jean Tanola, accompanied by her 4-year-old child, lingers in a patch of earth in front of the San Joaquin Church in this seaside town,[…]
MARABUT, Samar — “There’s no Christmas, at least for this year,” Jerry Ilustrisisimo said, the swath of fallen coconut trees enveloping his sight. Ilustrisisimo, a coconut farmer from the province[…]
GUIUAN, Eastern Samar—Fisherrmen and commercial fishing boat operators are raring to go back to the sea a month after Supertyphoon “Yolanda” destroyed their boats and their livelihood. Many have repaired[…]
(This piece was composed on my way back home after an emotionally and physically exhausting trip to typhoon-devastated Tacloban City and Guiuan in Eastern Samar.) — It’s exactly two years[…]
It was an unforgettable day, November 8, for local journalist Ricky Bautista who described Super Typhoon Yolanda as “unimaginable”. Days before Super Typhoon Yolanda pummeled the island of Samar[…]
Super Typhoon Haiyan left Tacloban City and nearby areas in Leyte and Eastern Samar fighting for survival. The impact of the typhoon devastated the land, crops, infrastructure, houses and lives[…]