“While the recent landslide tested our resilience, it also strengthened our commitment to help our hosts and [impacted] barangays build a better fortress against the threats of nature,” said Luis Sarmiento, president and CEO of APEX Mining Company Incorporated (AMCI), during a hearing at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 12.

He added: “As our 54-year history has shown, we are here for the long haul.”

Sarmiento also told the members of the House committee on disaster resilience that AMCI follows sustainability mining practices and international standards on safety and transparency. Aside from rescue operations, they have also provided the local government a temporary relocation site, Sarmiento said.

“Much remains to be done. We continue leveling the ground zero and helping the evacuees go back to their normal lives. We have lent our property in Malamodao to the LGU as a temporary relocation facility.”

The landslide at Barangay Masara in Maco town killed at least 98 residents including nine mining employees. It happened just 570 meters from the mining site’s gate and two to three kilometers from active mine operations.

Environmental groups said that AMCI must be held responsible for what happened and demanded an investigation into the link between mining operations and recurring landslides in Maco town.

Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas said large-scale mining destroys not only the environment, but kills workers and deprives people of their homes. She called on the administration to “suspend all large-scale mining companies in the country to prevent the destruction of our environment.”

“Mamamayan ang bumabalikat sa matinding epekto ng large-scale mining habang ang malalaking kumpanya ay patuloy na kumikita,” Brosas said.

(It’s the people who bear the brunt of the harsh effects of large-scale mining, while huge companies rake in the profits.)

Must Watch

Rappler Talk: UPRI’s Likha Minimo on lessons from the Davao de Oro landslide

Status quo

While AMCI continues operations, progress in permanently relocating residents away from the landslide-prone areas is slow.

The disaster renewed discussions on the implementation of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau’s (MGB) recommendation to declare the landslide prone area as a no-build zone.

During the hearing, the MGB said that while they have been doing regular geohazard assessments since 2008, they could only make recommendations to the local government.

Meanwhile, Maco Mayor Voltaire Rimando said MGB permitted the local government through geohazard certificates to rebuild the Masara Integrated School in 2017 and a new barangay hall in 2021.

“We consulted the stakeholder concerned, such as the MGB, to ensure that opening the school in the geohazard area will be safe…as a result Masara Integrated School resumed its classes after 9 years,” said Rimando.

“In 2021, [a new] barangay hall was established in Zone 1 which is the ground zero of 2008. The same was cleared in the MGB.”

Before that, in 2011, Rimando said the barangay council of Masara submitted before them an adopted resolution urging the local government to allow the displaced residents to return to their homes. Attached to the resolution is a signature petition from the displaced residents. At that time, Rimando said “the Sangguniang Bayan decided not to act on this matter.”

Despite the geohazard certificates presented by Rimando during the hearing, Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Representative Rufus Rodriguez said that responsibility still falls on the local government to protect its people.

Rodriguez said the MGB does not have police power, and the local government has autonomy. “The power…is in the Sanggunian,” said Rogriguez. “It is your obligation not to allow any building.” – Rappler.com

Researchers from the UP Resilience Institute (UPRI) and the Manila Observatory, along with those from the United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States, and Switzerland, assessed the 5-day maximum rainfall during December to February.

On February 6, a landslide occurred in barangay Masara in the gold mining town of Maco, Davao de Oro, killing at least 98 people and devastating homes of residents. Before the landslide happened, rainfall persisted from January 28 to February 2.

“We find that in today’s climate, a heavy rainfall spell like this is expected with a 10% chance in any given year,” the study read.

Because of climate change, a warmer air can hold more moisture that gets released as rainfall.

“This result is in line with what’s expected from basic climate science. With increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere is becoming warmer and able to accumulate more water,” said Sjoukje Philip, researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.

It is also important to note that the Philippines is now experiencing strong El Niño, which should mean drier conditions. “Had it not been an El Niño year, we would have expected the rainfall to be more extreme,” scientists said in the study.

Increased risk to disasters

Aside from the 50% increase in rainfall, disasters in Mindanao are exacerbated by loss of nature, poverty, and reliance on climate sensitive livelihoods such as logging and mining, scientists said.

“Increasing people’s exposure and vulnerability to natural hazards such as flooding and landslides, while limiting coping capacity, these factors are likely to have worsened the impacts of the heavy rainfall.”

Maco had been tagged as highly susceptible to landslides according to government’s geohazard maps. Relocation has not yet happened since a similar disaster happened 16 years ago, even when the area was declared a no-build zone. A community remained and a gold mine continued to operate.

Likha Minimo, a geologist who studied the interplay between development and disasters in Mindanao, said that many areas in Mindanao are high-risk and people are usually left with no choice but to stay where they are despite knowing their vulnerability.

“They have nowhere to go within the local government, or no one can offer them a suitable relocation area,” Minimo said in Filipino during a Rappler Talk interview. “When you say suitable, there’s no risk, [and] they also have a livelihood.”

Minimo is the director for knowledge sharing at UPRI.

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The geologist said that logging and mining are usually conducted in high-risk locations: in steep slopes, volcanic areas where metals are concentrated, or near fault lines.

The study noted that deforestation from logging, mining, and conversion of agricultural lands in the Davao and Caraga regions have intensified since the 1950s. “Deforestation negatively impacts natural water cycles and soil stability, which can increase surface runoff, ultimately aggravating the risk of landslides and floods.”

In interactions with locals and officials in Mindanao for a separate study they conducted in 2018, Minimo said they found there was a lack of prioritizing land-use planning. This is a glaring problem, as the land-use plan is the basis for the zoning ordinance, which will then guide people where they can or cannot build homes.

Another problem is that some zoning ordinances are not updated to adhere to guidelines for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

“Not all zoning ordinances, if they exist, are responsive to multi-hazards,” said Minimo. “The plan and the legislation are probably outdated. [W]e saw that as one of the main problems in Mindanao.”

Mitigating disasters in Mindanao

The authors of the study recommended the maintenance of a working early warning system that could help leaders make sound decisions.

If only the available rain gauges and automated weather stations in the region were working, more information would have been available to decision makers to enforce preemptive evacuations,” the study said.

“It is critical that both early warning systems and assessment of landslide-prone areas are improved to avoid similar disasters in the future,” said Richard Ybañez, UPRI chief science research specialist.

Aside from the necessary technology, governments should invest in people with the technical expertise, said Minimo.

“We need to invest in people,” said Minimo. “On people who will interpret the data, on people who will reach out to the communities to explain the risks as well.” – Rappler.com

Sixteen years later, another landslide devastated the same town, killing over 90 residents and employees of a mining company.

How many more preventable disasters will happen due to disregard of scientific data?

In this Rappler Talk episode, environment reporter Iya Gozum talks with Dr. Likha Minimo, geologist and director for knowledge sharing at the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute, about the Davao de Oro landslide and the implementation of hazard maps in the Philippines.

Watch the interview at 11 am on Wednesday, February 28. – Rappler.com

Eighty-eight percent (88%) of Filipino adult respondents said climate change has a dangerous impact on their physical health, while 81% said it poses a risk to their mental health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated climate change’s direct damage costs to health to be between $2 billion to $4 billion per year by 2030.

Climate change is a “threat multiplier” that increases the risk of deaths and the spread of diseases due to extreme weather events, the WHO said.

Among the health risks identified by WHO were heat-related and respiratory illnesses as well as water-borne and food-borne diseases. (READ: How climate change is making the world sick)

The number of Filipinos who perceived climate change’s impact on health was higher than those who said they experienced severe, moderate, and little impacts of climate change.

Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Filipinos felt impacts of climate change the past three years, down by 7 points from a similar survey last October.

Sad but still hopeful?

The recognition of the threat to health and lives had 56% of Filipinos saying they felt sadness, while 43% expressed anxiety. The survey allowed for respondents to give multiple answers. Forty-three percent (43%) said they also felt fear.

Eighty-seven percent (87%) felt negative emotions about climate change, while a minority, 22%, said they have patience, hope, calmness, and courage amid the crisis.

A point higher than those who felt sadness over this predicament, 57% of Filipinos still think that the crisis could be stopped if real actions were to be done.

However, this number of Filipinos exhibiting an optimistic outlook fell by 12 points from October 2023 and 19 points from December 2022.

Meanwhile, those who believe that the crisis was now beyond humanity’s control rose by 10 points from October 2023 and 16 points from December 2022.

Going by recent surveys, it seems that Filipinos’ hope that humans could do something about climate change was slowly diminishing.

Despite the souring outlook, a big majority of Filipinos still believe they can do something to at least reduce climate risk.

Seventy-four percent (74%) of respondents agreed to the statement, “People like me can do something to reduce climate risk or risks resulting from climate change.”

In comparison, 17% were undecided about their capacity to do something, while 9% disagreed.

The SWS conducted the survey from December 8 to 11, 2023, through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide. The sampling error margins were ±2.8% for national percentages and ±5.7% for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Read more details from the survey here. – Rappler.com

Heavy rainfall triggered multiple, fatal landslides that buried 11 children, and destroyed at least 100 houses. 

But this wouldn’t have happened, community sources said, if they weren’t forced to leave their shoreline homes two years earlier to pave the way for private resorts. One of the resorts is owned by a political family. 

Watch the documentary here. – Rappler.com

Researchers and writers: Raizza Bello and Laurice Angeles
Content editors: Chay Hofileña, Jee Geronimo, Herbie Gomez, Inday Varona
Creative director: Emil Mercado
Illustrator: Marian Hukom
Animator: David Castuciano
Graphic artist: Nico Villarete
Voice overs: Jeff Digma and Franz Lopez
Master video editor: Emerald Hidalgo
Supervising producer: Beth Frondoso

This reporting project was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists.

As a community leader in Barangay Potrero, Malabon, Barbin does this routine whenever a storm or any other disaster threatens their area. This is also spelled out in Potrero’s disaster contingency plan, drafted by members of the community.

The plan’s creation was prompted by the community’s experience during Tropical Storm Ondoy (Ketsana) in 2009. 

Back then, Barbin thought she was prepared for the storm, but she was shocked when the flood reached the second floor of their house

With no rescuers able to enter their street due to the strong current, Barbin went to her sibling’s house. Along with her neighbors, they waited on the roof, sharing one-fourth cup of rice to get them by during the heavy downpour.

In the face of increasing climate disasters, Barangay Potrero stands out with its community-led contingency plan honed through local collaboration.

Listening to community members

In 2013, Potrero’s barangay leaders gathered their community to participate in a contingency planning after seeing the inadequate response before and during Tropical Storm Ondoy.

Barangay Potrero is the largest in land area among the 21 barangays of Malabon City. It is the city’s second most populated barangay, with over 42,000 residents.

Potrero’s 12 streets are flagged vulnerable areas as the barangay is near the Tullahan River Basin, which flows through the cities of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela up to Manila Bay.

In an interview, former Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development, Incorporated (ACCORD) project officer Erica Bucog said that Potrero’s community members were heavily involved in creating the contingency plan. The nongovernmental organization helped facilitate the community’s resilience building.

“From the beginning of the training, community members are part of it, especially those affected by disasters. There are representatives of the homeowners’ association. Local leaders are present, [and] representatives of youth, women, [and] older people,” Bucog said. 

“Aside from training them on the technical side of DRR (disaster risk reduction), the community is giving their input here,” she added. 

Bucog also said the community created groups in each neighborhood to operationalize the plan by delegating responsibilities to community leaders and members.

Exceptional case 

Potrero is an exceptional case in the country’s disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) landscape.

According to a study by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies in 2021, the DRRM landscape of the country is “still largely top-down,” where authorities call the shots in the process of DRRM. 

The study also showed that the government had “minimal investment of participatory-related programs, projects, and activities,” making communities dependent on institutional leadership. Final decisions still rest with local government officials even if civil society organizations intervene.

One factor contributing to the persistence of the top-down approach in the process of DRRM is “path dependence,” according to sociologist and urban studies researcher Dakila Yee.

“It is common, so people already know what they’re going to do; by that logic, the organizational cost is minimal…. If all the work is done by the office, then their planning will be more efficient, and so it will be faster, and they will have organizational benefits,” Yee explained. 

In path dependence, the top-down approach in DRRM processes often meets resistance from the community. Decision-makers often find it challenging to explore more effective or efficient alternatives due to deeply entrenched routines. With this, the community members are only left to react and express their grievances after the response and recovery.

Potrero’s inadequate response during Ondoy was attributed to people lacking a clear system of roles and responsibilities.

With the community-led contingency plan, Potrero residents make sure that people know what to do even before a storm hits. This includes the relocation of most residents from the high-risk areas.

Walter Guevarra, a barangay councilor of Potrero, described the system that works best in their barangay: in times of disaster, the barangay council is called, and each committee is given a task. Some of the tasks assigned are based on their committees, which include the search and rescue committee, security committee, and evacuation committee.

Local groups such as the Potrero United Youth Organization and Potrero United Neighborhood Association are also mobilized, Guevarra said.

In 2022, Severe Tropical Storm Paeng tested the viability of Potrero’s contingency plan. Guevarra shared that the community members saw the essence of disaster preparedness.

“During Paeng, we were ready because we knew what we could do. The barangay was knowledgeable, the community was knowledgeable, they knew what to do…. We were ready one day before the storm came,” Guevarra said.

Disaster justice and climate justice

For Barbin, co-creating a contingency plan that includes community members like her serves as a reminder of justice, particularly for someone who experienced Ondoy.

“Because I’m also part of the contingency plan, it’s a massive help because I have knowledge and preparation – that’s justice for me,” Barbin said.

“The community is with us in planning…. They are the ones who say how far the flood will reach. They are reporting and sharing information with us, so it is very important that those in the community have knowledge,” she added.

Disaster justice refers to the equitable distribution of benefits for and responsibilities of disaster survivors. It also tackles how responsibilities are recognized and why there is a disaster in the first place.

Yee sees the co-creation of plans as a good starting point in achieving disaster justice.

“It’s a good step to include people in the development of plans…. For me, it can be even deeper…. For all cases in the Philippines, I want, at the very least, consultation to be the most basic and minimum level,” he said. 

Sustaining people’s participation

Amid national recognition for their community-led plan, Barangay Potrero leaders face the challenge of sustaining support from community members in implementing and updating the contingency plan.

Guevarra said they regularly update contingency plans. For instance, they added a response plan for pandemics like COVID-19. Community members also attend quarterly meetings.

ACCORD executive director Sindhy Obias said that crafting the contingency plan had to be facilitated creatively for it to be attractive to Potrero residents.

“People are also busy with various activities, and their survival depends on those. How do we encourage them to participate in training when their daily concerns revolve around finding food, livelihood, and more? Those are the concerns that will coincide while conducting the training,” she said. 

Guevarra also shared the frustration of carrying out the contingency plan during typhoons, especially in conducting early evacuation.

“We only face a bit of difficulty there – during evacuation. Even if we had already previously announced that the water level will rise, someone will still call the barangay for help, saying, ‘We are coming out,’ at the point when the water is already high,” he said.

But with the contingency plan in place, Barbin, her family, and her neighbors did not worry much when Paeng hit Malabon. 

“The contingency plan we prepared worked. We are now more prepared to promptly address the problems that we used to have difficulty finding a solution [to]. Even before the typhoon arrives, we already have something to face. We can handle it,” Barbin said. – Rappler.com

This story was supported by ClimateTracker Asia and the US Embassy in Manila.

Jhona Reyes Vitor is a freelance writer and journalist focusing primarily on mental health, culture, and climate and environment. She is a former volunteer under Rappler’s Research unit.

This year, several social media users and pages made dubious claims about these disasters, sowing unneeded panic and paranoia through inaccurate and exaggerated information.

Rappler fact-checked 31 such dubious claims this year. Some of these claims spread while the Mayon Volcano unrest or disasters like Super Typhoon Goring (Saola) were unfolding. 

Rappler has also fact-checked claims about disasters that were made to look like they originated from legitimate sources but in reality were fabricated.

Lies about weather predictions

Half of all fact checks on disasters that Rappler published this year were claims about false weather predictions.

These include false claims like alleged existence of super typhoons inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the landfall of these cyclones, and inaccurate tropical cyclone wind signals.

Fact checks on typhoon related false claims began to increase in June at the time of the start of the rainy season. From August to December, the majority of disaster related fact checks were about typhoons.

False earthquake, volcanic eruption predictions

Rappler also fact-checked several false claims about earthquake and volcanic eruption predictions in 2023.

Several Facebook users posted predictions on when and where an earthquake or a volcanic eruption would exactly happen.

There are also claims about wrong alert level status of volcanoes like Mayon at the height of its unrest.

Experts warn public

Experts from both the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warn the public against believing posts containing dubious claims.

In a story on November 15 by The Freeman hosted in Philstar.com, PAGASA cautioned the public against believing posts about an alleged typhoon that was supposed to hit Cebu.

In The Freeman article, PAGASA-Visayas Regional Services Division weather specialist Jhomer Eclarino urged everyone to only check PAGASA’s official Facebook page for legitimate weather updates.

Addressing disinformation that is focused on earthquakes, Phivolcs Director Dr. Teresito Bacolcol told Rappler in a statement that the public shouldn’t believe posts telling when and where an earthquake would exactly occur. (READ: EXPLAINER: Is it possible to predict earthquakes?)

“Earthquakes happen when there is a sudden release of energy caused mostly by the movement of tectonic plates (broken pieces of the outermost layer of the earth called lithosphere) and the movement of gas, magma, and other fluids underneath a volcano. These movements happen without warning and hence, it is impossible to predict where and when earthquakes will happen exactly,” Bacolcol said.

The Phivolcs director also said that although a volcano might “show signs” prior to a major eruption such as volcanic earthquakes, volcanic gas emissions, steaming, and ground deformation, among others, and issues volcano information both daily and during heightened volcanic activity.

However, Bacolcol reminded the public to always verify posts that they see in social media before believing in them.

“The public is encouraged to thoroughly understand and verify the information with the authorities. They should avoid sharing and believing messages from unconfirmed and unreliable sources,” Bacolcol told Rappler.

Bacolcol also encouraged the public to “follow and share information” from the official website, Facebook, Twitter, and  YouTube accounts of Phivolcs as well as the official dashboard of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. – Rappler.com

As the climate talks concluded, the Philippines secured a seat on the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund in 2024 while seeking to host the fund. But back home, groups question the government’s capacity to take on the responsibility.

In 2023, the country faced several environmental issues, such as mining and reclamation projects, dangers to environmental defenders, and threats to protected areas, including the monthslong oil spill that hit Oriental Mindoro in February. 

As it is, Filipinos are still in the process of recovering from past disasters. In Tacloban, Leyte, 15% of the housing sites for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) are still unfinished, with thousands of units unoccupied 10 years after the disaster. Housing units for landslide victims of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng also remain unoccupied in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, because they are small and without water and electricity. 

Though hounded by disaster and environmental issues, a glimmer of hope remains in the Philippines as nature conservation efforts still exist and thrive, such as the mangrove forest conservation efforts by a small community in San Enrique, Negros Occidental.

Here are some of the biggest environment stories in the Philippines in 2023.

Mining

• Sibuyan Island residents form human barricade to stop mining trucks
• TIMELINE: Sibuyan Island’s decades of opposition to mining 
• Suspension of Altai mining ops in Sibuyan welcomed, but ‘fight far from over’
• Altai maintains legality of ore mining operations in Sibuyan 
• ‘We want her audience’: DENR chief urged to cancel Altai’s mining permit in Sibuyan
• How environmentalists are defending Palawan’s and Romblon’s ecosystems
• 4 mining firms in Homonhon owe Eastern Samar over P133M in taxes
• Palawan indigenous peoples allege DENR official favored mining firm 
• Is the mining fiscal regime bill good for the economy and climate agenda? 
• Mindanao bishops urge Marcos to cancel PH’s biggest mining project
• Martin Romualdez and his mining interests

Protected areas

• Indigenous women protect migratory marine species in Calamianes Islands
• How marine ecosystems have been kept intact in the high seas
• The Green Report: San Enrique, ang komunidad na nangangalaga sa bakawan
• The mangroves are safe in this small town in Negros Occidental
• In a Northern Samar town, sardines are aplenty, but their fishers aren’t
• Life after catch: Sardines business holds promise for N. Samar small fishers 

Oriental Mindoro oil spill

• WATCH: What cleanup looks like in the area hardest hit by the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro
• FAST FACTS: Verde Island Passage, the ‘Amazon of the oceans’ 
• Marine life has ways to weather an oil spill. Can we keep up? 
• Marcos’ first environmental crisis leaves fisherfolk behind 
• Crisis forgotten? No mention of oil spill in Marcos’ SONA 

Energy transition

• WATCH: Is nuclear energy the way to go for the Philippines?
• Nuclear is clean. But can the Philippines handle its risks?
• Gov’t eyes fuel cells as greener energy alternative to fossil fuels
• Rappler Talk: ACEN CEO Eric Francia on making headway toward a clean energy future

Reclamation projects

• Philippine fishermen balk at land reclamation projects
• Flounders surface due to dredging in Manila Bay
• Marcos suspends all Manila Bay reclamation projects except one 
• PRA admits many ‘illegal, unauthorized’ reclamation projects nationwide
• Exempted from suspension, Pasay reclamation projects get green light from PRA 

Waste management

• Think before you flick: That cigarette butt harms the Earth too
• The Green Report: How to start a zero-waste lifestyle
• How 2 communities, separated by an ocean, are working together to manage trash better
• The PH is finally going after plastic producers, but some companies are not cooperating
• PH towns, cities are paying high cost of waste management. Plastic producers should help. 

Kusiong tragedy

• Disaster in Kusiong landslides: How politics killed non-Moro IPs 
• When fighting for ancestral lands hits a dead end 
• No Senate hearing on Kusiong landslide since Tedurays wouldn’t appear – Padilla 
• Gov’t should use scientific data in hazard maps – Lagmay
• Newsbreak Chats: Revisiting the Teduray tragedy in Kusiong 
• Ma’am Jo’s killing was a nightmare. Her dreams for the Teduray tribe are alive.
• Displacement of Tedurays shows deeply-rooted issue of political dynasties, says journalist 
• The Green Report: The art of Rappler’s stories on the Teduray tragedy 

Remembering Yolanda

• After Yolanda: A causeway threatens efforts by locals to restore a mangrove forest
• PANOORIN: Mga Kuwentong Yolanda
• WATCH: Call her Landa 
• After Yolanda: A teacher’s dream for the children of Guiuan 
• A decade later: 15% of Yolanda houses unfinished, thousands unoccupied
• Part 2: Water, electricity issues bog Yolanda relocation plans

COP28

• Can the Philippines be a strong voice again at UN climate talks?
• Civil society groups sidelined at first-ever Philippine pavilion at COP28
• ‘Unprecedented’ number of fossil fuel lobbyists granted access to COP28 – analysis
• Historic? PH civil society at COP28 says climate deal ‘falls short’
• Philippines gets a seat in inaugural board of loss and damage fund
• The Green Report: Is COP28 really the ‘beginning of end’ for fossil fuels?

Climate change and solutions

• The Green Report: Bike commuting 101 with Geri Amarnani of Pinay Bike Commuter Community
• In troubled waters: Rising sea levels threaten sinking town’s survival
• [DOKUMENTARYO]: Ang nalulunod na Isla ng Pamarawan 
• Fighting climate anxiety on the frontlines 
• Electric public transport can make cities livable, humane  
• ‘I didn’t want to give up my culture’: Vegan chefs reimagine Filipino dishes 
• A new generation of young adults is cycling toward greener cities 
• The Green Report: In fight against climate change, what can cities do? 

Environmental defenders

• Indigenous women and their stories: The Cariño family 
• Deadliest regions in the Philippines for environmental defenders 
• A decade later, Philippines still most dangerous country in Asia for envi defenders 
• ‘Abducted’ environmental activists now reunited with family, friends

Nature stories

• UPLB researchers discover new, ‘critically endangered’ tree species in Palawan 
• The Green Report: Hiking the newly rehabilitated Pico de Loro 
• Filipino, British researchers save critically endangered ‘Queen of Flowers’ in the Philippines
• Birds need your help. You can watch them.
• The Green Report: Finding love in the great outdoors 
• [FIRST PERSON] Are dirt bikes ruining mountain trails? 
• Sick of crowded Baguio? Try forest bathing in Camp John Hay

– Rappler.com

Help us tell environment stories by donating to Rappler’s crowdfunding campaign for independent environmental reporting under #Kasalikasan.

John is a student of the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos and lives in a neighborhood in Bacolod City with his father, mother, and younger sister, along with two dogs and seven cats. He finds the immense work of preparing for a typhoon and dealing with its aftermath frustrating and exhausting. His family often loses appliances and other belongings in the floodwaters caused by such storms.

Typhoon Ulysses in 2020 was one of the worst climate-driven disasters John has experienced in his lifetime. He did not expect the floodwaters to get so high. Since then, he’s been better prepared for flooding, but he still fears for the safety of his family and the loss of their possessions during typhoon season. He worries the disasters will get worse due to climate change.

I live in the Singcang-Airport area, which is really prone to disasters. Once the water rises here, someone from the neighborhood will announce that the water has increased, so you need to raise your belongings. You have to take all belongings, no matter how heavy, to a higher level so that they don’t get wet. It’s stressful. You really get exhausted.

On that day, the rain was already heavy in the afternoon. I left school, and I was on my way home. I was in a jeepney, and the moment I got off and stepped onto the street, I felt the water around my legs. It was about 10 inches high.

When I got home, there was no flooding yet, but during the night, the water got higher and reached knee-level. 

During that time, there was no one else in our house. It was just me and my father. We did not have the manpower, so we were not able to raise all of our things because the water rose so fast. So, we had belongings left in the water. Even our rice was damaged by water. 

You could see neighbors panic about where to put their belongings. My neighbors were shouting, “Lift the fridge!”

It’s hard because you don’t expect these things. The wind was so strong and trees just suddenly fell. Sometimes, there were snakes in the water, but we would not know because the water was murky.

I also saw all the waste that people had thrown into the river. It came back in the floods. The water receded, but the garbage was left behind. It’s like it was being thrown back at people. There was the smell of mud, the smell of garbage, or maybe you would smell diapers. You would see the garbage and floors covered in mud, and stuff that was wet. 

Our neighbors stayed up all night getting the water out of their homes, and they got no sleep. We slept in a temporary area because the lower part of our house was flooded. We had a bunk bed, but the sleep was not enough. You would think about waking up the next day and having a lot to clean up.

After the typhoon, we heard neighbors talk about how high the flood was. If your house had garbage from the river, the smell would be really unpleasant.

At the time, the only thing on my mind was that I had to get out of this place because, in our area, flooding is really common. It will not end. Barriers have been set up near the river, but the water still rises. So, I just really want to leave rather than stay there.

During my mother’s time, the river was clean. There were no floods. There were a lot of trees. Now, the houses are really crowded, and it really seems so different. Even my mother would say that the view has changed drastically.

The situation is more serious, but it’s also the fault of people. It’s their choice. We are experiencing this because of climate change. I really believe that because disasters are more serious. As they say, the older the world gets, the more disasters there are because there are more buildings than trees, overpopulation, and sea levels are rising.

Based on what I’ve experienced, I feel we should really focus on cleaning up the environment. And when there are disasters, it’s better to have more evacuation centers. – Rappler.com

This story is part of a series of oral histories of climate disaster survivors, told to student journalists under the Climate Disaster Project, an international teaching newsroom based in Canada, in partnership with the Campus Journalism Lab, an initiative by professional Filipino journalists to train campus journalists and publications. Rappler is publishing this series ahead of COP28 in Dubai.

Vicente grew up in Tacloban, a city in Leyte province in the Visayan Islands, with his lola (grandmother) while his mother worked as a nurse abroad. “When I was with my grandma, it was a complete childhood: love and support,” says Vicente. Eight years later, Vicente’s mother returned to Tacloban to help take care of him. After two years of living with his mother, a disaster changed their lives. 

In November 2013, Vicente was 10 years old and set to play in a citywide soccer tournament. Instead, Super Typhoon Yolanda, also known as Haiyan, dismantled the lives of people living in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. Vicente’s home city, Tacloban, was ground zero. 

I was an athlete back then, a soccer player. November 6 to 8 was the city meet. On November 6, we played two games. On November 7, the city issued a storm advisory. 

November 7 was a fine day. It was sunny. There were no winds even though they told us that Leyte was under storm signal no. 1. “Storm signal no. 1? It will all be good even if I went to the beach today.”

We expected it to be strong. We prepared ourselves according to how we usually prepare for strong typhoons. We live in a subdivision, V&G. It’s actually known as a place that usually gets flooded even after a light rain. So, we decided to seek refuge at the house of my grandmother’s sister in Tacloban’s downtown area.

On November 8 in the morning, we were already hearing whistling sounds. I thought there was a tornado. I remember at 7 am, the signal was lost, the electricity was gone, everything was cut. 

We went downstairs. We had our casual meal, hoping we would be fine. The rain started pouring heavily. The waters pushed the door open. So, we started panicking because the current was strong. It was entering the apartment quickly. My mom brought me upstairs, and then I was left in the embrace of my grandmother. We started losing hope after that incident. If the waters rose, we would not know where to go. The wind was so strong that it was blowing off the roof.

My family is very religious. Back then, I was also a religious child. But we couldn’t complete the rosary. We would say, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,” and then bang! “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name” – and bang! We prayed until we fell asleep. We woke up, it was fine. The rain stopped, the wind stopped. 

After two hours, the water subsided. What we didn’t know was – is our relative still alive? Is my uncle still alive back at our home? Is our restaurant still okay? It was a complete horror leaving the house.

My mom and my lola did not wait. When they were trying to go back to our home in V&G, they passed by Sagkahan, a public road. The waters on the road were so murky they didn’t know what they were stepping on. Then midway, they saw the color red. They knew it was blood. My mom was scared, that’s what she told me. But she knew that she had a brother to check on.

Luckily, our house was safe, my tito was safe. Then, they went to my lola’s office. The money was still intact, so they took it. They also took chips, biscuits, and rice that survived the storm. Then, in about 5 to 10 minutes, everything started going down. Everything that my family sacrificed was gone.

The only thing my grandma could do was stare because if you stop people from looting your property, you’d get beaten up or you die. I think if my grandma fought, she would have been hurt. Yolanda wouldn’t have been the death of her, but what came after. That was the reality of Yolanda that I don’t think people heard enough.

Since I was just 10 years old, I barely knew how it was to survive. I never knew how to adjust to being in a situation where you would actually experience survival of the fittest. 

I evacuated to Manila when they started sending in C-130s. I had a backpack, a cash box, coins, and bottled water. My mom brought with her an extra cash box and our dog, who is also a Yolanda survivor. I actually saw bloated people on the sidewalk. That could have been my dead body with water inside my stomach. That could’ve been my mom. That could’ve been my uncle. That could’ve been my grandma. That could’ve been anyone that I grew up with.

We had a house maid. Her name was Manang Esther. Manang Esther had a big impact on our lives, from my mom, my uncles, my grandma, to me. Sadly, she was among the thousands of lives lost in Yolanda, along with her husband and two of her children. As part of paying our respect and gratitude to her and her family, we visit her grave every November 8.

The whole Eastern Visayas is so used to being struck by typhoons. The problem is, we did not know what a super typhoon was. It was not properly explained. We didn’t even know what a storm surge was.

It is true what they say: that climate change, day by day, is actually getting worse. It would take a very long time to actually stop people from destroying the planet because we only think of economic power. We don’t think we’re actually ruining our environment. 

Looking back, Yolanda was a total shit show. Others are lucky that they never had to go through whatever hell was given to us. We were lucky enough to survive. I always look back on Yolanda and say I learned something about what could have been my death. It’s actually part of my will to go on. It’s in my will to help change, so here I am as a first year journalism major, trying to help people learn, give them the truth that they need. – Rappler.com

This story is part of a series of oral histories of climate disaster survivors, told to student journalists under the Climate Disaster Project, an international teaching newsroom based in Canada, in partnership with the Campus Journalism Lab, an initiative by professional Filipino journalists to train campus journalists and publications. Rappler is publishing this series ahead of COP28 in Dubai.