Oro, Iligan remember ‘Sendong’ devastation

By JOEY NACALABAN
Correspondent
and NORA SORIÑO
and RIC PALAHANG
GSD-Iligan Bureau . 

CITY hall yesterday commemorated the typhoon “Sendong” devastation together with various homeowners associations, “Sendong” survivors and beneficiaries of a resettlement program. Local official continued to distribute deeds of assignment.

In Iligan, another city that was adversely affected by the Dec. 16-17, 2011 environmental disaster, local officials and residents had a mass in one of the villages devastated by floodings, to remember what happened.

Cagayan de Oro officials said the distribution of the deeds was part of the process that would lead to the distribution of titles beneficiaries early next year.

The aim, according to Mayor Oscar Moreno, is to fully emancipate the beneficiaries through awarded land titles.

City hall said emancipation has been one of the recent innovations of the engagement as it recognizes the dignity of human being by providing them ownership of one of their basic need – shelter. This has also been one of city hall’s highlights this year — the city government was recognized and awarded during the 2018 Galing Pook Awards.

With the theme “Seguridad og Malambo-ong Panimalay,” city hall celebrated what it called the institutionalization of initiated programs to a robust resettlement engagement.

In a statement, city hall said, “For the past eight years, true to its commitment in providing resettlement to the survivors of Sendong, the city has implemented more than just mere infrastructure but has been trying to rebuild resilient communities. This is in recognizing that in programs and implementations, the center of building cities are the people.”

It has created the City Housing and Urban Development Department aimed at providing decent shelter for Cagayan de Oro residents.

Since its creation in 2016, the Department has acquired roughly 75 hectares for new housing projects for the informal settler families of the city, especially those who have been affected by disasters, and learning from the lessons of Sendong by relocating those who are currently still living in danger zones.

Aside from profiling existing beneficiaries, the Department aims to make it innovative by creating a more centralized database for easier and efficient monitoring of both existing beneficiaries and new applicants.

This year, it started programs for the homeowners’ associations with aim to strengthen them as one community and make them more sustainable and resilient.

In Iligan City, Mayor Celso Regencia led flag raising rites at Bayug Island that suffered the brunt of the Sendong devastation.

Regencia related his experience, recalling that he was in the vicinity of the bridge at Hinaplanon near midnight of Dec. 16, 2011. He was Iligan’s police chief at that time.

He said he and his aide were alarmed as they saw that the waters had swelled, even reaching the railings of the bridge.

By 12:15 am on Dec. 17, 2011, he said the waters had fully surged through the city,  giving a weird sound as they came rushing by.

Regencia claimed he called up city officials but there was no reply from any of them. 

At past 1 am, he said, many Iliganons were already dead, either in the waters or half-buried in mud.

The waters at the creek near the market reached as far as Victoria Bakery in Iligan’s center even as the waters in Hinaplanon reached as far as the vicinity of the MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology.

The school served as an a instant refuge center with many people doing volunteer services.

Aside from Bayug Island in Hinaplanon, Barangays Upper Hinaplanon, Santiago, Santa Felomina also had plenty of casualties even as the other barangays too were not spared though not as heavily as the aforementioned.

Regencia said that up to this time, there are still many Iliganons who have not moved on.

Relocation projects in Mirador, Tipanoy, Upper Hinaplanon and Santa Felomina are ongoing.