Anungan, Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte, Jan. 5 – This isolated coastal community of Muslim Kolibugan tribal fishermen which could be reached only by small boats from neighboring areas suffered heavily when Typhoon Vinta hit Northern Mindanao Dec. 22, losing 40 relatives who were swept to the sea by flash floods coming the mountains.
Of the 40, only 10 bodies were recovered and the others were presumed dead.
One girl from the community was picked up by an Antique Province-based fishing boat near the Sulu Sea and was brought to Antique where she is now recuperating.
Over 70 houses were destroyed by the flash floods which hit the fishing village in the middle of the night. Fishing boats were battered by uprooted coconut trees and logs coming from a logging area upstream.
The community was still grieving when an MCS vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), which sailed from Luzon during the holidays and brought rice, sardines and relief goods, and a Coast Guard vessel arrived on Jan. 5.
The goods have to be transferred to smaller wooden fishing boats so these could be brought to land as there is no port in the village.
I and other officials of the Department of Agriculture and BFAR flew in after Friday prayers using a private helicopter and two Air Force helicopters which landed on the beach.
Sibuco Mayor Bong Edding and Sirawai Mayor Gamar Janihim whose towns suffered heavily because of Typhoon Vinta said the arrival of the relief goods and officials of Agriculture and Fisheries was the first time the national government ever gave attention to the sufferings of their people.
“Palagi lang kami nakakalimutan,” said Mayor Edding, whose father, also a former mayor of Sibuco, was a former mediaman and a personal friend.
On Friday, the people of Anungan and the towns of Sibuco and Sirawai felt they were not forgotten after all.
Each affected family totaling 565 will receive an Emergency Assistance of P5,000 each from the DA while all those who lost their fishing boats will receive 35 units of fiberglass fishing boats from BFAR.
On Monday, I will report to President Rody Duterte what I saw in Anungan and relay the request of the local officials for small shelters for families who lost their houses.
Mayor Edding also requested for funds for the construction of a road which would connect the village to the main highway.
I have also instructed BFAR Undersecretary Eduardo Gongona to immediately construction a Community Fish Landing in the area and provide additional assistance to the fishing families.
Before I left, I promised the Kolibugan tribesmen that they will not be isolated anymore and they will not be forgotten.
(Photos were taken by Larry Nuestro, DA-AFID, Mayette Tudlas, DA-OSEC and Bong Piñol, DA-OSEC)
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