BOCAUE, Bulacan—Lito Navarro picked-up loose galvanize iron sheets and some coconut lumber on the pile of wreckage not far from his house by the Bocaue River in Barangay Turo here.
He borrowed a saw and a hammer from his brother and started building a hovel for his five children and wife.
Lito did the carpentry on his own to replace his concrete house swept by the flood.
His new house has no window at the back and on both left and right site, but the front remained open. The front opening serves as a door, but it was actually due to lack of materials.
“Mabuti na ito kaysa wala, nakakahiya kasi na makitira kami ng matagal sa kamag-anak,” he said while sitting on the roof of his newly reconstructed house.
Lito is one of about a thousand other Bulakenyos who lost their house due to the flash floods spawned by heavy rains brought by typhoon Ondoy over the weekend.
Like other Bulakenyo victims of the Ondoy, he busied himself since Monday in piecing together not just his house, but his life, with no or little help from the government.
“Wala kaming gamit na naisalba, natangay lahat ng maibuwal ng tubig ang bahay namin,” he said noting that no government assistance have reach their place.
The same was echoed by his neighbors and relatives who said that “it’s hard to start over,” but they have to do it.
“Sariling sikap muna, hindi na kami makapaghintay sa ipinagmamalaking tulong ng gobyerno,” said a female neighbor of Lito who asked not to be named.
She stressed that water supply alone is their major problem since a flash flood hit them on Saturday.
“Walang tulo ang gripo namin, hindi pa naaayos ng water district yung linya ng tubig,” she said as other female neighbors agreed in unison.
Some complained that lack of clean running water prevents them from washing their clothes, much less their house where silt settled after the flood receded.
They added that lack of clean water may lead to the spread of disease in their place.
In the nearby Sta. Maria town, residents like Myrna Niepes said some local officials distributed relief goods on Monday, but only a handful benefited.
“Sir, sana maiparating ninyo sa kanila na marami pa ang nangangailangan ng tulong sa Barangay Lalakhan,” she pleaded when interviewed.
Niepes said that not only her needs assistance but her neighbor as well.
“Marami kasi ang hindi nakapagtrabaho dahil nasalanta ng baha at nawalan ng kabuhayan,” she said.
In Marilao town, residents of Northville IV in Barangay Lambakin heckled some journalist during a coverage on Monday.
“Sana hindi lang camera ang dala ninyo, sana may relief goods din,” a resident said.
Northville IV is one of the six resettlement sites in Bulacan where squatters from the abandoned Philippine National Railways (PNR) rail tracks were relocated to give way to the still to be completed North Rail project.
In Northville VI in Barangay Santol, Balagtas town, residents said that the government “has yet to reach us.” “Nakalimjtan na yata kami.”
As one of the six resettlement sites in the province, Northville VI also went underwater, but residents said that government’s attention seems to focus more on Marilao and Bocaue town which were hit by flash floods.
However, residents of Sitio Pulo in Barangay San Jose, Calumpit continue to suffer the brunt of flood spawned by typhoon Ondoy.
“Hindi bumababa ang baha dito, mas lumalalim pa,” said Caridad Robles, a resident of Sitio Pulo which she described as a natural catch basin of Calumpit town.
Robles noted that even before Ondoy dumped heavy rains in Bulacan over the weekend, their place is already underwater and local residents need more help like food and medicines.
Just the same, they also started repairing their damage homes and clearing clogged streets and drainage in an attempt to re-start their lives.
As this developed, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) has been distributing relief goods and housing materials to thousands of affected families in the province as ordered by Gov. Joselito Mendoza.
On Sunday, Mendoza told members of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Office to prioritize people inside evacuation centers and assess situation on other affected areas.
He also told local mayors to immediately submit disaster report so as to avoid double distribution of relief goods in certain areas.
“Wala tayong pipiliin, lahat ng nangangailangan ay dapat mabigyan, pero tiyakin nating hindi magkakadoble ang bigay sa isang lugar so that we can maximize our limiter resources,” Mendoza said.
He borrowed a saw and a hammer from his brother and started building a hovel for his five children and wife.
Lito did the carpentry on his own to replace his concrete house swept by the flood.
His new house has no window at the back and on both left and right site, but the front remained open. The front opening serves as a door, but it was actually due to lack of materials.
“Mabuti na ito kaysa wala, nakakahiya kasi na makitira kami ng matagal sa kamag-anak,” he said while sitting on the roof of his newly reconstructed house.
Lito is one of about a thousand other Bulakenyos who lost their house due to the flash floods spawned by heavy rains brought by typhoon Ondoy over the weekend.
Like other Bulakenyo victims of the Ondoy, he busied himself since Monday in piecing together not just his house, but his life, with no or little help from the government.
“Wala kaming gamit na naisalba, natangay lahat ng maibuwal ng tubig ang bahay namin,” he said noting that no government assistance have reach their place.
The same was echoed by his neighbors and relatives who said that “it’s hard to start over,” but they have to do it.
“Sariling sikap muna, hindi na kami makapaghintay sa ipinagmamalaking tulong ng gobyerno,” said a female neighbor of Lito who asked not to be named.
She stressed that water supply alone is their major problem since a flash flood hit them on Saturday.
“Walang tulo ang gripo namin, hindi pa naaayos ng water district yung linya ng tubig,” she said as other female neighbors agreed in unison.
Some complained that lack of clean running water prevents them from washing their clothes, much less their house where silt settled after the flood receded.
They added that lack of clean water may lead to the spread of disease in their place.
In the nearby Sta. Maria town, residents like Myrna Niepes said some local officials distributed relief goods on Monday, but only a handful benefited.
“Sir, sana maiparating ninyo sa kanila na marami pa ang nangangailangan ng tulong sa Barangay Lalakhan,” she pleaded when interviewed.
Niepes said that not only her needs assistance but her neighbor as well.
“Marami kasi ang hindi nakapagtrabaho dahil nasalanta ng baha at nawalan ng kabuhayan,” she said.
In Marilao town, residents of Northville IV in Barangay Lambakin heckled some journalist during a coverage on Monday.
“Sana hindi lang camera ang dala ninyo, sana may relief goods din,” a resident said.
Northville IV is one of the six resettlement sites in Bulacan where squatters from the abandoned Philippine National Railways (PNR) rail tracks were relocated to give way to the still to be completed North Rail project.
In Northville VI in Barangay Santol, Balagtas town, residents said that the government “has yet to reach us.” “Nakalimjtan na yata kami.”
As one of the six resettlement sites in the province, Northville VI also went underwater, but residents said that government’s attention seems to focus more on Marilao and Bocaue town which were hit by flash floods.
However, residents of Sitio Pulo in Barangay San Jose, Calumpit continue to suffer the brunt of flood spawned by typhoon Ondoy.
“Hindi bumababa ang baha dito, mas lumalalim pa,” said Caridad Robles, a resident of Sitio Pulo which she described as a natural catch basin of Calumpit town.
Robles noted that even before Ondoy dumped heavy rains in Bulacan over the weekend, their place is already underwater and local residents need more help like food and medicines.
Just the same, they also started repairing their damage homes and clearing clogged streets and drainage in an attempt to re-start their lives.
As this developed, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) has been distributing relief goods and housing materials to thousands of affected families in the province as ordered by Gov. Joselito Mendoza.
On Sunday, Mendoza told members of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Office to prioritize people inside evacuation centers and assess situation on other affected areas.
He also told local mayors to immediately submit disaster report so as to avoid double distribution of relief goods in certain areas.
“Wala tayong pipiliin, lahat ng nangangailangan ay dapat mabigyan, pero tiyakin nating hindi magkakadoble ang bigay sa isang lugar so that we can maximize our limiter resources,” Mendoza said.
