The province of Eastern Samar conducted a candle-lighting ceremony and torch parade in Borongan City yesterday evening as it commemorated the 10th anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda which left a devastating impact in the country.
The rain-marred event started at the Baybay Beach where candles were formed to spell “UNITY” before a prayer was offered. The participants, which included employees from the provincial government, then proceeded to march towards the newly built provincial capitol building, where candles were once again lit and the song “We Are the World” was sung.
“Malaking tulong sa LGUs (local government units) kung magagamit ‘yung People’s Survival Fund. It’s a pool of money that the national government annually allocates at least one billion under Republic Act 10174. Mandatory ‘yan for tha
t fund. I think the national government can help LGUs in disaster-prone areas if people could access easily that People’s Survival Fund because it’s very hard to access,” said Eastern Samar governor Ben Evardone as he shared his conversations with President Bongbong Marcos, House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo in his speech.
“Mga kababayan natin dinhi labi ha Guiuan, Hernani, an mga taga didto ha Tacloban, ha Leyte, diri kamo niranahingangalimtan. Waray niyo hira hingalimti gihapon. Paghirot kita pirmi kun mayda kalamidad o wara,” Evardone ended.
‘Yolanda,’ one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded with its maximum sustained winds of 235 kph and gustiness of up to 275 kph, took 267 lives and injured 8,018 individuals in Eastern Samar as it made its first landfall in Guiuan.
The province incurred P5.39 million in damages and 5.33 million in losses.
Eastern Visayas was the hardest hit among the nine regions affected, accounting for 5,902 or nearly 94 percent of the 6,300 death toll.
