NAGA CITY, Cebu — It has been a year since the massive landslide in Barangay Tinaan, Naga City took five of her cousins and grandmother.
But as their family marked the first anniversary of the landslide that took away their family members, Hanna Louise Villarico said they still long for their departed loved ones’ presence every day.
CDN Digital spotted Villarico and her other cousin, Jella Shyne Ocampo, visiting the graves of their other cousins — Laureen Capoy, Christopher John Lagapa, Therisa Shyne Capoy, siblings Bianca and Michael Versales — and grandmother Laureana Capoy at the New Naalad Public Cemetery in Naga City on Friday morning, September 20, 2019.
Today is the first year since the September 20, 2018 landslide that took the lives of over 70 people, including Villarico’s relatives.
“Nihapit lang gyud ko kay mosulod man gyud sila sa akong huna-huna labi na ron adlawa,” Villarico said.
(I decided to pass by here before going to school because I can’t get them off my mind, especially today.)
Bianca Versales would have been the same age as Villarico, who is now 19 years old and a freshman college student at a university in Cebu City.
Villarico said that their family is still trying to cope with the death of six of their family members and “accept little by little that they have gone ahead.”
But many the landslide survivors like Villarico who lost family members in that massive soil and rock slide that buried several sitios in Tinaan, healing and full acceptance of their loss are still far away.
Most of the fatalities of the September 2018 landslide were laid to rest at the Naalad Public Cemetery.
The bouquet of flowers that the Naga City government has offered to each of the over 70 victims of the landslide that hit Barangy Tinaan on Sept. 20, 2018 durng the tragedy’s firs anniversary on Friday Sept. 20, 2019. Capitol PIO/ TONEE DESPOJO
In front of the “apartments-type” graves where their remains were rest laid to rest were baskets of white chrysanthemums from the city government of Naga, one for each grave.
At 7: 30 a.m., the city offered a Holy Mass to remember the fatalities of the landslide. The Mass was attended by city government employees, some families of the landslide victims, and some volunteers during the relief and rescue operations after the tragedy.
Acting City Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong has called on the victims to never give up and to continue to rebuild their lives in order to honor those who perished in the landslide.
The September 20 landslide which wiped out Sitios Sindulan III and Tagaytay II left at least 78 people dead with 6 others that remain unaccounted for.
“Most importantly, the way to honor sa atong mga nangamatay ng taga Naga is really to live a life labi na sa mga pamilya naa pay kalipay, naa pay hope,” Chiong said.
(Most importantly, the way to honor the dead is for us in Naga to really live a life, especially those families that are still happy and have hope.)
At 4 p.m. today, the city government of Naga will proceed to ground zero to offer another Mass for the fatalities of the tragedy.
Vice Mayor Chiong also stressed that the best way to honor the memories of the fatalities in the landslide is for concerned agencies to commit to continue the rebuilding of the city and for the public to keep on urging concerned government officials to fulfil their promise to provide projects for the displaced residents./elb