Rising again a year after the tremor

Before the Oct. 15, 2013 earthquake, the family of radioman Jhunnex Napallacan comfortably lived in a two-story concrete house. (CDN PHOTO/JHUNNEX NAPALLACAN)

When magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Visayas a year ago, several journalists and reporters eagerly went to Bohol to cover the destruction.

But unlike them, my primary concern in going to Bohol was to check on my family in the remote village of Candavid in the town of Maribojoc, one of the badly-hit towns of the province.

Covering calamities is just part of the job for us in the media industry.

But when your family becomes a victim of calamity, you forget you’re a journalist. What comes to your mind is their safety.

The tremor happened at past 8 a.m. while I was handling a radio program over dyLA, which is in the Mariners’ Court, Pier I in Cebu City.

Thinking that the building would collapse, I hurriedly ran for safety while calling all saints.

Then, I started to panic when I realized the epicenter of the earthquake was my home province of Bohol.

The problem was I left my cellular phone inside the building and the administrator would not allow anyone to enter the building again because of the cracks and aftershocks.

While other media men were already busy checking the damage on some buildings in Cebu City, my focus at that time was to contact my relatives.

I borrowed a cellular phone from another reporter but I failed to contact any of the members of my family, which worried me more.

It took me almost two hours before I was able to reach them because several telecommunication towers were damaged.

My Ate Lec assured me that they were all safe although our parents were slightly hurt but our house was badly damaged.

Maybe it was a miracle that my parents, Nicasio Sr., 75; and Eleuteria, 71, as well as my older sister and four-year-old niece were outside the house when the earthquake happened.

My other sister and her family who live nearby were not hurt too although my 4-year old niece and 14-year old nephew were traumatized as a portion of their house collapsed while they were hiding under the staircase.

I was not able to go home immediately as our town was isolated because of the bridges were destroyed. The bridge over Abatan river that connects Tagbilaran City and Maribojoc and the bridge over Moalong river in Loon town were destroyed.

A year after the tremor, they have yet to rebuild a new home as the house is now beyond repair. (CDN PHOTO/JHUNNEX NAPALLACAN)

The following day, I decided to go home bringing a few grocery items to check on the situation and the immediate needs of my family and neighbors.

The Moalong bridge was totally destroyed.

At the Moalong river, fishermen transported passengers with their outrigger boats at P10 per person. From the other end of the river, habal-habal drivers wait to bring the passengers to their destinations.

In Loon proper, the town’s public market was damaged and the church collapsed.

It was already 6 p.m. and I could smell the foul odor from dead bodies of victims trapped underneath the rubble of the church.

Finally, I was home and I found my family staying in a small waiting shed, which was used as our evacuation center.

I wanted to cry when I saw our damaged house, which was built with my hard-earned money as a media man.

However, I realized that we can still rebuild our house. What really matters was the fact that my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews were all safe.

Because the stores in Tagbilaran were closed, I decided to go back to Cebu City to buy goods for my family and neighbors.

Some kind-hearted people including some friends, relatives from other parts of the country, my listeners and even the CDN and Inquirer management gave me cash assistance.

In order to help my neighbors, I also arranged a relief operation for our area.

The group of Masscomm students of the University of San Jose-Recoletos, the Kiwanis Club of Cebu,

Iligan and Davao City were among those who responded through the help of our former station manager Marit Stinus-Cabugon.

A year after the tragedy, we are still trying to rise above the tragedy. My family needs to construct a new house as the damaged one is already beyond repair.

I am forever grateful for all those who helped me and the people of Bohol to rise again no matter how hard.